How we work · Ages 5–19
Art Therapy Techniques for Kids & Teens in Spokane Valley, WA
Art therapy techniques use drawing, painting, and making things as a clinical tool — a way for children and teens to externalize feelings that are hard to say out loud. Child, Marriage & Family Counseling incorporates art therapy techniques into counseling in Spokane Valley, WA.
Why art works when words don’t
A teen who answers every question with “fine” will sometimes draw you the truth in ten minutes. Making something — a drawing of the worry, a painting of the house before the divorce — puts the feeling outside the person, where it can be looked at together, at a safe distance.
How we use art in counseling
- Externalizing feelings — drawing the anger, the worry, the “before and after”
- Processing events — depicting an experience the child can’t yet narrate
- Family work — shared drawings that show how each member sees the family
- Regulation — the calming, focusing effect of making things with your hands
Art techniques pair naturally with play therapy and sand tray therapy for younger children, and give teens an alternative to eye-contact-heavy talk sessions.
Getting started
Meet our counselors or contact us — mention that creative approaches sound like a fit, and we’ll match accordingly.
Common questions
- Does my child need to be "good at art"?
- Not at all. Art therapy techniques aren't about the quality of the product — they're about the process of externalizing something internal. Stick figures work fine.
- Is art therapy a standalone treatment?
- At our practice, art techniques are woven into counseling alongside play therapy and talk therapy, rather than offered as a separate standalone service. Your child's counselor chooses the medium that helps them open up.