How Art and Play Are Helping Whatcom County Children Heal
Paints, markers, clay, pastels, coloring books – are just a few of the tools that children will have access to in order to share their thoughts and feelings.
Every child deserves the opportunity to feel safe, understood, and hopeful. For many young children navigating big emotions like worry, fear, or the weight of difficult experiences, finding the words to express these feelings can feel impossible. That’s why our new Children’s Play and Art Therapy program is bringing a gentle, proven approach to healing to our youngest patients. Thanks to local supporters at Women Sharing Hope, the program recently launched right here in Whatcom County.
When a child picks up a crayon or loses themselves in imaginative play, something remarkable can happen. Art and play give children a natural, developmentally appropriate way to express what they can’t yet say out loud. This innovative effort engages young patients and their parents by using creativity to explore emotions, improve self-esteem, and develop coping skills. When verbalizing feelings is challenging, art, play, and visual expression help to bridge this gap to move towards healing.
As the American Counseling Association explains, play therapy is far more than “just” playing — it’s a structured, theoretically grounded practice that helps children express their feelings, assume responsibility for their behaviors and develop problem-solving skills. Our Child & Family Counselors are thrilled to bring this program to Whatcom County families.
“Children often lack the words to express their feelings, so they use drawing and play to communicate and connect,” says Ashley Carter, LMHC, Unity Care NW Child and Family Counselor Lead.
Ashley Carter, LMHC, Child and Family Counselor Lead, and Tessa Fulfer, LMHCA, Child & Family Counselor, demonstrate how sand tray therapy can be used to allow patients to show their feelings rather than articulate them.
Our program is offered through our health centers in Bellingham and Ferndale as well as at selected local schools. This year, the program is expected to reach 50-70 children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Children are selected by our Child & Family Counselors based on who would most benefit from this approach to therapy. More than 95% of participating children receive care through Medicaid.
None of this could have happened without the generosity of Women Sharing Hope, an all-volunteer local non-profit organization, dedicated to supporting women and children in Whatcom County. “I am so grateful to Women Sharing Hope for making this program possible and for helping us bring healing through art and play to our community,” says Tessa Fulfer, LMHCA, Unity Care NW Child and Family Counselor. Through the partnership, they funded a full year’s worth of supplies and resources for the program.
Tessa demonstrates the different emotions and feelings that can be displayed using this expressive toy.
“When WSH was contacted about supporting this new program, we recognized how it could assist children in their early development. Art and play therapy can improve communication, provide practice for cooperation and peer interaction skills plus foster self-awareness. Such therapy activities at an early age do contribute to future success. In sharing our community funding, we look for very specific needs with measurable outcomes.
This program inspired us with its organization, staff availability and goals. The new space is so appealing. UCNW accomplished a lot with a small budget. We are thrilled that such a large number of children will be benefitting immediately and with such tender care.”
– Linda Bergsma, charity research committee chair for Women Sharing Hope
When people come together around the needs of children, real change happens. To support programs like this one or learn more about our work with children and families across Whatcom County contact us at development@uncw.org.
One of Unity Care NW’s Behavioral Health rooms has been transformed into an immersive art and play therapy space thanks to Women Sharing Hope.