The Uses of Imagination and All of the Arts in Therapy - Essay Example

University

• The journey of the client, Chie Watanabe during the group process
• The session started with therapists and the children sitting in a circle with clients’ name tags on with Chie sitting quietly next to me on my right side.
• I called out each clients’ name while maintaining eye contacts, Chie smiled and pointed her name tag, feeling shy but also happy since she is interested in artwork.
• After the roll call, I asked the clients to pick up an animal badge and Chie picked up a rabbit.
• Chie took the role of a rabbit by putting her hands on her head and folding her hands while whispering to make the rabbit sound and seemed to quietly follow the lesson.
• After all the client had taken their roles, the session proceeded to the first activity, ‘mask-making’.
• Chie was active with the decoration of the provided plain paper with two eye holes and an elastic band around. She started decorating with glued the blue gems like the eyebrow and the stuck a pink puff as a nose.
• She was quiet and isolated and worked alone for the better part of the lesson, probably due to her introverted personality and her limited English. At a point during the lesson, she drew the mouth with a pink marker, then she tried to cut the space out without seeking help from me or
• Ayaka (co-facilitator). When I asked her if she needed help to cut the part she wanted, she said ‘mouth’, ‘cut’ and ‘open’ and she was happy when I started cutting. However, she did not want me to help her make a hole as she desired to cut the rest herself without help. So I asked her to pay attention on using big scissors and encouraged her for doing the task herself.
• After cutting out the mouth, she started using fluffy wires to decorate the mask. She used the provided material and masking tapes to stick the big ears and added another decoration on the forehead part using the other type of wire.
• After she had finished, she sat down quietly without talking to other students for the most of time until Suzie approached.
• When I asked her if she wanted to use other materials, she seemed interested in the stickers of butterflies, so she took them and pasted some on her mask.
• She often asked me how to say some words in English when I walked closer, and copied the sound a number of times like stamping words in her memory.
• I passed the role to Ayaka and asked clients to come back around the circle with or without their mask as they wish to do.
• Although at first she came around the circle without her mask, she seemed to want to hold it by the hand just like most of the other children. I decided to bring it to her when she was sitting in a circle.
• I encouraged her to take part in the activity involving the shaking drums, which had been made in the last session. She was happy to be involved and she was able to make some sounds by coping me afterwards.
• Later, the clients were asked to put their mask on the face and invited to look at the mirrors. Chie put the mask herself and was mostly quite. Suzie and other clients invited her to look at herself in the mirror with her mask on and she smiled.
• When other clients were decorating themselves with the fabrics, I asked Chie if she wanted to and she picked up a large piece of fabric and put around her shoulder like a scarf or a gown.
• At some point, perhaps when the music stopped, she joined all the other clients in going back to the desk and decorating more on their mask. She put more stickers on the mask.
• We (Ayaka and I) invited the clients to write ‘something’ or ‘anything’ that they want to write on the back of the mask.
• Chie was sitting back with a marker so I asked her if there is anything she wanted. Then, she said she wanted to write ‘listen well’ and scribbled some more. Gradually, she started to talk (whisper) with other clients sitting around her as she confidently started to seem proud of her work by showing it to me and pointing her work while smiling.
• When all the activities were done, and asked to leave as their parents were ready to pick them up, I asked the clients if they want to keep their work in the room or take home. Chie took the animal badge off and seemed very interested to take her work with her.
• Review the artwork
• A rabbit – Chie choose a rabbit, which demonstrates her great connection with the power of the animal. A rabbit is interpreted differently in various cultures. In most Asian cultures, a rabbit is linked to good fortune and is also an astrological animal. It is believed that people born under the rabbit sign are sensitive and artistic. Her choice of a rabbit is an indication of her wish to finally adopt in her new environment. Jung (1981) believed that we conceal our personalities with a mask that we would like to be identified with at face value.
• Large ears – connected with her script, ‘listen well’ at the back or it could Indicate the feeling of having to listen too much or too carefully to someone. With her limited English, Chie spent most of the time listening than talking.
• Open mouth – this demonstrates her willingness to talk in English as she asked some English works like ‘rabbit’, ‘butterfly’, ‘pink’, ‘angel’ among others.
• Blue gem stickers – at first, she chose blue gem stickers, which may shows her willingness to express herself and overcome her introverted and shy personality. This is demonstrated by her discriminative choice of stickers. Despite the fact that there were different types of stickers up for selection, she only chose a flower in the middle of the forehead, an angel sticker between eyes, and butterflies on the cheeks.
