Blogging on Good Therapy

Written by Peg Dunn-Snow Ph.D. ATR-BC, LPAT, LMHC, NCC

In 1992 after Hurricane Andrew hit south Florida on August 24, 1992 I contributed to an article a list of art activities that children could do at home to help them process their thoughts and feelings after their hurricane experience that year.  The activities are still relevant today, but not only as a way to process a hurricane experience but to prepare for one by taking a more proactive approach. The activities in the original article were listed and categorized under the following headings.

Activities that Acknowledge and Validate Children’s Feelings:

1. Draw a protest poster against hurricanes.
2. Draw the scariest event that occurs during a hurricane.
3. Draw the worst event that occurs during a hurricane.
4. Draw a picture or make a collage of what your anger looks like during a hurricane.
5. Illustrate and complete the following statements:
 I feel out of control during a hurricane when: ___
 I feel in control during a hurricane when: ___
 I feel angry during a hurricane when: ___
6. Draw a picture or make a collage of what your sadness looks like during a hurricane.
7. Choose from the following list of feelings and illustrate them: guilt, grief, denial, hopelessness, confusion, hope, growth, anger or nervous. (appropriate for older children and teenagers)
8. Draw or paint a picture of anything that makes you feel happy after a hurricane.
9. When you are tired of thinking about hurricanes, illustrate what you do or think about that makes you happy.
10. When you are feeling okay inside, draw or paint a picture of how you could help others who experience going through a hurricane.
11. Make a magazine collage of items of necessity and luxury. 

Activities that Help Promote Feelings of Trust and Safety:

1. Design a medal of honor for your parents or guardians in your life, indicating a positive action they perform before, during or after a hurricane.
2. When you cannot sleep at night, draw or paint a picture of what you would like your mom or dad to do to help you.
3. When you cannot concentrate at school, draw or paint a picture of what you would like your teacher to do to help you.
4. If you are angry with God because of hurricanes draw or paint a picture and illustrate why.
5. Draw or paint a picture of the person and /or place you think about that helps you feel calm and safe when you are upset.
6. Draw or paint a picture of the people and/or pets you need.  Illustrate how you help and support them.
7. When adults fight, illustrate what you do to make yourself feel safe. 

 Activities that Promote Problem Solving:

1. Draw or paint a picture of what you know about yourself as a result of your hurricane experiences.
2. Draw or paint a picture of the advice you would give to someone on how to survive a hurricane.
3. Design a 3-D trophy for yourself illustrating a positive behavior you exhibit during a hurricane.
4. Draw the action or behavior you exhibit during a hurricane that makes you feel responsible.
5. If you could teach the world one thing about your experience during a hurricane what would it be. (Examples: an idea, a skill, an attitude)
6. Draw or paint a picture of a challenge or difficulty you are facing in your life right now. Next, draw or paint a picture showing how you would like your life to be.
7. Construct a 3-D survival kit for your life that includes your needs and wants.
Recall an unhappy dream (as the result of a hurricane experience) and draw a satisfactory ending to your dream.

 Activities that Help Children Live in the Here and Now:

1. Draw an important possession of yours that was lost in a hurricane. Draw an important possession of yours that survived in a hurricane.
2. Fold a piece of drawing paper in two parts. Draw items you need now and items you would like to have in the future.
3. Draw a picture of when you feel safe now. Include a place in your picture.

Activities that Help Children Promote Hope for the Future:

1. Make a line time of your past, present and future and how hurricane season, each year, affects it.
2. Draw or paint a picture of an event or situation that is still the same in your life and is not effected after hurricanes.
3. Draw or paint a picture of how people help each other after hurricanes.
4. Draw or paint a picture of two goals you have for the next year.

5. Fold a piece of drawing paper in quarters. Draw a picture for each of the following:
Where am I?
Where am I going?
What is in my way?
How can I meet the challenge?
(Note: Include others in your pictures who will help you)
6. Draw a picture of something you can do well that you could not do a year ago.
7. Draw a picture of how your holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah) will be the same this year after hurricane season.
8. Draw a picture of what is positive after hurricane season each year.
 
Art therapy is an effective treatment for children to foster self-awareness and to reconcile emotional conflict through verbal and non-verbal expression and art experiences.   Art therapy allows children to express themselves through drawing, painting, collage and clay work as well as verbally.  Engaged in the creative process helps children define inner strengths that help them function and cope with the experiences in their everyday lives.   Art expression can also help children define hidden difficulties with family and relationship issues, personal trauma, grief and loss, including divorce, difficulties related to medical illness, anxiety, depression and other mental and emotional problems as well as developmental disorders, including autism.  Art is our first language when words are not enough. Art therapy serves all children including children at risk and children with special needs.
Reference:

Bush, J. & Dunn, P. (1992).  Art therapy has healing power: Art activities help students through the storm.  SunTimes FDLRS- South 14 (1), 10-11.

©Copyright 2007 Peg Dunn-Snow Ph.D. ATR-BC, LPAT, LMHC, NCC  All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry. The article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 9:00 pm and is filed under Child & Adolescent Issues, Psychotherapy: Approaches, Models, & Methods. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.