Sexual abuse intervention program: healing through art and play

This report details my experience as a practicum student at the Northern Society for Domestic Peace (NSDP), located in the northern town of Smithers, British Columbia. The primary focus was to gain clinical skills in practice areas of art therapy, play therapy, and cognitive behavioural therapy. As a student I was mentored in the Sexually Abused Intervention Program (SAIP) by a Certified Canadian Counsellor with a Master's Degree in Art Therapy, from the only school in Canada that offers this specific distinction, located at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. I had another mentor who has a Master of Social Work degree and we exchanged ideas and discussed social work theory in order to satisfy the practicum requirement of having a mentor with a Master's Degree in Social Work. During my practicum I participated in working with groups, and counselled individual clients in both the SAIP and Children Who Witness Abuse (CWWA) programs at the agency. My journey was unique and encompassed a variety of experiences that allowed me to gain new methods and practice skills toward gaining clinical counselling techniques. I was able to acquire and apply newly gained knowledge to methods of practice in the areas of art therapy, play therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. --Leaf ii.