• Pinkish and yellow colours – Pink colour depicts a deep yearning for love and appreciation and is favoured by girls while yellow colours may show the cheerful and optimistic side but it can also suggests cowardice. The choice of both colours demonstrates Chie’s struggle to overcome her present challenges in the new environment.
• Flowers – they represent a feminine side, and a desire to see growth, nature, and reproduction. If flowers are in an arrangement, it denotes a sense of family and togetherness. Jung (1981) believed dreams of flowers suggest a need to release emotions people feel unable to express openly. Drawing flowers as your doodles suggest femininity. This is the reason why usually girls are observed to draw flowers while they doodle. Moreover, drawing flowers is also an indication that Chie might be becoming aware of her own personality and waiting to bloom.
• Butterflies – the choice of butterflies may reveal that Chie does not want to be tied down. This could be a manifestation of her desire to be free like butterflies to fly as she wishes and to travel her country.
• Green wire – the choice of the green wire shows a desire for safety as the bright green colour depicts something safe while the wire is a mark of security. This shows that Chie has a great need of feeling safe in her new environment and she is yet to develop a feeling of security, hence the need to protect herself.
• Reflect upon these observations
• The key philosophical frameworks used in this activity are Gestalt theory and Jungian theory of art therapy. Gestalt therapy posits that the creative processes create a link between the client’s inner feelings, issues, trauma and problems and the effects of the intervention. On the other hand, Jungian art therapy uses the symbolic archetypes of the persona to help children form stable identities by helping shape how they are viewed by the world. The rationale for the adoption of the two theories is based on the fact that the two theories have cross-cultural relevance and are effective when employed in therapeutic situations that deal with children and adolescents. As such, they are appropriate in the analysis of Chie’s case.
• The observation of Chie’s performance in the activity can be explored under the Gestalt theory of art therapy which as it has a gratifying relevance in cross-cultural issues that affect children and adolescents. Oaklander (1988) shows that children from all parts of the world go through the same experiences of isolation, language barrier, and loneliness when they go to various migrant destinations such as New Zealand.
• The cultural conflict between the western and the eastern worlds is a major developmental issue for Chie as she left Japan when she was 9 years old, which means that her basic developmental elements were blocked when they migrated to New Zealand.
• Oaklander also notes that regardless of the culture, all children respond to the fundamental modes of expression, which are artistic and ancient in nature including sensory experiences, creative dramatics, storytelling, sand and miniature figures, puppets, clay work, drawings, music, and body awareness and movement.
• She recommends art therapy as a means of creating a universal language that all the children can understand regardless of their cultural or geographical background. Oaklander notes that in Gestalt therapy, the therapist acts a guide to help the children work out their issues on their own throughout the developmental stages so that they can achieve successful results when they repeat an activity without help.
• Chie demonstrates this by trying to be independent when I was helping her cut her mask as she wanted to finish cutting the holes without help.
• Jungian art therapy is also highly relevant in Chie’s case as the use of art in therapy demonstrates various ways of assisting immigrant children through the process of enculturation. By creating artistic representation, Jung (1981) focuses on creativity as a way of helping clients deal with difficult experiences. Jungian art therapy appeals to the impact of creativity in helping explore the unconscious.
• The mask making activity can be explored in relation to the Jungian art therapy as it provides Chie with new symbols and rituals that she can use to fill in the gaps left in terms of her experiences in Japan and the missing experiences in New Zealand. With the art-based activities, she is able to build a new identity.
• Jung (1981) proposes art therapy as the most effective tool of addressing various dimensions of the immigrant individual including their belief, behaviors, thoughts, emotions, and cognition.
• Jungian art therapy helps provide solutions to the challenges that immigrants face at the initial phases of immigration due to the effects of cultural shock. Immigrants face daily challenges of dealing with change in status, language barrier, change in surroundings, and different social roles between the native and host countries.
• It is the unfamiliarity of the environment in New Zealand that makes Chie a quiet, shy and introvert child. As such, the use of art in the mask making activity provides an opportunity for her to form new understandings using new symbols in her present environment, which will help her form a new identity without losing her original Japanese identity.
• Propose future Arts Therapy/ clinical directions for dealing with this client

