Why the Open Studio Process is so effective with at-risk youth
The method employed by OSP offers more than just the opportunity to work with various art media. The OSP process is particularly well-suited to at-risk youth who come from chaotic or violent environments, youth who can have trouble connecting to and expressing their more difficult emotions in a useful way. Four elements of our programming are particulary helpful in this respect:

1. Adults work along side teens
The instructors, creating along side the youths, model how they themselves use art and writing to deal with their own strong emotions and difficult decision making. Seeing instructors take creative risks often inspires the participants to do the same.

2. No forced participation = freedom and responsibility
Though kids are encouraged to share what they write, they are not forced to do so, create safely by permitting them to decide how much they reveal. Freedom of choice also fosters self-confidence and an increased sense of personal responsibility.

3. No comment or criticism = learning to listen to self, as well as to others
Crucial to our sessions is the rule that no one is allowed to comment in any way on the art or writing shared in the group. Each participant is safe to explore and reveal truths in his/her own time and in his/her unique way. In this safe atmosphere, with no expressions of judgment and no externally imposed images to live up to, kids often move very deeply into emotional territories where they might not otherwise be able to go. They explore these territories with a creative energy that far outstrips their verbal abilities. They almost always surprise themselves. And, freed from making comments, they are frequently surprised at what they learn to hear.

4. It feels great to make art
OSP's experience with at-risk youth has shown that adolescents take enthusiastically to working with their issues through art and through creative, often metaphorical, stories. We are continually impressed with the concentration and emotional depth revealed by what these youths choose to share in this safe atmosphere.

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