Art Transforming Family Therapy
When doing family therapy with children and their parents, it can be difficult to find an entry into productive conversations about family problems. Oftentimes there is a fundamental disagreement between parent(s) and child(ren) about the problems, or even if a problem exists in the first place. They have re-traced their steps in the same conversation so many times that they are stuck in a single way of viewing the issue. Or worse, and sometimes the case in the United States, the family is mandated to attend family therapy and members have little awareness of their issues. Talking these issues out is challenging to do in a way that is novel and illuminating and allows every family member to share their perspective equally.
Enter art therapy: art introduces a fresh way to talk about the family and family problems. A typical introductory family art therapy session includes every family member drawing/painting/sculpting a picture of the family. This immediately equalizes the volume of every member's voice, down to the smallest child (assuming the smallest child is old enough to draw and talk): every family member's drawing is laid out on a table or hung on a wall alongside the others giving each image equal weight. These family images can help each member view the family from the perspectives of other members in a new and visceral way. There is a lot to be gleaned from simply the placement and sizing of family members in a picture, let alone colors and line quality and any symbolism included. This initial process in itself can start to repair broken lines of communication and understanding. Art directives moving forward follow the same equalizing structure, getting more specific in subject matter to reveal family issues, strengths, and solutions.
When working with families from cultures other than my own such as is the case with refugees, I find art-making in the family therapy session crucial. The images in the art often provide me with cultural information necessary to understand the family better. The visual forum as a way to communicate is often easier to traverse than language barriers, and it seems to make many young refugee clients feel more comfortable after spending their school days trying to make themselves understood in a new language. On the other hand, it can be difficult or inappropriate to get parents in these families to make art alongside their children: the hierarchical family structure and a cultural view that art is for children can make parents feel that they will be compromising their position in the family to make art with their kids. When this is the case I simply don't insist the parents make art, although I include them in discussions about the art products.
Anyone who has worked with children knows that it can be difficult to get some of them talking, particularly about family problems. Art provides an indirect form of communication in a few ways. First, there is offering kids a creative and nonverbal way to express themselves. Second, there is the focus on art-making rather than the family during the session, which can often get conversations rolling more openly: family members are looking at their work on the table while they talk rather than engaging in a face-off. Third, there are the final art products that are often springboards for deeper discussions. It can be easier to talk about family problems when they are represented in a physical form everyone can look at, i.e. when we are talking about the art rather than the family. There can also be revelations evident in the artwork that a parent or child was unable to verbalize previously, such as, in a more obvious example, the effect a mom's stress about money has had on her preteen son (evident in a big money sign he drew between himself and his mother).
I will share more family art therapy directives in a future post. Doing art therapy with families is one of my favorite tasks as an art therapist. It is always deeply rewarding and creatively invigorating.
Enter art therapy: art introduces a fresh way to talk about the family and family problems. A typical introductory family art therapy session includes every family member drawing/painting/sculpting a picture of the family. This immediately equalizes the volume of every member's voice, down to the smallest child (assuming the smallest child is old enough to draw and talk): every family member's drawing is laid out on a table or hung on a wall alongside the others giving each image equal weight. These family images can help each member view the family from the perspectives of other members in a new and visceral way. There is a lot to be gleaned from simply the placement and sizing of family members in a picture, let alone colors and line quality and any symbolism included. This initial process in itself can start to repair broken lines of communication and understanding. Art directives moving forward follow the same equalizing structure, getting more specific in subject matter to reveal family issues, strengths, and solutions.
When working with families from cultures other than my own such as is the case with refugees, I find art-making in the family therapy session crucial. The images in the art often provide me with cultural information necessary to understand the family better. The visual forum as a way to communicate is often easier to traverse than language barriers, and it seems to make many young refugee clients feel more comfortable after spending their school days trying to make themselves understood in a new language. On the other hand, it can be difficult or inappropriate to get parents in these families to make art alongside their children: the hierarchical family structure and a cultural view that art is for children can make parents feel that they will be compromising their position in the family to make art with their kids. When this is the case I simply don't insist the parents make art, although I include them in discussions about the art products.
Anyone who has worked with children knows that it can be difficult to get some of them talking, particularly about family problems. Art provides an indirect form of communication in a few ways. First, there is offering kids a creative and nonverbal way to express themselves. Second, there is the focus on art-making rather than the family during the session, which can often get conversations rolling more openly: family members are looking at their work on the table while they talk rather than engaging in a face-off. Third, there are the final art products that are often springboards for deeper discussions. It can be easier to talk about family problems when they are represented in a physical form everyone can look at, i.e. when we are talking about the art rather than the family. There can also be revelations evident in the artwork that a parent or child was unable to verbalize previously, such as, in a more obvious example, the effect a mom's stress about money has had on her preteen son (evident in a big money sign he drew between himself and his mother).
I will share more family art therapy directives in a future post. Doing art therapy with families is one of my favorite tasks as an art therapist. It is always deeply rewarding and creatively invigorating.
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