Paintfluent A holistic and relational approach to art

Paintfluent A holistic and relational approach to art therapy Picture retrieved from: https: //dissolve. com/stock-photo/High-angle-view-vibrant-color-marbling-royalty-free-image/101 -D 1301 -80 -233

Table of contents: click to be directed to a specific section 1. About us 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. About us: Continued Our mission Our vision Eligibility continued Theoretical approaches Our programs 1. Visual art group 2. Narrative story telling 3. Group roleplay and enactments 9. Our staff 10. Employment 11. Employment continued 12. About the director Picture retrieved from: http: //www. fontealnoce. com/art-therapy-umbria. php

About Us We at Paintfluent provide a therapeutic and holistic environment in context of an artistic therapeutic approach. We take into consideration the individual needs of each youth we work with to 3 provide an emotionally safe environment. Paintfluent is located on a two acre piece of land. The main building is a single level, one story building that includes exterior ramps on the front, side and back exits. There are various benches and outdoor accessible tables set up for outdoor activities and quiet spaces for those who may experience sensory overstimulation and need a break. The building includes wide hallways with 7 large rooms. Each room has braille and pictures indicating the room number and activity with LGBTQ+ safe space stickers located outside each door. We have a set of four bathrooms with wheelchair accessible stalls. The interior rooms include a one to one counselling room, a main art room, a smaller group art room, a narrative writing room, an empty room for enactments, a sensory room and a free form drawing room.

About us: Continued Paintfluent is an artistic based day program that offers one to one counselling, group support and art based programs. Paintfluent: • Is a Monday-Friday day/ afternoon program that offers youth of all abilities a therapeutic and safe environment to express themselves • Allows youth who are experiencing discomfort to take a break when needed without 4 fear of being judged.

Our staff At Paintfluent it is our main priority to provide youth with staff who are trained and educated to work with an expansive variety of youth. 5 Paintfluent works with a team of child and youth care workers who are educated in a relational approach. Our team of 15 child and youth care workers work together to provide a set of programs catering to the emotional, physical and mental needs of our youth. We ensure that each team member has the ability to work with those who may be non-verbal or who may experience visual/ verbal exceptionalities. We accomplish this through the use of mood boards, pictures, sign language, braille and other assistive technology. our staff are ensured to provide a holistic (treating of the whole person), strength based child and youth care approach.

6 Our mission To work with youth in a strength based and relational child and youth care approach. We work to develop social skills, self-regulation skills and cognitive skills in all youth through visual arts, role play and narrative storytelling while working individually or in a group. Picture retrieved from: https: //www. gnjumc. org/next-gen-rising/

To make sure that youth of all abilities and backgrounds can identify, express and reach their goals involving their mental, emotional and physical well being through artistic mediums Our vision Picture retrieved from: https: //www. masterfile. com/image/en/6117 -08281980/smiling-high-school-students-sketching-in-art-class 7

Eligibility We at Paintfluent offer a number of programs for all youth of any gender identity aged 10 -18. Paintfluent offers artistic based therapeutic programing for youth with various medical, mental, developmental and emotional exceptionalities such as: • • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) Developmental exceptionalities Mental health concerns • Anxiety • Depression • Obsessive compulsive disorder • Bi-polar disorder • Conduct disorder • Attachment disorders • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (all spectrum) • Phobias • Oppositional defiant disorder • Eating disorders (All spectrum) Physical exceptionalities Visual exceptionalities Speech and language exceptionalities At risk youth (youth involved in the justice system, foster care system) 8 Exceptionalities: An area of functioning which is significantly different than the established norm* 1/13/2022 ADD A FOOTER

Eligibility (Continued) We at Paintfluent offer a number of programs for all youth of any gender identity aged 10 -18. Paintfluent offers artistic based therapeutic programing for youth with various medical, mental, developmental and emotional exceptionalities such as: • • • Social exceptionalities Abandonment, grief and loss At risk behaviours Aggression towards self and others Low income households We support youth who are: • LGBTQ+ identifying • Identify with any religion/ religious practice Exceptionalities: An area of functioning which is significantly different than the established norm* 9 1/13/2022 ADD A FOOADDTER Picture retrieved from: https: //www. arubatoday. com/discovering-culture-creativity-in-the-aruban-education-system/

Theoretical approaches Paintfluent operates its programs on the approach of five main therapeutic theories. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 10 The first approach that Paintfluent implements is the circle of courage. The circle of courage is a 4 sectioned wheel focusing on mastery, belonging, independence and generosity. More about the circle of courage can be found here The second approach that Paintfluent is founded on is cognitive behaviour therapy approach. Paintfluent focuses on the problem and the person being separate. Focusing on challenging and changing their distorted thoughts. More on Cognitive behavioural therapy can be found here The third approach that Paintfluent is founded on is therapeutic approach of mindfulness. Paintfluent provides programs and an environment in which a person can be present in the moment with their own thoughts. More on mindfulness can be found here The forth approach that paintfluent implements throughout all its programing is Art therapy approach. All programs in Paintfluent use art as a from of therapeutic self-expression and emotional release. More on Art therapy can be found here The fifth approach that Paintfluent is founded on is a narrative therapy approach. Through our story telling and narrative role plays we encourage youth to become the authors of their own stories. Removing the person from the concern through externalization. More about narrative therapy can be found here All programs at Paintfluent use a relational and strength based child and youth care approach

