Amplifying Perspectives: The Experience of Adolescent Males of Color Engaged in School-Based Art Therapy

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the experience of adolescent males of color engaged in a 12-week, school-based art therapy intervention. Participants were 78 ninth graders from limited resource communities attending an all-boys high school in the South Bronx, New York. The population was naturally divided into three groups based on levels of potential academic competency. At the conclusion of the intervention, participants completed a written questionnaire to ascertain their perspectives on art therapy, the pieces they created, and how process and product related to emotions. Qualitative coding revealed nine themes, which provided a sense of differential impacts of the intervention by academic grouping. Findings suggest that art therapy targets a range of needs for high school students, from those who are successful and feel positively in school to those who struggle within the academic setting.