Art It Out creates new college support group

Britton Sperry sitting in her office in Marietta, Ga on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023.

COBB– A local counselor is establishing a new college support group initiative at Art It Out, a cognitive behavioral therapy center.

Britton Sperry, 28, is a Licensed Associate Professional Counselor (LAPC) with a focus on adolescents and young adults.

Sperry seeks to aid the younger population during transitional periods– many occurring during college.

“You have the transition from living at home to living on your own, defining yourself and who you are, and then at the end of college it is like ‘ok I’m going into the real world, maybe grad school, what am I supposed to do with my life,'” Sperry said. “There is so much transition during college that having a space to talk and process it can be really helpful.”

Once it gets started, the support group will assist with life transitions, adjustments, relationships, communication, anxiety and building coping skills.

“Sometimes even just being with a group of people that are experiencing what you are experiencing and talking about it helps to normalize it a little bit more,” Sperry said.

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is the idea that the way people think affect how they feel and that affects the way they behave.

“They all sort of work together in a triangle rather than a linear progression of thoughts, feelings and behaviors,” Sperry said.

With a therapeutic orientation on CBT, Sperry uses a blend of talktheraopy practices and expressive arts techniques to address all three and generate change.

Many art interventions involve two approaches: product-oriented and process-oriented. Product-oriented interventions involve people making a tangible coping item to take with them.

“Most of the interventions I like to use are process-oriented… focusing on the process of making the art and maybe what it symbolizes or the metaphor behind– because things in life take time,” Sperry said.

The example Sperry gave for college students is a long-term relationship breakup. It takes time to process that break up, to go through all of those feelings and never is it done in one day.

Sperry acknowledges that sometimes it can be difficult to get in with college counseling centers due to the number of students who sign up.

Sperry added, “Typically college counseling centers are more solution focused, problem solving oriented, they get you in and they want to help you but they need to move on with the waiting list.”

According to Kennesaw State’s Counseling and Psychological Services website page, the center offers “short-term, goal focused counseling to currently enrolled students.”

“Our services are short-term in nature. Many students only need 2-3 sessions to talk about something specific, while others need more. Students are typically seen biweekly or triweekly.”

For students that are looking for consistency or someone they can see throughout the entirety of their undergrad, “that is when a place like Art it Out or a therapist like myself who is outside the college can become beneficial,” Sperry said.

An additional resource is needed for those students close to dropping out, according to the Center for Collegiate Mental Health 2022 report.

“For many students with increased risk, this may involve a holistic approach to care, including targeting specific clinical issues in treatment (i.e., current levels of distress, chronicity of symptoms), while concurrently utilizing adjunctive support services commonly offered at institutions, such as student activities, peer support, multicultural services, disability resources, and academic services.”

Art it out starts groups when at least 2-3 members are signed up and run for 50 minutes. The prices are set as the following: support group ($60 per session) and individual services ($150 per session). Sperry recommends starting on a weekly basis with individual sessions so that people can build rapport as well as connection and trust.

She has a background in clinical mental health and psychology. Her interest in working with kids to young adults changed when she interned for a college counseling center while obtaining her master’s.

For more information contact Britt Sperry at britt@aiotherapy.com.