La Europa Academy is a residential treatment center that helps young women ages 14 – 17 find themselves through creative expression. They help young women unlock their potential and develop the skills they need to overcome challenges. La Europa combines a nurturing, home-like environment, a sophisticated clinical approach tailored to her specific needs and a challenging academic curriculum to develop her coping skills and identity.
The expressive arts program helps young women express emotional pain in ways that allow her to heal, identify her internal assets and remind her of the talent she possesses. For the La Europa girl, the arts are a language that speaks to her inner emotions and desires. Through participation in the arts, she will rediscover herself. Art therapy and expressive therapies help the student access information in the brain that is non-verbal or pre-verbal and bring this information into awareness so that it can be identified and integrated. Art therapy and expressive therapies have been found effective in reducing post-traumatic stress symptoms, anxiety and depression as well as helping individuals form a cohesive identity.