FALL RIVER, MA – Saint Vincent’s Services (SVS), a leading behavioral outpatient health and congregate care placement provider for youth and families in Southeastern Massachusetts, is expanding services within its Behavioral Health Clinic. Beginning in Spring 2026, Saint Vincent’s Services will offer individual and group Art Therapy sessions through its outpatient clinic for youth ages 4 to 21. This is the first youth serving year-round office-based treatment of its kind within the City of Greater Fall River.
“We are excited to introduce Art Therapy as part of our comprehensive clinical services,” said Kristen L. Dutra, CEO of Saint Vincent’s Services. “This program reflects our dedication to meeting the diverse needs of the community and supporting youth and families in finding healthy ways to express and process their experiences. As a once-practicing Art Therapist, I know first-hand the powerful outcomes Art Therapy can have. We are proud to offer this modality of treatment to the community.”
Art Therapy blends creative expression with clinical practice, giving youth who may not benefit from traditional talk-therapy new pathways for healing, communication, and emotional growth – vastly different than creative arts programs offered in the City of Fall River. Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy led by a licensed mental health professional who incorporates art-making into treatment with diagnosed mental health challenges. The modality of treatment is used to help clients explore emotions, increase self-awareness, cope with stress, work through trauma, and enhance cognitive abilities. Art Therapy focuses on the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist to address specific mental health needs and goals. Art Therapy is effective for addressing anxiety and mood disorders, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, PTSD, and difficulties with emotion identification and verbalization.
Fundraising for the capital project began in Winter 2024. With support from the Anthony Cordeiro Foundation for materials and provisional goods, Saint Vincent’s Services Annual Appeal donors, and a major $25,000 gift from the Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED Charitable Foundation, construction of a dedicated Art Therapy Room has commenced this month in September.
“We are proud to support the visionary Art Therapy space at Saint Vincent’s,” said Dr. Paul Raymond, President of The Robert F. Stoico/FIRSTFED Charitable Foundation. “It’s a creative and effective way to address mental health challenges in the children they serve.”
More information regarding the Art Therapy space will be released in the coming months. For details regarding current Behavioral Health Clinic, contact Sunny Cross Biello, MA, CAGS, LMHC, Intake Coordinator at intake@stvservices.org or call 508-679-8511.
