restART studio

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restART studio

restART studio is a nonprofit that is transforming the lives of underserved youth through the power of art therapy.

04/07/2026

April is Second Chances Month 💛

At restART studio, we see every day what a second chance can make possible.

Many of the youth we work with have been misunderstood, pushed out of classrooms, or pulled into systems that focus on punishment over healing. Through our partnership with programs like Longmont’s REWiND, we offer something different — a space to pause, reflect, and rebuild.

Art therapy gives young people a way to express what’s hard to say out loud, process what they’ve been through, and begin to see themselves differently. Not as their worst moment. Not as a label. But as someone with potential, creativity, and a future still unfolding.

Second chances aren’t just about starting over.
They’re about being seen, supported, and given the opportunity to move forward.

We’re honored to be part of that process. 🎨

03/25/2026

Scenes from our March Art Therapist Team Meeting 🎨

Art materials out, ideas flowing, and space held for creativity, reflection, and connection. Grateful for this team and the meaningful work we get to do together 💛

03/18/2026

🎨 Painting Your Inner Landscape

Sometimes what we’re feeling inside doesn’t have words. Through color, texture, and movement, art can help us explore our inner landscape — the emotions, memories, and thoughts that live beneath the surface.

In this creative practice, there’s no right or wrong way to paint. Just follow the colors, shapes, and marks that feel true to your experience in the moment.

What might your inner landscape look like today? 🌿✨

03/15/2026

🎨 Youth Voices on Art Therapy

We've asked all youth who participated in our art therapy program about their experience, and the results were powerful:

100% of youth said art therapy helped them express their thoughts and feelings.

For many young people, emotions are complex and hard to put into words. Art therapy offers another pathway by using color, symbols, images, and materials to explore what’s happening inside. Several youth shared that art helped them express things they couldn’t easily say out loud, and in some cases felt easier or more natural than traditional talk therapy.

When young people have multiple ways to communicate, process, and be understood, healing becomes more accessible. 🎨💛

At restART studio, we believe creativity can open doors that words alone sometimes cannot.

03/11/2026

Sometimes words aren’t enough. 🎨

Art therapy gives young people another way to be heard through color, texture, and creative expression. When feelings are too big or complicated for words, the art can hold them.

Moments like this remind us why this work matters. 💛

03/08/2026

Punishment doesn’t heal trauma. Treatment does.

Nearly 70% of youth in the criminal justice system have a diagnosable mental health condition.

Yet many are met with punishment instead of care.
Most never receive evidence-based mental health treatment.

At restART Studio, we’re working to change that.

Our team of licensed art therapists works with justice-involved and at-risk youth every week, including through a city-led youth redirection program that offers art therapy as a restorative alternative to court involvement.

Through clinical art therapy, youth can process trauma and express emotions in ways words alone often can’t.

And because access to care matters, we accept Colorado Medicaid and insurance — because healing shouldn’t depend on a family’s ability to pay.

Follow along to learn more about how art therapy can support youth mental health and restorative justice. 🎨

02/26/2026

What art therapy team meetings look like 🎨

Markers uncapped. Paint water slightly murky. Paper scraps everywhere.
Big feelings. Clinical insight. Laughter in between.

Creating while we consult. Processing while we plan.
Holding space for our clients by first grounding ourselves in creativity.

This is how we stay inspired. This is how we stay connected.
This is restART; this is art therapy💛

02/18/2026

✋ Left-Hand Letting Go: An At-Home Art Therapy Prompt

Softening control. Releasing rigidity. Making space for what is.

Drawing with your non-dominant hand:
Interrupts perfectionism and overcontrol,
Engages different neural pathways,
Increases present-moment awareness,
Activates play and vulnerability,
Gently quiets the inner critic

Because the non-dominant hand doesn’t “perform” the way your dominant hand does, it naturally lowers expectations. The result is often more authentic, raw, and emotionally honest.

This can be especially supportive when the world feels heavy, uncertain, or overwhelming... it gives your nervous system permission to loosen its grip.

