Art therapy

What is Art therapy ?

⇒ a psychotherapy using artistic creation (drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, etc.) to make contact with one's inner life (feelings, dreams, unconscious, etc.)

⇒ solicits imagination, intuition, thought and emotions

⇒ contribute to physical, emotional or spiritual healing

⇒ art is a medium for natural and spontaneous expression and help to develop interpersonal and intrapersonal communication

Arts therapy is a pleasant and creative way using playful techniques : drawings, sculptures, music, dance, etc. It produce something that can make sense or cause pleasure to himself or other people (peers, teachers, classmates). AT is an activity that can facilitate the relationship of the child with the people around him/her (teachers, professional, other children, etc). It can be used for evaluation; diagnostic, pedagogical, therapeutic purposes. It helps built the ability to represent oneself, his/her body/self, family, relationships with others, and so on. Art visual therapy refers to the use of painting / clay / collage / photography / constructions / plasticine and others. It can be used by adults, teenagers, children, couples and families. Art therapy is for children with emotional, behavioural-social problems, and ADHD, or autism and Mental Retardation, people with disabilities, psychosomatic problems, but also all those who want to know about themselves and preserve their emotional balance.

By creating an artwork, it is possible to say, through an image, everything that is difficult to say in words. Art therapy includes art as a symbolic communication tool that expresses the child’s personality, emotions and relational experiences in general and operates as a supportive and facilitating tool to promote or complete the verbal communication. Visual arts or drawing and sculpturing do not require any technical knowledge or ability because the purpose is not the aesthetic result of artwork but the use of the materials offered as a means of expression. Through these activities, they can more easily and fearlessly "talk" about needs, desires, difficulties, internal conflicts, or realize and recognize aspects of themselves who had been "buried" or repressed, for various reasons. It helps children to their Emotional expression, to find a way out and to become conscious of their thoughts, inner needs and personal difficulties (with he help of the professional). It helps strengthening self-esteem, improving communication and interpersonal relationships. It also helps in the development of imagination, creativity and self-expression, in general. It ultimately helps to provoke change, promoting more balanced development and improving quality of life.

In general, art therapy at school contributes:  In addressing learning difficulties  In dealing with communication disorders  Developing social skills and learning social roles  Improving performance and school success  Enables imagination and creativity  In developing empathy and cultivation of respect of others (emotional intelligence through group activities)  In the emotional mobilization / activation of psychic processes and more positive behaviours through group actions and the discovery of the pleasure of cooperating with others or being recognized by others as creative and not disruptive In the prevention of psychosocial / behavioural difficulties

The study

Art therapy in schools – The therapist’s perspective - from University of Haifa Israel - in The Arts in Psychotherapy - on July 2015

Participants : based on the CQR (consensual qualitative research)

Tools : semi-structured interview approach based on the CQR composed of 3 parts and an interview guide with scripted questions

Procedure : mails and telephone

Data analysis : 15 art therapists from different ages, sexes, experiences and working in various workplaces, all employed by the Ministry of Education