Group Session 04 (following session)

1. (Imagination and visualising) Fantasy trip

• The clients will be shown a picture of a yellow dandelion and a feather followed by a video clip of a dandelion flying away.
• They will then pass a large light piece of yellow fabric to wrap their bodies and sit down.
• The therapsit will ask clients to close their eyes and follow the instruction.
• The session will start with deep breath in and out and then read below.
• You are a lovely yellow flower sitting on the ground, feel the eathy moisture of it. Warm bright sun shines on you, you enjoy the sunshine like a cat on the roof on a drawsy day. Fresh air comes with cool breeze and you smile when it tickles your face. You are growing and growing. You become a flying seed like the image you’ve just seen. You are light as a feather and flying in the sky. In one minute, I will ask you to open your eyes and dance like the flying seed with music. You will only be allowed to hum and whisper, but no words. (demonstrate the humming sound and whispering sound) (Turn on the nature happy music). Now open your eyes slowly and start flying, gently and softly like a feather. (Allow to dance and move for about 5 minutes.) Please stand somewhere you like as you are landing on the new ground. Look around and see your friends’ seeds. We came from different grounds but we are standing on the new ground together. We are going to bloom together. (Ask clients to sit around the table.)
• This imagination and movement can help clients to deliver the meaning of immigration and settlement. Oaklander (1988) posits that imagination empowers a child out of the restricted aspects of the self and allows them to learn how to cope without help. The therapists appeals to the emotional expression, the body, the senses and the intellect as they are all vital in alleviating vulnerabilities.

2. Drawing

• The therapist will provide large pieces of paper in front of each of the clients, and soft pastel to draw and colour the paper.
• After confirming that the clients are ready, the therapist will then ask them to draw the image or the colours they have seen when they were travelling for 15 minutes. (Let children draw freely but go and help in needed to elicit) (After finished, ask children to bring their work and place their work close together in a circle.)
• (Ask clients to walk around the drawings and say ‘we made a beautiful garden together’. Then sit down and share the journey with individual work. Encourage students to speak but not force to share.)
• Jung (1981) posits that art therapists work by accessing creativity for purposes of contributing to the development of a more integrated identity. Jean Paul Ritcher described creativity in art therapy as a “force that operates by making fresh links between previous entities and always open and receptive to new possibilities while forever seeking out opportunities” (McNiff, 2001: 469). The opportunities to face new possibilities through the power of drawing can help Chie settle down in New Zealand safely as she will learn to express herself better.

Group Session 04 (following session)

1. (Imagination and visualising) Fantasy trip

• The clients will be shown a picture of a yellow dandelion and a feather followed by a video clip of a dandelion flying away.
• They will then pass a large light piece of yellow fabric to wrap their bodies and sit down.
• The therapsit will ask clients to close their eyes and follow the instruction.
• The session will start with deep breath in and out and then read below.
• You are a lovely yellow flower sitting on the ground, feel the eathy moisture of it. Warm bright sun shines on you, you enjoy the sunshine like a cat on the roof on a drawsy day. Fresh air comes with cool breeze and you smile when it tickles your face. You are growing and growing. You become a flying seed like the image you’ve just seen. You are light as a feather and flying in the sky. In one minute, I will ask you to open your eyes and dance like the flying seed with music. You will only be allowed to hum and whisper, but no words. (demonstrate the humming sound and whispering sound) (Turn on the nature happy music). Now open your eyes slowly and start flying, gently and softly like a feather. (Allow to dance and move for about 5 minutes.) Please stand somewhere you like as you are landing on the new ground. Look around and see your friends’ seeds. We came from different grounds but we are standing on the new ground together. We are going to bloom together. (Ask clients to sit around the table.)
• This imagination and movement can help clients to deliver the meaning of immigration and settlement. Oaklander (1988) posits that imagination empowers a child out of the restricted aspects of the self and allows them to learn how to cope without help. The therapists appeals to the emotional expression, the body, the senses and the intellect as they are all vital in alleviating vulnerabilities.

2. Drawing

• The therapist will provide large pieces of paper in front of each of the clients, and soft pastel to draw and colour the paper.
• After confirming that the clients are ready, the therapist will then ask them to draw the image or the colours they have seen when they were travelling for 15 minutes. Read More