The Therapies
What makes this program unique is that four key creative therapies are used alongside each other, providing each child with many ways to express their thoughts and feelings.
Art therapy
Art therapy at KidsXpress encourages children to develop their thoughts and feelings further by drawing, painting, sculpting and constructing.
Dramatherapy
Dramatherapy at KidsXpress is not about being good at drama. Instead, it offers the potential to creatively explore and express difficult emotions in a safe and contained way.
Music therapy
Music therapy at KidsXpress is quite different to how most children might experience music at their school or in their community.
Play therapy
Play is one of the natural languages of children. In play therapy, children participate in structured and unstructured activities that help them express their thoughts and feelings, explore relationships and share their experiences.
The power of the creative arts
Creative pursuits and the arts are fundamental to the human experience, helping us to explain and understand our experiences, respond to our world, and to connect with others. The arts also engage our imaginations, helping us to step beyond our own experiences, to build empathy, and to try new approaches. These precious attributes also mean that the arts have incredible healing potential, particularly when dealing with children whose lives have been impacted by trauma.
Expressive/creative therapies give children the experience of doing, making, and creating to help energise, redirect attention and focus and alleviate emotional stress. Expressive therapies promote active participation, and are sensory in nature, helping children to engage their imaginations, minds and bodies, rather than simply engaging their cognitive abilities.
For children with limited language skills and vocabularies, and particularly for children impacted by trauma who may be unable to put complex ideas and feelings into speech, expression through art, music, play, or movement empowers them to express themselves without the boundaries imposed by words.