Art therapy for children and youth with ADHD
By: Yasmine el-hamamsy, RP (Qualifying), DTATI Candidate, MEd.
What is art therapy?
Art therapy uses art-making to support the therapeutic process – as communication, expression, and connection with self and others.
What is ADHD & how does ADHD impact behaviour and self-knowledge?
In ways, having Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) isn’t really about being “attention-deficit.” For many people, ADHD can be better understood as:
Their brain paying a lot of attention, to a lot of stimuli (sights, sounds, feelings, sensations, thoughts, smells)
Sometimes struggling to stop immediate reactions to stimuli
Sometimes under responding.
This can appear as distraction, quick action (impulsivity), anxiety, and exhaustion (brain fog).
Like all disabilities, difficulties for people with ADHD come from systems and environments that are inflexible to different needs, or approaches to life and learning. Inaccessibility can get internalized as beliefs of how someone just is.
Young people with ADHD may start believing they are:
• Disruptive;
• Disorganized;
• Unable to do things correctly or understand directions;
• Unfocused;
• Always saying the wrong thing;
• Easily frustrated/frustrating;
• Failing no matter how hard I try;
• Failing, so why try?
These internalized beliefs take a toll on young people’s physical, social, emotional, and psychological well-being through:
• stress (and burnout)
• shame
• perfectionism
• poor self-esteem or motivation
• isolation or difficulty building relationships
When ADHD, and these beliefs, aren’t understood and tended to, ADHD can show up as depression, suicidality, substance use, risk-taking, or forms of addiction. Some of these may be coping mechanisms (for example, self-medicating) for people with ADHD.
How can art therapy support people with ADHD?
• No expectations or requirements
In art therapy, young people are invited to make their own choices, experiment, give up, and try again, without judgment or pressure. There’s no “disruption,” or “perfection,” a sudden idea can be followed freely, and every creative act (or not!) is exactly what it should be.
Giving young people options for creative expression, and autonomy over what and how they create, can support a sense of safety as well as control over their lives.
• Connecting with the body
In art therapy, the body’s needs can take the lead. Art-making can include gentle or energetic movement, or even rest. Through different art materials and activities, we can choose to connect more directly to our body and expressive energy, or get into a meditative flow when we need calm.
• Different forms of communication & processing
Art therapy can be a more accessible form of therapy because art-making gives us diverse (including non-verbal) ways to process and express our feelings, thoughts, and experiences.
When therapeutic work starts with creative, impulsive intuition through art-making, young people’s creative process and products become information for them to work with.
How can art therapy support self-knowledge & well-being?
Through creative self-expression, art therapy supports emotion- and thought-processing, and builds self-knowledge by helping people with ADHD to:
• Learn about themselves through their creative decisions
• Externalize experiences, thoughts, and feelings – which can feel relieving or offer new perspective
• Storytell – by identifying and understanding experiences, behaviours, challenges, patterns, and growth, storytelling can help turn what feels limiting, into strengths.
Self-knowledge can lead to behavioural shifts as young people develop strategies for navigating the world while having ADHD, improving their social and school lives.
Why choose art therapy in Little Italy, Toronto?
In the supportive and curious environment that art therapy at Mahaya Health offers, children and youth can build their sense of capability (to create, to communicate, to accomplish, etc.), self-knowledge, and self-esteem – and art-making can become a lifelong tool for personal well-being and community-building (stay tuned for the September Art Hive Afternoons in Bickford Park).
If you’d like to chat about whether in-person or virtual art therapy might benefit you or a young person in your life, you can schedule a free consultation with yasmine (RP Qualifying, DTATI Candidate) here.
Learn more about art therapy with yasmine here.
FAQs
Is art therapy covered by insurance in Ontario?
As a qualifying psychotherapist, art therapy with yasmine may be covered by private insurance in Ontario.
How many sessions will I need?
Some people benefit from one or two art therapy sessions. 6-12 sessions can provide the time to specialize the creative and therapeutic work – and allows for ongoing art creations.
Children and youth with ADHD often appreciate multiple sessions so they can experiment with different art materials without worrying about limitations like time.
What should I wear or bring?
For in-person sessions, art supplies are provided. Wear comfy clothes that you wouldn’t mind getting paint on – if you choose to paint!
Are you going to “psycho-analyze” my art?
No! I won’t try to analyze or make assumptions about you based on your art. I might ask you questions to learn about what you find in your art and, if it interests you, I can help you build skills to analyze your own art and keep discovering things about yourself outside the art therapy room.
Disclaimer: Art therapy is not for everyone, and is not practiced in the same way by all art therapists.
References
Grønneberg, S. V., Engebretsen, E., & Torp Løkkeberg, S. (2025). Storylines and Positions Theory As a Tool to Identify How Young People Conceptualise Their Positions of Living with ADHD. International Journal of Disability, Development & Education, 72(7), 1406–1422. https://doi.org/10.1080/1034912X.2024.2361272
Lane SJ and Reynolds S (2019) Sensory Over-Responsivity as an Added Dimension in ADHD. Front. Integr. Neurosci. 13:40. doi: 10.3389/fnint.2019.00040
Veale, D., Robins, E., Thomson, A. B., & Gilbert, P. (2022). No safety without emotional safety. The Lancet Psychiatry, 10(1), 65–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(22)00373-x
