Art For Life’s Sake

by Danielle Byers

‘Art for Life’s Sake’ is a capstone project developed with the intention of raising awareness about anxiety and building resiliency, within a school community, with the broader aim of developing a working collaborative model with peer advocates, the school administration and local child and youth counsellors to respond to emerging mental health needs. A literature review was undertaken to explore key concepts pertaining to anxiety in adolescence, psycho-education, art therapy and participatory art-based and school-based interventions. A workshop on anxiety was developed and delivered to a group of students at a local high school. Data generated consisted of a number of recommendations to the school administration for changes to policies, procedures and student supports. Lastly, the findings were discussed in reference to art therapy research, with recommendations for future research.