Art Therapy Exercises for Children
Art therapy is a relatively new form of therapy that began in the 1940s. It uses visual art as an alternative way for the client to express himself with a therapist. Art therapy has many applications, one of which is usefulness with children, who are often not as verbal as adults. According to art therapist Janice Carroll, art therapy is play to children. They respond to it naturally.
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Art Therapy
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According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapists are master's level professionals who are trained in both art and therapy. Art therapy can help people process traumas, increase self-awareness and cope with symptoms of a severe illness. Although people throughout history have used art therapeutically, its modern use started in the mid-20th century, when it was introduced to hospitals and clinics.
Children and Art Therapy
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Children benefit from art therapy because art for them is a natural form of expression, and often they are more comfortable with their art skills than their verbal skills. Understanding child development is an important part of art therapy. According to an article by Jackie Brinkman of the Office of Public Relations at the University of Colorado at Denver, art therapy can help children develop social skills.
Emotions Exercise
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Art therapy exercises can help to process emotion. A simple exercise for younger children, but one that works for older children as well, consists of drawing to music. For preschoolers, finger painting to music works well.
Have children select their medium. Choose music that evokes an emotion. If appropriate, turn off the lights. Play music softly and allow the children to draw to the music. Encourage them to move their pens or paints to the music, not drawing a certain form. Change the music throughout the exercise so the children can explore the music's influence on their art.
Self-Esteem
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Art therapy also can help personal development. For children, art therapy is especially appropriate as a way to build self-esteem. According to art therapist Dr. Pegg Dunn-Snow, a few exercises that can help build a child's self-esteem include the following:
Draw a picture of something you just learned how to do. Think of something you couldn't do last year that you can do this year.
Draw a picture answering the question: What do I want others to know about me?
Draw a picture showing things you are really good at doing.
Collage
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Personal development is another reason to use art therapy. Children can benefit from making a self-portrait collage using magazine cut outs that show positive images they see in themselves. This can raise self-esteem and self-awareness, and help children think about what they value about themselves.
Have children cut pictures out of magazines that appeal to them or that they think represent them in some way. After choosing the pictures, the children can arrange them on a poster board, and then glue the pictures in an appealing way. Children also can draw on the collage or add words to their images. An alternate activity is to choose animal images only. Children reflect on which animal best represents them. They then choose magazine pictures showing this animal and make a collage.
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Bothell, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, has many activities for youth throughout the predominantly bedroom community of about 30,000 people. Bothell sits just north of Lake Washington, along the Sammamish River and within the Northshore School Dist
