The HPHS Therapeutic Art Club is heading over to C.C Young, which is a Dallas area assisted living facility, which caters to senior citizens. The Therapeutic Art Club is going to the assisted living facility to work with the senior citizens on therapeutic art.

The Therapeutic Art Club, the president of which is Ashley Xie, is meant to provide the high school with more therapeutic art based volunteering opportunities, and to educate students about what therapeutic art is. The club meets monthly and encourages new members to join.    

Art therapy is a form of expression with the intent of being calming and therapeutic art, which has its origins in both art and the field of psychotherapy. However, the club cannot technically call what they do art therapy.

“Well, we can’t call it art therapy, because we aren’t certified art therapists, so we call it therapeutic art,” club sponsor and art teacher Alexa Sharp said.

For it to be called art therapy a certification by the Art Therapy Credentials Board would be necessary. The club has in the past worked with people with special needs and learning disabilities to provide a means of expression to them that is both calming and therapeutic in nature.

On Friday, Oct 19 after school the club met in Sharp’s art room, WC 116, to prepare for their time at the C.C. Young senior care facility. This training covered how to interact with the senior citizens without accidentally making offensive remarks, and dealt with some procedural information regarding safety and therapeutic art techniques. This training is meant to make the students more able to help the senior citizens at C.C. Young with therapeutic art.  

While not licensed for the profession, the HPHS Therapeutic Art Club is doing a great deal of good in the community. Now they are working with the senior citizens and staff of C.C. Young to assist with their brand of therapeutic art. The club is very inviting and wants more people to join, so they can learn about art therapy and contribute to the community.

“Join our club!” Sharp said.