Picture yourself on a beach, all alone, the sun beating down on your body. The only sound you here is your breath going in and out of your lungs and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. Your mind is completely free with just a few simple thoughts coming and going. As you take a breath in and release it out, you can feel all of the tension and stress leaving your body and floating to the sea along with the waves. You experience complete relation.

This is meditation.

According to the Centers of Disease Control, over eight percent of children in the US are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or AD/HD.  That’s about 5.3 million of those ages 3-17 years old that have this disorder.  In our home state of North Carolina, ten percent of children are diagnosed with ADHD.  So what can we do at Carolina Partners in Mental Health to help our community with this epidemic?  Some treatments that we can provide are :

• medications
• behavioral intervention strategies
• parent training

According to the International Art Therapy Organization, art therapy is “a form of expressive therapy that uses art materials, such as paints, chalk and markers. Art therapy combines traditional psychotherapeutic theories and techniques with an understanding of the psychological aspects of the creative process, especially the affective properties of the different art materials.” The National Institute of Health describes art therapy as a “mental health profession that uses the creative process of art-making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages”.  Art therapy is employed in many clinical settings with diverse populations. It can be found in non-clinical settings as well, such as in art studios and in workshops that focus on creativity development. Art therapists work with children, adolescents, and adults and provide services to individuals, couples, families, groups, and communities.