The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey awarded a $28,500 grant to CPC Behavioral Healthcare to support its Circle of Friends Program, an after-school partial care program for children ages 7-12. This funding allows the Agency to provide art therapy to children in this program who are exhibiting signs of depression. These children experience withdrawal, poor social skills, aggression, problems sleeping, disturbances in hygiene and eating , poor academic performance, as well as school related issues like poor attendance and disruptive behavior.

CPC’s Art Therapist uses a variety of art materials and techniques like modeling, drawing, decorating, and building to help the children express their emotions and process difficult feelings like worries and fears. Through the creative process, the children work on problem solving skills, teamwork, communication, sharing and negotiating.

Among the therapeutic projects, the children have created “worry-free dolls”, feelings games, and bridges to help them identify a variety of worries like falling asleep, the first day of school, making new friends, as well as other fears related to being bullied, money and working with others.

In an effort to gauge the effectiveness of art therapy in reducing depression in children a special Children’s Depression Inventory was implemented in the Circle of Friends Program. Currently, 13 children have completed the depression inventory; eight of them have reported a decrease in depressive symptoms. These early results suggest that art therapy contributed to the reduction in their depressive symptoms.

Circle of Friends is an afterschool group program for children who have been identified by family, school or other community providers as experiencing serious difficulties at home, in school, or in other community settings. The goal is to help these children overcome the problems that have interfered with their ability to function appropriately and to avoid out- of-home placements.

An interdisciplinary team led by a board certified child psychiatrist, in collaboration with the child and his/her family, develops a treatment plan to address each child's specific needs. Utilizing a group therapy model, each child works on taking steps towards achievement of his/her goals. Family collaboration in the treatment process is essential.

This program is located at CPC Behavioral Healthcare’s Helen Herrmann Counseling Center in Red Bank. There is no charge to families for this service. Children and their families participate -- up to 9 hours per week after school -- typically for between 6-8 months. Services include: Activity Therapy, Social Skills Training, Anger Management, Medication Assessment and Monitoring, Family Support, Individual and Group Therapy. For more information about this program, please contact CPC Behavioral Healthcare’s Access Center at 1-732-842-2000 x4221.