Document Type

Capstone

Abstract

Occupational therapy has been associated with expressive arts and the act of healing the body and mind since the inception of the profession. Children use expressive arts to self-express, explore, and enhance the development of the brain and body. Children that have experienced trauma may have trouble recognizing and expressing emotions, thus react with negative behaviors, poor social skills, and learning challenges. Trauma may occur in children from caregivers' behaviors due to opioid addiction. The use of expressive arts through occupational therapy's holistic perspective provides traumatized children with a guide to recognize and express emotions, increase attention, and improve social skills. This project was created to provide a central location of evidence-based expressive art ideas for academic professionals and therapists to help children that have been traumatized from opioid-addicted caregivers. The project will increase the knowledge of professionals to recognize trauma in children and identify expressive art modalities to process trauma. A needs assessment was conducted to determine interest. School professionals and occupational therapy practitioners participated in a pre-survey, in-service video presentation, and post-survey. The participants were educated on the value and use of expressive arts with children traumatized due to opioid-addicted caregivers. A website was created to provide professionals with a resource to use expressive arts with the intended population. Participants in the in-service increased knowledge in understanding how substance abuse by caregivers affects children. Respondents showed a slight decrease in knowledge specifically with understanding of children that have been traumatized by their opioid-addicted caregivers. The majority of respondents increased their understanding of the value of expressive arts use with traumatized children as important for childhood development. The project increased knowledge of the value and use of expressive arts with children traumatized due to opioid-addicted caregivers. School professionals and occupational therapy practitioners need to add expressive arts as a modality to use with traumatized children. Many professionals use art with children and are not aware of the value of expressive arts to process trauma. Occupational therapists have the skills and expertise to use expressive arts as one method to work with traumatized children from addicted caregivers. Collaboration with supportive professionals is important to ensure a safe environment for traumatized children. Delivering occupational therapists with the extended knowledge of the power of expressive arts with this population can provide traumatized children a way to work through traumatic events and improve success in community and academic settings.

Publication Date

4-12-2021

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