Findings Also Show Music Therapy Improved Communication and Interaction Skills From the Economic Times: “Music therapy may help to reduce depression in children and adolescents with behavioural and emotional problems, finds a study. The researchers involved 251 children and young people for the study and found that children and young persons, aged 8-16 years, who […]
Dance It Yourself Nutcracker Returns to Evanston on 12/17
Family Friendly Holiday Event Benefits ITA Calling all wanna-be sugar plum fairies and toy soldiers of every age: dig out your sparkles and buff up your dancing shoes! The Institute for Therapy through the Arts will present another season of a dance-along holiday classic: the “Dance It Yourself Nutcracker” for all ages and abilities. The […]
Rush University Medical Center Begins Autism Study on Social Skills
From the Huffington Post: “The Autism Assessment Research Treatment AND Services (AARTS) Center is now offering a unique study of oxytocin and social skills groups. In this study, we are pairing oxytocin, a hormone thought to improve social learning in individuals with ASD, and an empirically supported social cognitive therapy curriculum (NETT: Nonverbal synchrony, Emotion […]
Eight Ways to Ease Transitions for Families with an Anxious Child
Tested creative methods to make smooth transitions for families Changes, even routine changes, can be notoriously difficult for children, especially those inclined towards anxiety or rigidity. Here are some tested creative methods that may help your family make transitions easier. Just the facts, Ma’am. For those of you not over 50, know that’s a quote from […]
Syrian Refugee Children Take Advantage of Art Therapy
From MyModernMet: Out of the 4 million Syrian refugees who are living in the world today, about half of them are children. Many of these young people are homeless, living in refugee camps, and have had to endure unimaginable trauma. Not only is adapting to a new environment stressful enough, but they’ve also had to […]
ITA Presents Dance Therapy at the Joffrey!
ITA Presents Dance Therapy Tenets to Joffrey Dance Artists On June 22nd, ITA Dance/Movement Therapist Jessica Sittig had the opportunity to speak at The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. The Joffrey acts as one of America’s premier dance companies and has since its founding in 1956. The Joffrey’s performances range from classical ballet such as The Nutcracker to […]
Summer Camps 2016
Looking for a summer camp for your child(ren) to attend? After many inquiries from parents, we have compiled a list of programs in the surrounding area and provided a link to their websites where you can learn more information and register. Beside each program name you will find a short description of the type of […]
WonderWhy with Emma Mac: Music Therapy
In a three part series on the WonderWhy podcast called “How Music Can Heal Us,”Emma Mac from radio station 93XRT interviews two music therapists who work with children, Elizabeth Klinger of Anne and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital, and Rebecca West, ITA’s School Programs Manager and Music Therapy Internship Director, about how music therapy can be […]
ITA Celebrates the Publication of the Music Therapy Social Skills Assessment Manual
Written by MTSSA author, Jeffrey Wolfe, MT-BC ITA is extremely thrilled to announce the publication of the Music Therapy Social Skills Assessment Manual (MTSSA), a comprehensive handbook for assessing and documenting social skill development in group music therapy for school-aged children with neurodevelopmental disorders. This publication is available for print through Jessica Kingsley Publishers®, […]
Powerful Play: A Parent’s Perspective on the Natural Language of Children
By Amber Bond This month Americans celebrated Mothers and motherhood, so for the newsletter feature, our team asked me to write a story from the perspective of a parent. This piece will differ from the others you’ve read, chiefly because, unlike my colleagues, I am not a trained or credentialed creative arts therapist. I […]