Clinical art therapist, musician, and president of the New York Art Therapy Association, Nicole Porter, announces the release of For Children of All Ages, a healing arts album for pandemic trauma response by her band You and Us.
Applying art therapy techniques to upbeat rock and pop music for children and families, For Children of All Ages offers a feel-good vibe of caring and belonging for anyone struggling during the pandemic.
The album’s song sequence escorts listeners through various stages of art therapy trauma response for children, as developed by Nicole Porter following the Sandy Hook School tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. Coupled with this, the challenge of parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic and the waves of disruption that have swept through American life inspired her to create everyday tools that could be accessed by anyone.
“For Children of All Ages provides a rare opportunity to enjoy tunes geared toward uplifting children and families who are experiencing difficult times,” says Nicole Porter. “It focuses on fostering wellness and a sense of security, and it introduces therapeutic techniques that can be used in a playful way with all children. It’s also a gentle dip into the vast stream of possibility that art therapy holds for healing humans.”
The songs abound with thoughtfully crafted messages of courage, love, and support, delivered from the heart with artistry, enthusiasm, grace, and more than a few giggles. Rich in its range of vivid sonic color and variety, For Children of All Ages weaves an enchanting adventure just by traveling from one song to the next. For Children of All Ages comes to a sweet conclusion with “You and Us,” a gentle love song of the “three little words” that transcend all time and cultures.
About Nicole Porter:
Specializing in early childhood, acute assessment, trauma treatment, family advocacy, and community education, Nicole Porter works as a clinical director, art therapist, and artist. Porter directed child therapy in the days following the Sandy Hook School tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012. The processes and tools developed with the Newtown families inspired her to establish a mental health organization and art therapy trauma response team, the Emerald Sketch, which mobilizes clinicians to set up sustainable creative arts therapy services following disasters or traumatic events throughout the United States and globally. Porter has led trauma response projects at sites ranging from the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina to the March for Our Lives in DC and beyond.
Her creative projects include An American Nightmare, a 2019 solo performance at Hudson Guild Theater, NYC, and The JillRabbits, a Philadelphia-based electro-pop band, of which she was a member from 2005 to 2014. The band You and Us is Nicole Porter’s first foray into recording and producing family rock and pop music.
For Children of All Ages is available at major digital retailers.
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