Adolescents.

I'm having a really difficult time finding pieces of information on my topic of art therapy and substance abuse. After talking to librarians and spending time looking for information. I found several articles on mental health and how art therapy is used to help those with mental disorders. I'm thinking on focusing on the mental health of people as they age, and how they occur. I want to research on what causes people to fall into using drugs and alcohol. As well as how the mind develops into convincing them that they need to use drugs.

People that aren't involved in the art world look at art as entertainment. They don't see what goes into the work, the emotion, the thoughts that the artist had, as well as the time and dedication that it took to complete the piece. Art can benefit both the creator and the viewer. The creator gets a form of release when creating a piece it feels almost as if there is a huge weight that has been lifted off their shoulders. The viewer can get a interest out of the piece, they can make sense of the work. Every one sees things differently and even looking at a painting and discussing it has been known to make more connections in the brain.

Some of the research that I have found suggests that people's diets are what drives them to substance abuse. Scientists are still in the process of trying to prove that someones diet may lead them to using drugs and/or drinking alcohol. Some of the natural chemical malfunctions or the way the person eats can develop the need for certain substances. After taking the desired substance, the person then creates an addiction for it that makes them feel normal. They create a need for it and if the usage of drugs gets out of control it interferes with the chemicals in their body's which is the cause of many mental health disorders including schizophrenia, multi-personality disorder, etc. Currently this focus has been a conundrum for scientists.

Adolescents are usually self conscious about their self-esteem as well as their image. Being in public schools as well as dealing with the peers around them usually doesn't help their case. Depending on the therapist, the client is asked to make a collage or painting to depict what the client is there for, they go over the artwork and talk about what was drawn or pieced together. Adolescents usually are more drawn to creating symbols or graphic images. Riley explains how this concludes acts of using art as a language rather than using art as verbal questioning. The therapist may even have the client take the human-tree-house test. Depending on the drawing and how the client can pair these things together shows how angry, depressed, lonely, or happy the person might be. It is very commonly used. Adolescents turn to drug use and alcohol for several reasons. Peer pressure is one of the biggest cause for teens to turn to drugs. An individual might have gone through a formidable trama, that geared them to drugs and alcohol. A lot of teens also depend on their parents to support their drug habits, the amount of parents who pay for their child's addiction is surprisingly huge.

In the beginning of the therapy, the therapist must create a stance of neutrality with the client. They do this to establish the basis of any therapeutic relationship, which is trust. The therapist has no physic powers or 'magic', that causes them to see the meaning in the art product. They can guess and assume the message shown, but the meaning has to come from the creativity of the teen. The art therapist would most likely compare each art product, every session. They do this to show the progress of the patient. Noticing the art that a client produces, helps both the therapist and the client an idea of the youth's concerns and wishes.

For adolescents, using art in therapy is an experience to the teen that opens an unexpected pleasure factor that stimulates their need to be expressive. After studying the tagging and graffiti that shows abundantly in cities, psychologists believe that these marks are in tune with the adolescents development. For adolescents it is rather difficult to restrain the urge to 'make their territory' or 'mark their mark'.

"The emergence of an image is an extension of the processes of memory and conceptualization. Imagery introduces metaphorical language and personalized communication. [8] If adolescents are asked to show the therapist what needs to be corrected at home, or even in society as a whole, they can do so through the creation of an image. Visual representation concentrate meaning into a tangible form that conveys the entire scope of a situation."

 Even if the client draws a clear representation of an abused setting, it is the therapists job to show the appropriate interest. The therapist might make a false assumption, in regards the therapist must restrain themselves from making bold and hasty judgement's.

 More often than usual the calm respectful child turns into a moody teenager who refuse direction from any form of authority. How does this happen? It's not always the parents fault, even if they are first to blame, but rather society's. The family of the child is usually not prepared for this emotional outburst, and may react out on them. This happens because of the rapid change on teen, resulting on the family's reaction toward each other to become chaotic.

Family therapy is frequently visited, but family art therapy is the more accurate form of therapy. In talk therapy, psychologists often find that each family member likes to 'tattle tell' on each and everyone in the room. They try to point out what the other person is doing wrong, rather than trying to resolve their own issues. With art therapy, the therapist would most likely have everyone draw an image of change that they think needs to happen in the house. They compare these drawings at the end in order for each person to identify others perspectives. This has been proven to show change in the person themselves rather than blaming others. The art pieces that family's create is used as a dialogue. Instead of the "he said she said" drama, these drawings can be used as a way identify the issues that the family addressed in future references.

