"Project Hands-On" is an expressive arts therapy program for children and adolescent victims of violent crime and trauma (ages 2 - 18) and their families. Therapy techniques include art therapy, play therapy and sandtray therapy.

Child Trauma affects entire families. There is a need for family therapy and parenting classes to provide support and guidance for caretakers of these troubled children.

We provide family therapy and parenting classes as tools for discipline and anger management to curtail and/or prevent abuse or neglect.

Children and adolescent victims are often the most quiet and the most ignored. Their post-trauma behaviors are difficult for loved ones to understand and seldom tolerated by family, friends and educators. Young victims have difficulty articulating their feelings with words. They need an opportunity to act out and demonstrate these emotions following a traumatic experience.

Without the opportunity to act out the normal emotions of aggression, destruction and defiance, these emotions remain unresolved.

Violence, substance abuse and suicide are results of trauma never unleashed as a child. These young victims need a safe place to express their feelings. Expressive Arts Therapy is a unique method of counseling utilized by VIVA's Project Hands On staff to enable children to express their deepest feelings. If a child's post-trauma behavior is misunderstood and treated with punishment, the cycle of violence continues.