Our programs and services: click on any program to be directed to it. Paintfluent offers a variety of programs that include visual arts, role play enactments and narrative story telling. Youth will be suggested to participate in any specific program based on identified needs, areas of development, areas of strength and desires. § Visual arts group circle § Narrative storytelling (one on one or group) § Group roleplay and enactments 11 Picture retrieved from: https: //www. istockphoto. com/ca/photo/teamwork-gm 91811021 -9528668

Visual art group (painting, drawing, colouring) This activity works to help the youth work on their sense of belonging and mastery. This program also works with mindfulness and art therapy approach. In this program youth will have access to the large art room, where they can use any of the available visual art supplies to create works of art. They are encouraged to work with others in the room or individually. The youth can be offered a list of artistic prompts or can use artistic freedom in order to self-express. The visual art group program allows youth to emotionally regulate and offers a calm environment for mindful, in the moment thinking and reflection and a break from life stressors. The large art room is available at all times during programing to offer a space for youth to calm down and emotionally regulate when in need of a break. A small art room is available for those who are uncomfortable or experience anxiety with working in large groups. this is also available to those who may experience over stimulation with large groups. This group is facilitated by four child and youth care workers at all times during programing and are equipped with tools for those who may have 12 concerns accessing art supplies 1/13/2022 ADD A FOOTER Picture retrieved from: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=x 63 j. Fc. Bbn 5 w

Narrative storytelling This programs offers to help youth in their sense of belonging and mastery. This program uses therapeutic narrative approach to make youth the makers of their own stories and also uses the cognitive behavioural therapy approach of separating the 13 “problems” from the person. • Our Narrative story telling program offers youth the ability to write their own stories. This can be a direct approach where they re-write their current life stories or make their own creative stories. The participants can either keep their stories to themselves and the counsellor or are encouraged to explore these stories with their peers during our group readings and discussions. • This program may also look like a one on one counselling session where a youth and a counsellor explore their life stories, externalize their stories and work to give solutions. • Those who require assistive technology in order to participate will be accommodated and receive the support they need. (text to speech, laptop, i. Pad, speech to text, translators). • This program allows those to self-regulate and an outlet to self-express. • This program is co-facilitated between two child and youth care workers during programing Picture retrieved from: https: //www. freepik. es/fotos-premium/estudiantes-escribiendo-notas-aula_1669514. htm

Group roleplay and enactments This program works with the circle of courage in order to provide a sense of belonging, mastery and independence with the youth who are participating. This program also works with the cognitive behavioural approach as the youth act out and separate themselves from their concerns in order to find solutions. § Our group roleplay and enactments program offers youth the ability to act out certain scenarios with peers. This program works to improve social and relational skills with its participants as we separate the concern from the youth and look at situations from an outside perspective. This can work to stop distorted thinking patterns. § These roleplay and enactments have the opportunity to be done in a group setting or one on one with a facilitating child and youth care worker depending on individual and group needs. § Facilitating child and youth care worker works with the youth to act through their concerns and give possible responses as solutions § This program is facilitated by 4 child and youth care workers during programing who are equipped to translate, use sign language or use communication tools in order to 14 include all in the activity. Picture retrieved from: https: //www. themedicportal. com/blog/3 strategies-mmi-role-play/

Employment full – fulltime child and youth care counsellor positions available Relief positions – this position is on a day to day contract working hours and shifts not being covered by fulltime staff Successful candidates must meet the following: • A completed CYC diploma (or related program) • Ability to work and engage with a variety of youth with a variety of concerns • Ability to demonstrate child behavioural management techniques • Completed Non-violent crisis intervention training (NVCI) and Applied Suicide intervention skills training (ASIST) • Ability to successfully collaborate with colleagues • Ability to use and explain a variety of artistic outlets • First aid training • Ability to use and understand a variety of communication tools • Criminal reference check (vulnerable persons) • Follows policy's and procedures of the programs. • Understand demonstrate the basis of sign language Picture retrieved from: https: //www. raconteur. net/healthcare/eye-tests 15 employees

Employment continued Rate of pay: $20. 50 and up depending on experience Please apply to: Emily Baldwin To apply to these positions please send resume and cover letter to: 123 Glowlake street Peterborough, ON L 4 P 3 D 5 Canada Fax: 123 -456 -7189 Email: Paintfluent@paintfluent. com 16

The director of Paintfluent is Emily Baldwin. She is a child and youth care practitioner graduated from Fleming college. She herself is very passionate with artistic mediums such as painting, drawing, sculpting, acting and creative writing. She firmly believes in therapeutic nature of self expression through artistic mediums and has founded Paintfluent based on this belief. About the Director “everyone deserves to experience the freedom of art, Everyone deserves to express themselves” 17

Thank you! Paintfluent Email: Paintfluent@paintfluent. com Phone: 123 -456 -7890 Picture retrieved from: https: //www. coopfoundation. org. uk/blog/working-with-our-partners-to-help-the-youth-sector-beat-loneliness/

Additional resources/ references § What is the circle of courage? https: //www. edu. gov. mb. ca/k 12/cur/cardev/gr 9_found/courage_poster. pdf § What is narrative therapy? https: //dulwichcentre. com. au/what-is-narrative-therapy/ § What is mindfulness? https: //www. mindful. org/what-is-mindfulness/ § What is art therapy? https: //www. arttherapy. org/upload/2017_Definitionof. Profession. pdf § What is cognitive behavioural therapy? https: //www. camh. ca/en/health-info/mental-illness-andaddiction-index/cognitive-behavioural-therapy 19 1/13/2022 ADD A FOOTER