“This taps into the unconscious. We are very verbal, but you’re full of emotions you may not want to talk about,” Santel said.

She said there are certain consistent symbols in artwork that tell therapists a lot about their patients. Lightning is a theme with people who have abused drugs and alcohol, and rainbows are often a symbol of sexual abuse.

August says there are few art therapists in Delaware, although they are common in other parts of the country, often employed in hospitals, schools and prisons. She said she and Santel are making an effort to get out into the community, not only to help abuse victims, but to support community wellness in large group sessions.

August is also planning a strong-girls workshop, to help preteens increase confidence and self-esteem and teach them how to say no.

August said in graduate school, she learned to diagnose patients’ mental disorders and levels of function, then build a plan for treatment, based on artwork. Art therapists are also versed in verbal counseling, she said.

Santel and August work with children and adults.

Creativity and visual expression help people – from children who have been abused to adult drug addicts and the mentally disabled – explain, and eventually come to terms with, traumas and problems in their lives, says Santel, who has been an art therapist for more than 30 years.

Santel said art therapy is not threatening to children, who use clay, drawing and painting to deal with painful issues, such as divorce. She said parents often call her after their children’s sessions and say how much more relaxed the children are.

Community “reeling” from case

“The community’s been duped,” said Santel of the allegations against Dr. Earl Bradley, the Lewes pediatrician accused of abusing what prosecutors say could be as many as 100 patients.

Sexual abuse is always kept a secret, she said, and while the community’s attention is on its children, their parents need help, too.

August said it’s likely that many area parents were also victims of abuse, and the reports of Bradley’s alleged crimes brings their past abuse back to the forefront. “They vowed it would never happen to their kids,” she said.

Young children may or may not remember abuse, August said. However, girls who were abused as children often develop problems when they become sexually active and may have problems with intimacy later in life, she said.

Santel said, “I have found if children who have been victimized do not get treatment early on, the emotions become buried deeper and are harder to come out – that’s why we have a lot of adult patients.”

“This community needs help. There are a lot of victims, and the parents are victims, too,” Santel said.

August said the magnitude of Bradley’s alleged crimes is staggering; this case could be the worst of its kind in the nation. “Right now, people are reeling; the community is in crisis. People are just shattered,” she said.

August said this case offers a chance for people to take charge of their community once again and to move back to the best parenting and best protection they can offer their children. “If there is a movie made about this, hopefully it will be about how this community took its kids back,” she said.

Children are struggling to understand how someone who seemed so nice could be so evil, she said.

August said if parents suspect their children were victimized, they should go straight to the police and not question the children themselves in part because a child’s testimony can be affected by the parents, August explained.

Santel said that parents must make sure they maintain an atmosphere of safety, because children will struggle more if their parents act frightened or unsure.

“This all causes stress on children, but I can guarantee that when a child walks out of a session here, they are more relaxed. The creative process is so calming,” she said.

Children who go into treatment early on generally do well, she said. Santel founded a group in New Jersey to help a community deal with a young girl’s murder. She’s checked in with former patients there and found they are well years later.