In Dianne and my quest to find interesting interviews for her new film on grieving and healing, we went out to coffee to meet with Christine, a graduate student of art therapy. We often think of art as communication between people, but it was really inspirational to explore how art therapy can help people of any age deal with their grieving and healing.
Art therapy helps people who may not be able to express their thoughts and feelings using words. Christine told us about how helpful art therapy is for people she works with who are developmentally disabled and elderly persons who experience senility or suffer a stroke. It’s helpfull to people who cannot talk. But art therapy can also be really helpful for anybody who has just experienced something traumatic and stressful. It gives you another way to look at yourself and explore the inside of your head.
When I had visited the Healing Center (http://www.healingcenterseattle.org/), I saw a lot of art therapy for children. The upper floor of the Center is devoted to children’s workshops and groups. Every room seemed to have another art related activity in production. There were paintings, collages, photographs with writings underneath and other creative projects that express how the children were feeling inside.
There are plenty of clinical and counseling environments where you can get healing support with art therapy. But right now, I’m interested in making a list that one could work on independently, right now, without any additional limitations.
When we met Thursday to talk about art therapy, we discussed independent activities like painting, drawing, and making collages. We also discussed making healing rituals and spiritual journeys to help you heal, but we will write about that next article. If you have a suggestion to add to our list, please chime in.
Begining list of art therapy things you can do on your own:
Keep a diary/journal/write letters to yourself or others that you don’t send
Paint a picture
Write poem(s)
Make a collage
Make a photo wall
Make a tailsman/dream catcher/or other ensemblage out of photos and other memorbilia to help you create something that remembers a deceased loved one.
A dreamcatcher Dianne's boyfriend, Bill, made in memory of her dog, Murphy.
The arts include things other than writing and visual art, but as visual artists and writers, not art therapists, and so biased. Do people find dance, theater, music or even culinary arts helpful as art therapy? Write us if you have a story!
Books related to grieving we talked about that you might also check out:
Tear Soup, By Pat Schwiebert & Chuck DeKlyen
Grief Counseling & Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner, by J. William Worden
