Today I had an opportunity to speak with Lindy LeDuc-Wilson, Coordinator of the Healing Arts Program at The Windsor Regional Children's Centre about new research into arts
approaches and children's mental health and wellbeing. CM
An excerpt below from the website at:
http://www.wrchildrenscentre.org/HEALARTS/Healin~1.htm
"The Windsor Regional Children’s Centre falls under the umbrella of the Windsor Regional Hospital, and has a mandate to provide mental health services to emotionally, behaviourally and socially troubled children/youth ages 6 through 18, and to their parents/families. The Centre offers programs and services delivered by interdisciplinary teams that provide specific goal-oriented programs including in-school, in-home and on site services. In conjunction with using the “traditional” methods of treatment (i.e. family therapy; individual, parental and group therapy; psychiatric and psychological assessments, etc.), the Windsor Regional Children’s Centre established the Healing Arts Program. The Healing Arts Program makes use of music, art (drawing and painting), drama, dance and creative movement and reflects a partnership between mental health services for children and youth and the Windsor area arts community. In 2005, the Centre conducted a Research Study for the Ministry of Culture via Children’s Mental Health Ontario. The project demonstrated the effectiveness of children’s mental health intervention that made use of the arts (music, painting, and dance.) It concluded that the arts did have a positive impact on children who were in treatment. The study demonstrated that the art classes had a significant positive impact on children’s therapeutic well-being.
