Congratulations to MPS Art Therapy alum, Jason Montalvo, for being recognized by the NYS Coalition of Behavioral Health Services as Employee of the Year for his work as an Art Therapist at MercyFirst!

"When Jason Montalvo joined MercyFirst in 2020, the intention was for providing in-person art therapy services for children in care. The onset of COVID 19 and all the changes that the pandemic brought quickly shifted the approach of sessions, from in-person to telehealth - a challenge for any therapist to adapt to new ways of connecting and building relationships that help support healing, and more challenging with the sensory focused at times, non-verbal modality of art therapy. Jason quickly adapted his approach to the needs of the children and families, providing support in ways that they could accept. Jason has consistently demonstrated flexible, adaptive, and creative ways of engaging youth and families. This requires ongoing evaluation of family dynamics, children’s ability to stay on task on screen, and work with an ever-changing schedule to accommodate the needs and demands that parents were facing with work and home-schooling. Because he has consistently prioritized the needs of the family the impact of his engagement is evident in all the work he is doing.

Resuming sessions in person as soon as it was safe to do so, Jason continues to always approach the sessions with respect and understanding of diversity and honesty. He is an advocate and support to children and their families helping them to learn ways of supporting children in crisis. Several of the parents have come to rely on his support each week and will reach out when concerns arise. In each circumstance, he is honest, direct, and responsive. He has become a trusted person in the lives of many children, who then have felt safe enough to share traumatic experiences, which are then followed up by this staff person to ensure the safety of the children and continue to provide counsel to the families. He is a true team player- always willing to go the extra mile to help in times of crisis and in program planning. He is a highly valued member of the art therapy department, always willing to offer ideas, support, and commitment to the work at MercyFirst. We are fortunate to have him on our team and in the agency." - MercyFirst NY

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