A new therapeutic art workbook is helping rural teens creatively navigate the challenges of adolescence.
The Arts for Youth (A4Y) Book emerged from a collaboration between Healthy Jackson County, the IU School of Social Work, and the IU Center for Rural Engagement. Designed for youth ages 11-14, the book serves as a therapeutic guide to improve well-being through arts-based exercises that incorporate education, art, play therapy practices, and other wellness resources.
The book debuted on September 26 at the Mental Health Fest in Seymour. It’s being provided free of charge to about 2,000 youth in Jackson County and nearby areas over the coming months through Healthy Jackson County coalition partners including local schools, pediatric clinics, after-school providers, and faith communities.
The 135-page book is available in both English and Spanish and comes with an art kit including colored pencils, painting materials, and modeling clay.
The Center for Rural Engagement welcomes opportunities to collaborate with other organizations across the state to increase the distribution of the Art for Youth books beyond Jackson County.
“Issues around youth in Jackson County are the same issues that youth are facing around any county – rural, urban, suburban,” said Todd Burkhardt, the center's director of campus partnerships.
The Arts for Youth project was inspired by the Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement's Creative Arts for Vets (CAV) initiative, a collaboration with the Eskenazi Museum of Art and Indiana University School of Social Work, which distributes therapeutic art workbooks to veterans nationwide. Burkhardt led the development of the CAV Book and provided guidance and support for the Arts for Youth Book.
“Art transcends. It doesn’t matter the population,” Burkhardt said. “There’s a lot of evidence to show that using art can help reduce feelings associated with anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness, substance use, trauma, and suicidal ideation.”
Developed with input from IU School of Social Work associate professor John Keesler, the book aims to address the emotional impact of challenges teens face, including social media pressure, bullying, body image, gender identity and sexuality, relationships, and mental health. It also features stories and artwork created by students in Jackson County.
Burkhardt said the project was born when Lindsay Sarver, Healthy Jackson County Coalition member and Schneck Medical Center employee, discovered the CAV Book and saw the benefit of creating something similar with teens in mind.
Statistics and personal experience have shown us that our teens are experiencing a mental health crisis at an unprecedented rate, and we have to act now.
Lindsay Sarver, Healthy Jackson County Coalition
“As a mother of five, including two teens, I’m personally aware of the mental health challenges our youth are facing today,” said Sarver. “Statistics and personal experience have shown us that our teens are experiencing a mental health crisis at an unprecedented rate, and we have to act now.”
The Arts for Youth project was made possible through funding by the Schneck Medical Center, Schneck Foundation, Community Foundation of Jackson County, Jackson County Health Department, the former Mental Health America Jackson County suicide prevention initiative, Su Casa Indiana, the Indiana Department of Health, Dicksons Printshop, the Columbus Area Arts Council, the Indiana Arts Commission Region 9, and the National Endowment for the Arts.