Virtual Arts and Movement Therapies for Youth in the Era of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on youth, including through increased isolation, the transition to online schooling, decreased access to arts and sports programming, exposure to illness, and anxiety. The pandemic has also affected the delivery of therapeutic services at a time when youth have needed more help building coping skills and reducing stress. Creative arts and movement therapies promote creativity and adaptability to better develop cognitive flexibility(1) while enhancing self-regulation and self-direction, adaptive skills that are protective in the face of stress.(2) Creative arts and movement-based group therapies delivered through community settings—such as resettlement agencies, schools, and community recreation centers—are feasible, cost-effective, and increase accessibility, especially for populations often underrepresented in the therapeutic space.(3) Offering such interventions at the group level benefits both those who are experiencing significant stress and anxiety(4,5) and those who are not experiencing such symptoms, as they still reap the long-term benefits of building stress-relaxation and emotion regulation skills. Having previously demonstrated the efficacy of art therapy (AT) and dance/movement therapy (DMT) in improving posttraumatic stress and anxiety symptoms for youth,(4,5) our laboratory—the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic—shifted programming to virtual formats, in partnerships with local resettlement agencies and schools.