Art Therapy Internship Leads to an Art Show

Over a span of five weeks this summer, Bre Wallace led an art class for thirteen ACR residents as part of her art therapy internship. Participants in the class explored different materials and worked on communicating and expressing emotions through art. At the end of the class they were excited to show off their work at an open house art show on July 12 at J. Arthur’s Coffeehouse.

The Role of Art in Life

Bre is well-known at ACR as a live-in residential supervisor in a group home where she oversees eleven staff in supporting four individuals with disabilities. She explains how art therapy fits into her life.

I have loved art ever since I was little. It is how I express myself, de-stress, worship, and connect with my feelings. I also always knew I wanted to be a therapist, but knew I wanted more experience before jumping back in to school.  So I became the live-in residential supervisor at the group home where I was working. While in that role I went through a very difficult break-up and spent a whole weekend painting. It opened my eye to see how art can really help a person work through painful situations. I remember thinking, “I wish I could just do art and be a therapist.” Then I realized I could do both–that is actually a job! So I went back to school at Adler in the Fall of 2016. By December I started helping art therapists lead groups for Lifeworks and the Epilepsy Foundation. After that I decided to start my own art therapy group with my favorite company, ACR Homes.

Art Therapy Internship

Bre was able to make this art therapy group into an internship at ACR.

In each session I had a different theme and art media that we worked with. For example one week I had them do a picture that described themselves. Another week we worked with Model Magic and I had each resident make a sculpture of objects that bring them comfort. At the end of each session, I had each resident share what they made in front of the group. I collected all of the art work to display at the art show.

I loved how happy all the participants were when they actually worked with the materials. One lady doesn’t have a lot of mobility, but when I helped her draw she was SO happy and I could totally tell what it was she was drawing. She could only move part of her hand and couldn’t see what she was drawing.

For a video about Bre’s art therapy internship as well as videos of other ACR employees who have done internships at ACR or who just think ACR is a great place to work, check out our YouTube page.