Teen Art Therapy Awards Ceremony and Artwork Celebration An exhibition of recently created art works by Westfield teens was on display at the Westfield Athenaeum. An opening reception was held on Tuesday, April 14th . The artists created the work as part of a 10-week art therapy group sponsored and facilitated by the Carson Center for Human Services. The 10-session teen art therapy group was facilitated by Sarah Mohajery, MS and co-facilitated by Jennifer Lawrence, MSW intern. The group was comprised of teens between the ages of 13-18. Most of the teens were from the Westfield School District. Ms. Sherry Elander, a teacher at the Westfield High School, helped to identify group members. Dan Paquette and the Westfield Athenaeum donated the space for the sessions. People with developmental disabilities often are encouraged to create art in a very structured way or their creation is considered wrong . The focus of this group was to foster fellowship and creativity in a supportive space. The finished product was not as important as the process, which cultivated a great deal of conversation and peer interaction. Creating art and fellowship needs to be encouraged and using art therapy is a wonderful way to make this happen said facilitator Sarah Mohajery. During the 10 sessions, many of the art projects focused on encouraging the creative process, fostering discussion among group members and supporting peer relationships. One project included creating a community where each member painted his/her own house. Participants worked together to create the roads, community stores, bodies of water, and decided in which neighborhood they wanted to place their house. Another art therapy project encouraged the teens to take photographs using a disposable camera. Once developed, the pictures produced a great deal of lively discussion among members of the group. Each group member chose two images that he/she would like to showcase at the art therapy awards ceremony/celebration. A couple of the group members discussed their experiences with the teen art therapy group. Sara stated, I enjoyed all of it. I liked being with all of my friends. I got to know people. Kyle reflected, I m going to miss art group. I met a lot of new people. It felt nice to be involved. My favorite activity was taking pictures and sharing it with the group.