Burma Art Therapy Project
Location
We are setting up a satellite therapy office in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools to provide mental health services for student refugees from Burma
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Ilene
Last Name
Sperling
Website URL
Country
United States
Section 2: About Your Organization
Organization Name
The Art Therapy Institute
Organization Website
Organization Phone
919-225-5124
Organization Address
762 Ninths St#631
Organization Country
United States
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Your idea
Name Your Project
Burma Art Therapy Project
Country your work focuses on
United States
Describe Your Idea
We are setting up a satellite therapy office in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools to provide mental health services for student refugees from Burma
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
We are the only Art Therapy Institute in North Carolina, and we are providing the only accessible mental health service for these families.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
Our group goals are to foster communication and friendship skills amongst the students. Along with the classroom teacher we helped to build a cohesive group for students to use art to share their feelings and manage and cope with PTSD symptoms from their past experiences and current resettling. Our work with these students has helped to educate the schools and community about the hardships that these students and their families have experienced. We have also gained visibility with a student art show held in University Mall along with media coverage about this. The Institute has helped to bring awareness about how art is able to bridge language barriers, help young people to express themselves and find positive ways to manage difficult feelings. The classroom teachers have reported that the students were engaged and learned new skills in these groups. They described how their students’ communication skills and creativity had improved and they also reported that classroom conflicts had decreased. The evaluations that we conducted with the classroom teacher in the first few weeks of getting to know these students were completed again at the end of last semester. Students showed measurable improvements in task orientation, expressive language and interpersonal interactions. We recorded higher scores in these areas demonstrated by improved self regulation and concentration, increase in positive images and spontaneity in art making, and development of interpersonal relationships.
Problem
The Art Therapy Institute will be serving middle school and high school students in Chapel Hill and Carrboro who are refugees from Burma. Burma has been in a state of civil strife for the majority of the past half century. The U.S. provides refuge to fewer than 2,000 people from Burma annually; however, a significant portion of this population resettles to the Triangle area.
Studies of refugee children indicate that up to 40% of young refugees may have psychiatric disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, sleep problems, conduct disorder, attention problems, generalized fear, overdependency, hyperactivity, difficulties in peer relationships, and separation anxiety. *The social workers at the elementary school and the high school where we have been providing these services have reported that the Art Therapy Institute groups have been the only mental health service that these students have been receiving. Many of the children in our groups have spent their whole lives in refugee camps and most have had very little formal schooling. We have used art as a shared language to help these children communicate, build friendship skills, and address issues of acculturation. The images that we have seen in these groups are a combination of cultures, landscapes, and symbols of war and peace. Art therapy is a safe way for the kids to talk about their past experiences and the trauma that they have both witnessed and experienced.
Actions
We have been collaborating with the ESL Coordinator, Health Coordinator, Principals and ESL teachers in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools. We are also working with the Community Medical Clinic that serves these families. The Art Therapy Institute is finding different ways to make this project sustainable by receiving different grants, fundraising and billing Medicaid for individual therapy services.
Results
This program strives to improve the social and emotional health of refugee children from Burma. In order to determine whether the proposed program has had an impact on the participants, we have done a pre and post evaluation with the students to track measurable changes. We will continue to develop this evaluation.
The first aim of our program has been to provide a mental health intervention for refugee children that is informed by the cultural beliefs and values of people from Burma. In December 2008 we began our training in a Community Needs assessment of newly emigrated families from Burma, conducted by UNC Chapel Hill's School of Public Health. We have continued our training with community leaders from Burma and the U.S. Committee of Refugees and Immigrants in Raleigh. In order to ensure that program staff can design culturally appropriate directives that incorporate specific cultural beliefs and traditions from Burma, program staff will continue this training prior to the expansion of services. All of our clinicians are committed to pursuing further training to continue this work.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
This program is designed for refugee children from Burma who are struggling with past traumas, stress and homesickness. Students will be referred by ESL teachers and school counselors. We would like to mentor some of the students who have been in this country for a few years to assist us with leading the groups.
We are creating systems of referral and intake with the School and Community Health Center.
With office assistance and materials we will be able to facilitate more intakes, individual therapy services and groups.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Although research suggests a higher prevalence of symptoms and mental disorders in refugees as compared to the general population, refugees generally underutilize conventional mental health services. Obstacles include: stigma associated with mental illness; language barriers; differences in explanation of illness; a lack of understanding of the U.S. mental health system; other competing needs of newly immigrated families; difficulty accessing services; and insufficient monitory resources. Given the aforementioned difficulties, conventional avenues for addressing mental health issues may be unsuccessful. The community is challenged to find creative ways to address the mental health needs of its refugee community. Art therapy provides opportunity for redefining past experiences, gaining control over one’s thoughts, and developing effective coping strategies in order to support personal, social, and emotional development. In addition, art therapy emphasizes the revitalizing aspects of trauma and the resilience of the human spirit.
How many people will your project serve annually?
101‐1000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for less than a year
In what country?
United States
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
If yes, provide organization name.
The Art Therapy Institute
How long has this organization been operating?
Less than a year
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
No
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
No
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?
No
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Approximately 150 words left (1200 characters).
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
Approximately 300 words left (2400 characters).
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
Before we started our groups we received this image
http://www.changemakers.com/en-us/system/files/Exhibits_grant_002.jpg from one of the students. He told us it was about war in his country.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
In 2006 Ilene Sperling, Eva Miller and Kristin Linton founded the Art Therapy Institute.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Friend or family member
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Exhibits Grant | 196.75 KB |
| Flag | 1.72 MB |
| For Cathy | 338.77 KB |
| For Megan | 397.64 KB |
