May 10, 2018- The Lincoln Center for Family and Youth, a local nonprofit serving Montgomery county residents for over 40 years, is pleased to announce the addition of art therapy to its already extensive victim services. This is the only free and mobile art therapy program available to any Montgomery County resident who has been a victim of crime. TLC strives to advance the accessibility of mental health services by providing free and mobile counseling through a team of extensively trained counselors and by taking the lead in charting alternative educational practices.
The mobile art therapy service is part of TLC’s Victim Services program, funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). Art therapy will enhance The Lincoln Center’s current clinical services offered to victims of crime. “We can now explore counseling from a creative, non-verbal approach which overcomes resistance from those clients who are reluctant to verbalize their trauma,” says Rob D’Alonzo, Chief Clinical Officer at The Lincoln Center for Family and Youth.
The goal of the service is to provide interventions that allow children, families and older adults to actively imagine, experiment, reframe and rehearse desired changes through self-expression. Expressive art therapy and related approaches support trauma recovery using neurodevelopment and mind-body best practices and fills a significant gap for those who do not respond to traditional types of therapy.
There is a strong demand in Montgomery County for effective and innovative approaches to treating trauma caused by victimization. The program will serve individuals and families experiencing trauma related to past or present events including: abuse, domestic violence, harassment, stalking, fraud, robbery, assault, Identity theft/scamming, vehicular crime, mass violence, and other crimes. TLC therapists have masters degrees in art therapy, as well as certification in trauma informed expressive arts therapy. Art therapy will be another approach used to guide clients to improve personal insights and overcome the negative effects of traumatic events.