Why art therapy works well for children

I am continuously amazed by the raw authenticity of children’s artwork. Compared to adults, creative expression comes naturally to children for communicating deep emotional content that they may not be able to put into words. After all, how many kids do you know who can articulate the underlying reasons for their difficult behaviors? However, the process of art making, under the guidance of an art therapist, is a highly effective way of accessing information that may be troubling the child. The art therapist is able to do that by using suitable art materials and providing directives.

Moreover, art therapy is a gentle and non-confrontational way of addressing difficult emotions that may be related to family, school, self-image, trauma, loss and so on. The art therapist can work through metaphors or symbols in the artwork without tackling the problem directly. For instance, a child who is being bullied at school may be able to work through the issue by sculpting the bully as an animal or an object rather than talking about the fear-inducing reality. Similarly, another child who may be experiencing divorce between parents can express feelings by drawing a landscape that is indicative of the difficult circumstances at home.

5- year-old boy processing his parent's divorce through his drawing

As a result, most children like coming for art therapy as it provides them relief through fun-based activities. Parents like the approach because it is a safe and effective way of tackling difficult situations/emotions and finding workable solutions without the burden of having to drag the child to therapy.

THE UNLIKELY DUO: Pairing a mainstream child with a special stream child for art therapy

I wasn’t sure if it would work, but bringing together 8-year- old Andy (pseudonym), a mainstream child who is intellectually mature for his age and 10-year-old Tim (pseudonym) who is in a special stream and diagnosed with inattentive ADHD, was worth a try. I had been seeing both boys individually for art therapy for quite some time before I decided to pair them for once-a-week art therapy sessions with a focus on their social skills, that being one of the reasons why they came to me in the first place.

Andy has a fascination for numbers. He wants to be an architect and he loves to construct fairly ambitious structures and complicated board games with art materials and found objects. Tim, on the other hand, is gentle and gregarious and has an undying passion for movies, film stars and animated characters. He loves to draw and talk about the movies he has watched and his favourite film stars. Both Tim and Andy are polar opposites as far as their interests are concerned but the one thing they have in common is their joy of artmaking.

The fact that Tim and Andy are so different is what struck me as an opportunity to bring them together for their mutual benefit. I felt that the strength of one child would compensate for the challenges of the other. For instance, Tim is highly creative and a perfectionist but his tendency to be controlling has, in the past, lead to rigid behaviours in social setups. Andy, on the other hand, is funny and laid back but struggles with focusing outside his busy head-space and that presents its own set of challenges when it comes to relationships and social situations.

So, banking on their common interest in art and the attachment that they have to me within a therapeutic context, I began to see Andy and Tim for joint sessions. The first few times they came together were fairly challenging as resistance was strong from both ends. Not only did the boys struggle to share space and time, but they were also reluctant to collaborate,  challenged each other’s boundaries and my ability to contain them. At one stage I was ready to give up and felt that my well-intentioned idea was not working but I chose to go along with my gut feeling that things would turn. And then slowly the dynamics between the boys began to change. I had to face the storm to ride the wave!

By structuring the sessions to create opportunities for the gratification of Tim and Andy’s individual needs, setting boundaries that helped me in managing their behaviours and granting independence and control alternatively to both boys, I was able to plant the seeds of a bond that I continue to nurture in our weekly sessions.

Tim and Andy's joint creations

Both boys look forward to the art therapy sessions and await each other’s arrival at the studio. They have learned to accommodate one other, compromise when necessary and collaborate, at times through facilitation from my end. The unlikely duo has proved to me that the power and process of the group (no matter how small) within a therapeutic context is undeniable.

On another note, my experience with Andy and Tim got me thinking how wonderful it would be for schools to promote inclusivity in the true sense of the word. Not only in schools though, but children of typical/mixed/different abilities also have so much to teach and learn from each other in all spheres of life. It is such a loss and tragedy for all our children to deny or not create opportunities for integration and inclusion.

For enquiries into art therapy with me, go to www.colouredcanvas.net

Channelizing aggression in children through art

A 5 year old's expression of her internal trauma

Aggression in children could be a symptom of underlying issues that find external expression in inappropriate verbal and/or physical behaviour. The common course of treatment for anger management in children is behaviour modification and in extreme cases medication. These approaches have their merits and can help in averting disastrous consequences for the child and his/her family. However, focusing on behavioural techniques in isolation may inadvertently conceal the psycho-emotional problems that are at the root of the behaviours and may be a call for help from the child, rather than a deliberate attempt to cause harm.

Children lack the ability for metacognition or the capacity to think about their thoughts. Simply put, they may have no clue as to why they act out, transgress limits, push buttons and indulge in inappropriate behaviors beyond what is considered typical. Amongst the many reasons they may be doing so, attachment issues, familial problems, stress related to school and peers, learning differences and developmental challenges may be implicated. Thus, it seems rather one sided to expect external compliance from a child who may be suffering emotionally, without addressing the internal aspect of the matter.

I find art therapy to be most efficacious when it comes to addressing psycho-emotional problems in children as it has the capacity to tap into the hidden content of a child’s psyche that may not be accessible through words. Art making can by pass defence mechanisms that prevent access to deep-seated conflicts.

