CHILL & SPILL INITIAL FINDINGS

Institutions and clinicians using Art with Heart’s Chill & Spill journal with adolescents report that the book provides effective therapy and supports their efforts.

In February 2006, Art with Heart surveyed counselors and mental-health professionals in six states, including Washington, who had given a total of 796 Chill & Spill journals to teens considered “hard to communicate with” and “anxious.”

• 25% of the survey participants reported that the teens they worked with were happier
• 38% said that the book helped reduced symptoms of depression and that the teens were easier to communicate with after using the book
• 50% said it increased the teens’ personal insights
• 75% said it allowed for greater expression of self

This is a significant improvement given that 67% of the teens given the book had been expelled from school and were considered to have significant behavior problems.

Initial studies tracking reports from the experiences of adolescents with Chill & Spill indicate that other immediate benefits to adolescents include an increase in self-esteem, self-awareness, self-expression, perception of choices, and effective coping strategies. One of the unexpected benefits we also witnessed in our own pre- and post-tests at the Ruth Dykeman Center for Children, was that the teens then used the artwork they produced to communicate with parents they hadn’t communicated with in months.

FURTHER EXAMINATION

Art with Heart continues to receive feedback from users of the book as well as caregivers. Although the anecdotal evidence clearly points to a system that works, Art with Heart wants to be able to provide quantifiable data to back up these powerful stories.

We are currently applying for capacity building grants to help underwrite the costs of such a study. If you would like to support this effort, please consider making an online donation now. With this information, we will be able to reach even more youth at risk.