What is Art Therapy?
Art therapy is an established mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight.
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Who is Art Therapy for?
•Clinical Supervision
•Women's Issues
•Death, Grief & Loss
•Behavior Problems
•Anxiety & Panic Attacks
•Anger Management
•Depression
•Death, Grief & Loss
•Behavior Problems
•Anxiety & Panic Attacks
•Anger Management
•Depression
•Self Esteem
•Health Concerns
•Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
•PostTraumatic Stress Disorder
•Stress Management
•Sexual/Physical Abuse
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Why Should We Use Art Therapy?
Positive Behavior Support (PBS):
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The goal of PBS is to meet all students' needs by providing progressively more intensive levels of support to ensure that all students know and are recognized for meeting the given expectations (Lewis & Sugai, 1999).
Positive Behavioral Support is a method that is crucial to the art therapy approach especially when dealing with EBD students. Emotional and Behavioral students need all of the positive reinforcement they can get. Providing an EBD student with a higher level of support outside of the classroom setting is usually the most common and best option. Art therapy however can be a great outlet for emotional and behavioral problems that natural fosters PBS within each session.
Adolescents and Group Therapy:
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Teenagers are used to being in groups. In school they learn in groups, most sports are played in groups, and they hang out with groups of friends. Therefore, group therapy is an ideal choice of therapy because it is a setting that is safe and familiar. Bandura (1989) believes that social interaction is key to the developmental process. Adolescents learn by watching each other interact and seeing the results of these interactions (Bandura, 1989) . Most teens are referred to therapy because they are having trouble with interpersonal relationships (e.g. parents, peers, teachers, authority figures) (Leader, 1991) . The group setting provides a safe space where the adolescent can learn and practice social/interpersonal skills, such as cooperation, turn taking, and anger management.
Selecting Group Members
When creating adolescent groups, the therapist should consider the needs, abilities, and diagnosis of the potential members. Kymissis (1996) notes in his book Group Therapy for Children and Adolescents that groups that are matched according to issues and development bond faster than groups that are simply created on the basis of age.
Art Therapy with Teens
Teens, unlike adults, often need more innovative ways to express themselves than through “talk therapy”. Expressive art therapy groups are a perfect way to allow teens to communicate difficult thoughts and feelings through various artistic mediums. Art therapy assists teens in solving problems, increasing self-esteem, building social skills, and behavior management. The process of art therapy helps adolescents chart their therapeutic journey from start to finish, helping them see where they have been and how far they have come. Many counselors have to work with open groups, groups where new members are continually accepted and there is no set starting point or completion point. Art therapy is excellent for these types of groups because it allows members to participate at their own level, rather than forcing them to “catch up” with other group members.
When creating art therapy groups, the counselor should try to limit the group to six to twelve members. Groups of this size allow members to gain a sense of kinship and togetherness. In smaller groups each member is guaranteed time to share their thoughts, feelings, and artwork. Members can maintain visual contact with other members at all times, thus creating a safe space for therapeutic work. For teenagers, structured art therapy groups are best (Liebmann, 1986) . Structured groups have planned activities for each session that revolves around a theme, such as “painting your depression” or “creating a personal portrait with string”. Unstructured groups, which allow members to create random art, are not suitable for teens. Teens, although they are almost young adults, still need limits and thrive in supported environments (Riley, 1997) .
Planning for Art Groups
Art therapy groups require much more preparation than talk therapy groups. The group leader is responsible for planning the session topic, obtaining the necessary materials, and structuring the session so that members can complete their artwork with time for discussion. Expressive art therapy groups run from 1 1/2 to 2 hours. A typical session usually begins with 15-30 minutes of “warm-up” time. During warm-up members meet and greet each other and briefly check in with their current feelings and problems. The next 20-45 minutes are devoted to the art activity. The group ends with the follow-up and discussion, where members can share their creations, discuss feelings about the activity, and recenter before they go back into the real world.
When selecting art activities the therapist should consider not only the logistics of the room, but also the level of mess they can handle. For example, paint and paper mache are both very messy media. A roomful of teens armed with wet glue and paint might end up worrying the counselor so much that she is unable to be fully present in a therapeutic sense (because she is concerned about paint on the lovely white carpet!). Of course, the more open the therapist can be to messy media allows teens to have a much broader experience with art materials. Therapists may have to come up with novel solutions to deal with group room situations. Group rooms with carpet can be covered with tarps purchased at the local hardware store. If there is not a sink in the room, buckets of water can be brought in to wash brushes, activate watercolor paints, and to clean sticky hands. Another dilemma is if the room must be immediately cleaned up for the next group where will group members place their wet artworks to dry? When planning activities, the therapist should be sure that all members have enough personal space in which to work. Teens with anger management and boundary issues sometimes become upset if another member is “intruding” in their work space (even if it is accidental).
Most teens will want to have a snack or at least a soda during group. Is the room suitable for food or can you set up a space where snacks and open drinks can be kept? Since you are dealing with teens, the issue of music will come up. Teens enjoy listening to music while they are creating. If you can stand it, let them listen to their favorite music – this will automatically give you instant “cool points” with the kids. One counselor who does art therapy dislikes most rap and heavy metal music because of their explicit lyrics and derogatory remarks towards women. She tells her clients that art and jazz are a classic combination. Not only do the kids love the music, they are probably the only teens on the planet who know the music and identities of Charlie Parker, Etta James, Billie Holiday and Miles Davis. In fact, they ask for Miles Davis when they are working on art relating to depression and request Ella Fitzgerald for more upbeat sessions!
When setting up your initial space you will most likely want to have the following materials on hand at all times:
· Paint: acrylic paint is cheap and does not need to be mixed, cups for paint, brushes, brush cleaner, plates for mixing colors, spoons to stir paint, plastic garbage bags for kids to wear over their clothes· Dry media: wax crayons, felt tip pens, oil pastels, charcoal, colored pencils, markers· Paper: construction paper, white paper, tracing paper, brightly colored paper, cardstock – white and colored, scraps of unusual paper (found at craft stores), rolls of newsprint (ask the local paper to save you the ends of the rolls), and art paper of various sizes (watercolor paper, Biggie Scribble paper, etc.)· Cutting materials: scissors, x-acto knives, circle cutters, hole punches (with different punch designs – stars, hearts, etc.), edge punches· Collage materials: old magazines, fabrics, textured materials· Miscellaneous: bits of thread, embroidery floss, beads, hemp rope, stickers, ribbon, old and unusual buttons· Adhesives: collage glue, craft glue, fabric glue, rubber cement, glue sticks, spray adhesive, tape· Clean up supplies: rags, paper towels, newspaper to cover the art surfaces, plastic bags, tarps, dropcloths, windex
Art Therapy Code of Ethics:
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