Artvango Therapeutic Services

Artvango Therapeutic Services

Yadi Puente is the CEO of Artvango and had 2 biological children when her husband and her decided to foster a child who happened to have health issues. After visiting doctors for help with no success, she realized the foster care community is underserved. As a board certified Art Therapist, she sought how to improve mental health access to foster children. She approached several non-profits and could not find help and in 2017, created a non-profit called Artvango Therapeutic Services. She contacted several CPS caseworkers and from day one, Artvango was at capacity. Ever since we started and up to today, there is an overwhelming need for mental health care.

She stated, there is a lack of psych-education on trauma-informed care and how trauma affects the brain. There is a great need to educate all professions who deal with children who have experienced trauma in order to understand how trauma shows up as unwanted behaviors. Many foster and adoptive parents realize they are not well equipped to handle certain behaviors and it’s not their fault. She too felt she wasn’t fully equipped, and has made it a point to learn as much as possible on how trauma affects the brain and nervous system and pass that knowledge to help families to succeed.

We use art, play, music, body movement therapies and our therapy dog, Bailey to help a child’s nervous system regulate and express what they are feeling. Kids normally do not have the language skills to communicate what they are going through. We help parents understand a child’s expressive language and also actively participate in the child's treatment goals to bring about positive change. When the parents understand these techniques and practices them at home, the child begins to flourish. 

It can take months or years to help a child process through their trauma. Working with the brain takes time as children have layers of trauma and we assist them by providing a safe and nurturing space for them to heal. We serve children 2-20 years of age and work with the entire family system, to include: CPS, CASA case workers, schools and daycares to provide wrap around services. To learn more or donate please visit www.artvango.org.