Very importantly, art therapists work through metaphors in the child’s artwork thus, if some trauma or difficult emotional content surfaces through art making, it can be processed in a safe and non-confrontational way. Art therapy is a safe therapeutic modality in that it avoids re-traumatization of the individual from exposure to difficult memories.

Art therapists are also trained to direct negative emotions into creative acts through the prudent use of art material. Clay may be pounded or kneaded, scratched, and poked in order to express anger or frustration just as paint may be splashed or paper torn and crushed to channelize aggressive effect into appropriate expression.

Art making, whether in the form of seemingly random scribbles and doodles or skillful images and sculptures is an expression of the unconscious. Thus, to partake of art therapy absolutely no skill in art making is necessary. In fact, I have come across children who do not show any inclination to draw or paint yet can be tempted to engage in acts of creation that lead to inner expression.

A child cannot convey with words what they are not aware of, and some children may not have the ability to speak. You will be amazed to find what can be achieved through the simplest forms of creativity and relational art-making with an art therapist.

Time and time again I am asked if art therapy and art class are one and the same? Once again, I will repeat that ONLY a Master’s level art therapist can conduct art therapy. Most art therapists are registered with regional boards of art therapy associations and have gone through hundreds if not thousands of hours of clinical practice.

Art therapy and ASD? No way!

I am a newbie blogger and when I asked my sister to read the following, she commented, " “your writing is way too technical, the blog needs to read like a friendly banter...u need to explain technical terms....this reads more like an extract from a paper....and very serious....apologies for the criticism...u may not agree....”

Guess what? I decided to go ahead and post it anyway ;). So here are my two cents on art therapy and ASD.

Working as an art therapist with children on the spectrum has been a hugely rewarding experience for me. Imagine a 12 year old non-verbal child with autism severely anxious and with extreme sensory issues unable to sit in one place for more than a few seconds, let alone make art and then after a year of art therapy, this same child sits for 30 minutes at a time engaged in art making activity! (Having said that, in the course of that one year there were other therapies that the child was involved in, the benefit of which cannot be disregarded).

So how may art therapy work for individuals/children on the spectrum? We know that  children with autism have significant deficits in the area of imagination and symbolic thought so then how can image making (which is by and large how we understand art ) be therapeutic for a population whose artwork may be repetitive, literal and their abstract thinking compromised. In order to understand how, let me give you a very brief insight into art therapy and later talk about it in the context of ASD. Broadly speaking art therapy is a process of expressing the inner-self through creative expression in the presence of an art therapist who facilitates the expression and guides the client to reflect upon his or her artwork in order to gain insight and self-awareness into his/her issues. The process of art making is much more important than the product itself, which could be a scribble or a masterpiece, for its value lies in its ability to tap into the sub-conscious of the individual making the art. Self-awareness and insight into ones problems then leads to working towards a resolution of the issues at hand and so on and so forth. Essentially art therapy’s roots lie in psychodynamic psychology (in layman’s term which means  accessing the subconscious and digging into deep seated issues in the individual’s past ).

Again you may think, self awareness and insight would be overly ambitious for a child on the spectrum who may not even have the capacity for them; a child who may have very limited receptive or expressive language or who may have over riding sensory issues that hamper his daily functioning. The beauty of art therapy is that it can be adapted to a wide range of client specific needs. Therefore, where ASD is concerned, ‘developmental art therapy' comes into play. Developmental art therapy takes into consideration the entire sensory and developmental profile of the child and the therapeutic approach is tailored to that profile. Optimal benefit for the child is achieved if the art therapist can work in conjunction with the occupational therapist to better understand the sensory needs of the child. In any case if that is not possible, in my opinion, it is essential to have access to the child’s specialist’s reports before embarking on the art therapy path to avoid unnecessary distress to the child.

Art making is a multi-sensory activity. It involves all five senses and can engage the entire body into the process of art making through large body movements as well as motion. A large variety of art material with different textures, tactile qualities, smells and nowadays even taste (edible play dough) is used in the session to facilitate sensory regulation and modulation. Art materials have inherent qualities in them that lend them to sensory regulation. For instance, pencil lends itself to control, paint to emotional expression and clay to grounding. The art therapist incorporates the knowledge of these materials into the session to modulate the over or under sensitive child.

This is only just one aspect of the developmental approach in art therapy. Other aspects of development can be incorporated further into the art therapy session besides sensory regulation. Communication and social skills development  through art making is another area that can be targeted with children on the spectrum. During art therapy sessions, I was able to witness a friendship develop between a 12 year old girl with Asperger’s and an 8 year old with developmental delays. This friendship resulted into a few playdates beyond the therapy centre much to the delight of the girl’s mothers.

For most children art making provides a fun break from their structured, sometimes stressful therapy sessions. Art therapy sessions can be loosely structured to incorporate fun and play. They provide a safe space for the child to vent, release stress and express themselves in an environment where the only expectation from them is to be who they are. Most sessions will end in a creative product and it is delightful to see children proudly presenting their creations to their caregivers.

Hopefully I have managed to give you some insight into art therapy and ASD. I have not touched on the psycho-dynamic aspect of  art therapy as that is a topic for another time. Suffice it to say that the multi-sensory aspect of art making and the dynamics of the therapeutic relationship of the child with the therapist can work on many different levels for an individual/child with ASD.

Next blog will be way more fun I promise ;) ;)