We have a room here at Thrive that is especially designed for kids (or people who enjoy art and colorful decor!). Creating this space was prompted by one of our therapists. Read about the room’s story below:
- What inspired you to decorate the room? In March of 2020 I was getting set up to start seeing clients at Thrive. On March 9, 2020 Penny emailed me letting me know that she was thinking about making Brown into a kid therapy room. As a therapist who primarily sees children and teens I was fully in support of this idea.
- How’d you make it happen? A few days after talking with Penny, COVID would delay us making any plans to start redecorating Brown. Then in July of 2020, myself, as well as Aurelia and Ayrn got together to start brainstorming. Some ideas from that meeting included the idea of having a mix of different art to make a rainbow wall, colorful lamps, and new bookcases with toys and colorful canvas storage for art supplies. In August of 2021 we had a “painting day” at Thrive to paint art canvases to decorate the walls in the room. Thrive members were asked to be a part of making the art for the room, as well as their children. For anyone who would say they are not artistic/can’t paint, I provided the supplies and instructions to make a “hot mess canvas”…no special skills required. I also put it out to any therapists that if they were seeing an individual in therapy who would like to paint a canvas that those were available as well.
- Who created the art that is hanging up? There is currently 80+ pieces of art hanging in the Brown room that were created by Thrive therapists, children and family members of Thrive therapists, as well as some individuals who come to Thrive for therapy. And new pieces are always welcome and invited to be added to the collection!
- What kind of benefits do you think there are to kids having therapy in a colorful/playful room? My hope for having a colorful therapy room is that all feel welcome and connect with something they see in the room. For many children, it will be their first time meeting with a therapist, and it will give them their first impression of therapy. Hopefully for children there will be one piece that they see and connect with. Then maybe they’ll feel slightly less stressed about therapy or sharing who they are with the therapist– what they like, as well as what they do not like.
- Do you have a favorite piece of art that is hanging up there? My favorite piece in the room is one my son (who is now a teenager) did when he was 3 years old. On the day he painted it he started painting the canvas side, but then flipped it over and started painting inside the frame that is typically identified as the back of the canvas. I flipped it back to the front side telling him “it goes this way, this side” to which he looked at me confused and said “no, this way”. After a couple times of flipping the canvas back and forth with him, debating which side to paint, I looked at him and acknowledged “you are right!” To this day I share this story with individuals in therapy as an important reminder to recognize alternative perspectives. I have long known that sometimes individuals can perceive the same situation differently, and that does not need to be defined as “wrong” vs. “right” but just as a different view. My son reminded me that even I get stuck seeing things from my own perspective. It is a nice reminder of alternative perspectives and experiences for me, and hopefully others as well, hanging in the Brown room.
