Casa del Carmen Preschool Academy, a ministry of Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia (CSS), is launching an art therapy pilot program to support its young learners development and well-being.
The program, “Spark School-Based Art Therapy,” will be piloted with 27 preschool-aged children in Casa del Carmen’s summer camp program and be held every Tuesday and Wednesday.
This initiative aims to impact children’s social, emotional, developmental and cognitive growth and well-being by addressing individual differences and needs in an adaptive and creative manner.
With the aid of an art therapist, students will have the opportunity to express themselves without words through child-centered art therapies. The program also aims to bridge the gap in clinical service delivery for students and families who may not otherwise have access to such services.
The art therapy services will be led at Casa del Carmen Preschool Academy by Kristen Rashid, MA, ATR who holds a Masters Degree in Creative Arts Therapy from Drexel University.
Background Information on Spark School-Based Art Therapy
Spark has been providing services to several schools in Philadelphia since 2007 through a variety of grant-funded programs. The mission of Spark is to provide mental health, social emotional learning, and developmental services to children within area schools. For more information, visit https://www.parent2child.net/.
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Editor’s Note: For over two decades, Casa del Carmen Preschool Academy has been serving the Hunting Park neighborhood in North Philadelphia providing full-service, early childhood education to children between the ages of three and five. The preschool is a PHLpreK and Keystone Stars 4 program. Once students have graduated from the program, after-school and full-day summer camp programs are offered which provide a safe place for continued growth and learning. For more information, visit https://casapreschool.org/.
For more information on Catholic Social Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, please visit https://cssphiladelphia.org/.