If your mind starts judging, gently say:
“This is practice in letting go.”

The shakiness is part of the medicine.

Notice if there is even 5% more spaciousness in your body after doing this.

🌊 If You Want to Go Deeper:
After you finish, place your dominant hand gently over the drawing and say:
“I trust myself to move through this.”
Then fold the paper and keep it somewhere private, or tear it up as a ritual of release.

02/13/2026

💌 This Valentine’s week, our incredible community partner BRITE Collaborative is turning handwritten love letters into a powerful lesson in connection, accountability, and community healing — and YOU are invited! 💖

BRITE is hosting “Community Love Letters,” a free, five-day Valentine-making open house right on Main Street in Longmont. It’s an invitation to slow down, step away from screens, and reconnect with loved ones and the wider community through something simple and meaningful: a handwritten valentine. 📝

🗓 When: Tuesday, February 10 – Saturday, February 14
⏰ Time: 2:00–7:00 p.m. daily
📍 Where: BRITE Collaborative, 528 Main Street, Longmont
💛 Cost: Free + open to the public (drop-in, no registration needed!)

Participants are invited to make a valentine for someone they know, for someone they don’t know, and create a message of love for the community as a whole.

Our art therapy interns will be there to support the creative process and connection — and look at them sprucing up the windows to make the space feel extra welcoming and full of love! 💕🎨

This event beautifully introduces restorative justice in an accessible, visual, and human way — reminding us that small acts of care can ripple outward in powerful ways. ✨

We love partnering with organizations that center belonging, accountability, and healing in our community. Stop by, bring a friend, and spread some love! 💕

02/07/2026

🎨 Art therapy creates a safe, non-judgmental space for youth to process emotions, share their stories, and build healthier ways of coping.
✨ Through creative expression, young people can explore accountability, resilience, and self-worth, even when the right words are hard to find.
💛 When youth feel truly seen and supported, real change becomes possible.

👀 Interested in art therapy for a teen in your life?
📞 Call or text: 720-580-2283 ✉️ amanda@restartstudio.org
www.restartstudio.org

02/05/2026

✨ Please join us in welcoming Lydia to the restART studio art therapy team! ✨

Lydia is a Master's Art Therapy and Clinical Mental Health Counseling student at Naropa University, with a strong foundation in mindfulness-based practice, community arts, and justice-informed healing. Lydia brings experience working with youth as an art educator and teen mentor, with a passion for supporting youth with emotional or behavioral challenges. Their therapeutic approach is curious, open-minded, and collaborative, foregrounding the innate capacity of all humans to grow and heal.

Lydia feels privileged to build a unique relationship with each client, making their individual strengths, goals, and cultural contexts the foundation of our therapeutic work. They believe in listening to the body, the heart, the intuition, and relationships as sources of wisdom. They welcome the client’s whole self in the therapeutic space, working with teens as they navigate transitions, express difficult emotions, explore their values, and show up authentically. It is brave to show up for therapy, and Lydia meets each client with warmth, humor, and a deep belief in their resilience.

Lydia believes that art can hold anything and everything, and is passionate about supporting clients in finding the expressive tools that feel right for them. At its core, art therapy is a process of becoming more of what we already are, and Lydia is honored to be a witness and supporter in that beautiful work.

🎨 Lydia is currently offering an Art as Therapy group at the Longmont Youth Center on Mondays. All middle and high school-aged youth welcome!

01/30/2026

❄Art Therapy Prompt: The Snow Globe

Imagine your emotions like a snow globe... sometimes calm and still, other times shaken up and swirling.

Reflective Art Prompt:
What does your inner snow globe look like right now?
What shakes it up, and what helps it settle?
What would you put inside your snow globe to feel safe and at peace?

Use drawing or painting to create your snowglobe scene. Reflect on the emotions, symbols, sensations, and safe places you discover.

A simple, creative way to explore feelings and find calm amidst any chaos.

Address

229 Terry Street
Longmont, CO
80501

Telephone

+17205802283

Website

http://www.restartstudio.org/

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