Art therapy, what is it?

 The recommendation for expression and creativity therapy for children has in recent years become increasingly prevalent in dealing with emotional difficulty or behavioral problems. Along with a strong desire to help their children, when most parents come to me at the clinic they are equipped with two important questions: One, "So what exactly is art therapy?" And the second, “Do the treated children have to love and know how to draw? Because ours - not really. "

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To answer the two questions that must bother many of you readers, I will first explain that art therapy is one of the areas of expression and creation. It is a mental and emotional therapy that combines methods from the world of psychotherapy and discourse together with the tool available to the therapist in the arts - art. This area also includes movement therapy, psychodrama, music therapy, and bibliotherapy. Through the work, the child expresses his emotional world and art serves as a projective tool that turns his unconscious words and contents into contents that are brought to therapy. That is, art is only a tool in our hands, there is no need for previous experience, talent, or even an excessive fondness for a creative hobby.

 

Art therapy can touch and treat a wide range of emotional issues such as strengthening self-image and developing self-awareness, anxiety, insecurity, low self-esteem, outbursts of anger, impaired social skills, behavioral problems, difficulties in emotional and motor regulation while maintaining clear boundaries. As well as dealing with complex situations that befall the child and his family. The treatment is intended for children from an early age as well as adults. Arts therapists are integrated within the framework of mental health institutions, child development institutes, educational institutions, institutes and of course operate privately.

 

The treatment can be a lot of fun, but in practice is sometimes a frustrating process. This is because it is an attempt to see, to feel, to understand significant processes that sometimes provoke difficulties, resistance, pain, storm that are part of the coping.

Art therapy treatments take place individually and in groups, usually aimed at working on social skills or other goals set for the benefit of group members. Leaving individual work and moving on to dealing with group work is not always so simple, as group work invites different interactions and difficulties and the process is made possible while using the creative tools.

It is important to note that in art therapy, as in any treatment with children and adolescents, parents are an integral and important part of the therapeutic process.

 

Who is suitable for art therapy:

The process is suitable for children, adolescents and adults whose verbal ability may be good but have difficulty expressing deeper layers of themselves, or using spoken language as a protective wall between them and their emotional world. It is very important to understand that there is no need for artistic talent or previous experience in the field, the emphasis is not on an aesthetic and beautiful product, but on the process - self-expression and release of emotional barriers through and with the help of artistic practice in its shades. There are therapists who combine the medium of plastic art and role-playing games, work in motion and also use board games to create a therapeutic connection with the child.

In art therapy, the emphasis is on the child's strengths more than his weaknesses. During the process, the child connects with his creativity and connects to his abilities and strengths, which is a lever for realizing his potential and growth at a pace and in a way that is customized to him.

 

With the help of art, self-esteem can be strengthened and built - one of the common reasons for reaching for treatment and a significant tool that will serve the child throughout his adult life. Both parents and children often tell me "I can not paint", or "I am really not creative", so as part of the process in art therapy, we take the time to release barriers and allow everyone to discover the skills inherent in being more creative, expressing themselves and releasing From the limiting thoughts. These thoughts, or as I call them "thoughts I do not" dissipate and thus allow "thoughts I do" to be expressed so that each child can discover himself and slowly build and discover his abilities that are beyond what happens in the treatment room.

The reference to the creative process and the artistic product allows for a dialogue around the issue the child is dealing with without feeling threatened or exposed, as well as raising awareness of self and others, strengthening cognitive and emotional capacity to promote change and encourage growth and a sense of well-being.

 

A discourse on the work of art allows children to witness what they have created for themselves. The feeling is so satisfying and empowering that children often find it hard to believe that they are the ones who created the artistic product no matter what it is made of or what it looks like. The children discover inner abilities and powers that until now they did not think they had. The process drives a motivational process and a desire to find out more about oneself. With the help of an empowering experience, the strengths and daring they have discovered themselves are also copied in other experiences outside the treatment room.

 

With the help of artistic tools, it is possible to release anxiety and stress. I believe that anxiety, depression, anger, and all our emotions should be expressed - only in a non-destructive way for the child and sometimes also for the environment. The creative process and the art material can be used to express the variety of emotions in a way that is not physically or mentally destructive.

 

In working with clay or plasticine, for example, children can express anger and aggression, in a non-destructive way, which ultimately constitutes satisfaction from the product as well as an inner release of powerful emotions in a tailored and subliminal way. The difficult emotions that we often find difficult to contain are, with the help of the work and the process, a kind of "documentation" while maintaining boundaries and security. This allows the child to experience himself as non-destructive, or bad. But during the process, which is fun, interesting, and sometimes frustrating, the child discovers his inner abilities and strengths that exist in him and thus builds a sense of ability and emotional empowerment.

 

The following are examples of some additional uses of the therapeutic artistic tools:

1. Evaluation tool:

Art will sometimes be used as a tool to assess a child's emotional state. Behavioral patterns such as perfectionism (which sometimes limits a child's progress and experiences) or difficulty in completing and accepting work processes, impulsivity, difficulty in accepting boundaries, rigidity, and need for control, difficulties in coordination or planning ability, and more can be identified.

All of these teach a lot about the different behaviors of the child in the different settings to which he belongs, such as with the family, school, and the different social groups to which he belongs or meets. The creative work and accompanying discourse provide a lot of information about the child himself both motorically and emotionally.

 

2. Art as a means of emotional expression:

I will explain this point with an example; In one case I asked the patient child to draw how he felt during the session, in whatever form he chose. He chose to draw a really small, teary figure. Thus, while distancing himself, when the child talks "about the character", he tells about his difficulties and what he went through during the day at school - topics he refused to talk about directly before. Later we were able to continue to develop a dialogue with the same character and thus bypassed the defense mechanisms of the child who had great difficulty talking about himself. Thus the very procedure of drawing and the shape of the small figure allowed for a safe discourse.

 

Art as an ongoing therapeutic discourse

When we get lost during the process, for example in painting, gluing, tearing, building, etc., we sometimes forget to feel the inner-emotional or physical pain.

Over the years I have seen in front of me the benefits of the artistic tool as an alternative to the form of contact, which expresses both the child's desires and fears. The ability to put the artistic work aside and re-examine it at another time when it looks right and appropriate is meaningful, as well as creating a comparison between how the child feels today and how he feels in the past and seeing a developmental and coping process that motivates children. This is similar to placing a bookmark in a book, to which we can return at a different time, in a different mood. With children, this is not an advantage that is often possible through oral discourse alone.