Art therapy can be used as an effective way to cure adolescents going through a struggling time. Situations that are too risky to reveal,  too embarrassing, or even too personal for the client to share; they all help the therapist gain an effort to help protect and support the client.

"My sufferings are part of myself and art. They are indistinguishable from me, and their destruction would destroy art" -Edvard Munch

Beck, Aaron T. Cognitive Therapy of Substance Abuse. New York: Guilford, 1993. Print. This article is useful. It covers everything I needed to know. I've skimmed random sections of it. And hope on getting more into it.
Caruso, Iyna. "The pictures of health: art's healing powers more than simply a statement of style, art can improve and enhance one's physical, mental and emotional well-being." Evening Post Jan.-Feb. 2009: 70+. Fine Arts and Music Collection. Web. 28 July 2013. This article explained the well being, and reason the usage of art therapy is used on patients.

Dunham, Mardis, and Pam Rockwell. "The Utility of the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale in Assessment for Substance Use Disorder." Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association (2006). Fine Arts and Music Collection. Web. 28 July 2013.

Hanes, Michael J. "'Face-to-Face' with Addiction: The Spontaneous Production of Self-Portraits in Art      Therapy." Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association (2007). Fine Arts and Music     Collection. Web. 28 July 2013. This article showed the usage of substances and how art therapy was used in the cure of becoming clean.
Horay, Brian J. "Moving Towards Gray: Art Therapy and Ambivalence in Substance Abuse Treatment." Journal of the American Art Therapy Association (2006): 1-9. Print. This journal piece was the first thing I helped and the most helpful for this topic. It clearly stated everything that I needed and have yet to finish it. 
Riley, Shirley. "Art therapy with adolescents." The Western Journal of Medicine July 2001: 54. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 July 2013 This article covered everything I needed to know about art therapy and adolescents. 
"Selected Art Therapy Resources. (News)." Afterimage Nov.-Dec. 2001: 3+. Fine Arts and Music Collection. Web. 28 July 2013.
vanMeenen, Karen. "Editorial: Media Art AS/IN Therapy. (News)." Afterimage Nov.-Dec. 2001: 3. Academic OneFile. Web. 28 July 2013. This article displayed the different forms and age groups on art therapy. It displayed some stats as well. 
Video: Art & The Mind – Creativity." Art Therapy RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2013. This blog is wonderful! It had an amazing documentary (with Lisa Kudrow) as well as useful information.
Art Therapy Exercises To Try at Home | World of Psychology." Psych Central.com. Physch Central, 1995-2013. Web. 15 July 2013.This website is an advanced blogging site that people subscribe too for information. I haven't gotten too deep into the cite yet, but it does outline disorders of the brain. How they are caused and how to treat the disorder.

Bach, Matt, Peter Loken, Amy Voytilla, and Sivika Sirisanthana. "Art Therapy." Art Therapy. Malacaster, n.d. Web. 15 July 2013. This was by far the most useful website created by students, it breifly explained art therapy as a whole and was very useful. I learned about the approaches of art therapy and gained a lot of useful knowledge from this site. 

Cozolino, Louis J. The Neuroscience of Human Relationships: Attachment and the Developing Social Brain. New York: Norton, 2006. Print.This book was really helpful on researching about the brain itself. I maintained a lot information on therapy as well as learning about disorders in the brain. Very helpful and was surprisingly fun to read

Caldwell, Lore. "Welcome to Growing Up Easier Publishing." Help Children Overcome Problems Such as Abuse, Learning Problems, Autism and More, Growing Up Easier. Growing up Easier, 2008. Web. 02 July 2013.
Edith Kramer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 07 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 July 2013.

Goldman, Alvin I. "Theory of Mind." Oxford Handbook of Philosophy and Cognitive Science. N.p.: n.p., 2012. 1-25. Print.
Hansard, Glen. "Art Therapy: A Documentary." YouTube. YouTube, 08 Oct. 2012. Web. 02 July 2013. This YouTube documentary displayed a handful of students who talked about their journey through art therapy. I also got to learn a bit about the brain. This documentary is also what led me to the fabulous book by Louis Cozolin
Margaret Naumburg." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 07 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 July 2013.
Mindblindness." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 June 2013. Web. 15 July 2013.
RESEARCH INTO THEORY OF MIND." Autism, PDD-NOS & Asperger's Fact Sheets. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 July 2013.

Theory of Mind-Robert Seyfarth." YouTube. YouTube, 19 June 2010. Web. 10 July 2013.

Theory of Mind." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 07 Sept. 2013. Web. 15 July 2013.