Journeys
For children and adolescents, the journey through loss and grief can be especially difficult and painful.
Valley Hospice's pediatric art therapy program, Journeys, is a bereavement program that specifically works with children and adolescents ages 3 to 17 who are affected by the serious illness or death of a loved one. It gives children a safe place to express their grief, anger and fear, while developing important coping skills.
Counseling is provided by board-certified art therapists, who use art and other creative means to help children express their feelings. Patients are seen at the Dorothy B. Kraft Center in Paramus.
As part of Journeys' commitment to the community, a number of special services are available to schools, developmental centers, teachers' groups and community centers. These services range from consultation to educational programs.
A nominal fee is required for pediatric art therapy services, but no one is ever turned away because of an inability to pay.
Our Art Therapist
Gabriella Silverstein, MA, ATR-BC
Gabriella is a board-certified Art Therapist with a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from New York University. She has completed internships in children’s grief counseling, public school art therapy programs, and inpatient psychiatric facilities, and worked as a nursing home activity specialist during the pandemic.
Gabriella is experienced in leading individual and group art therapy sessions for people of all ages and physical abilities and implements a primarily person-centered and Jungian theoretical approach. Gabriella is passionate about combining art, play, and relationship as a way to empower her clients to freely express themselves and foster self-awareness, as well as develop healthy coping skills and an internally-focused sensitivity for what life may throw their way.