Class Exercise Reflection

This is my piece from class today. That is Mimi the pig who was intended to be a cat, then a mouse and just sort of ended up as a pig. It was interesting creation because I was so unhappy with how the mouse came out that I unconsciously chose to look at it differently and see a pig instead. After I painted mimi, I felt like my creation was complete and gained a sense of satisfaction (even more so when I created the background scene).

In reflecting on the exercise, I came to realize that the scene I created for Mimi was very representative of how I perceive myself. If you notice, I only gave her a little pen to live in and left all of this room for grass. It made me realize that I tend to think the “grass is always greener on the other side." I'm in this messyness of life and looking to experience the other side where, well, it is greener.

Ted Talks: How School Kills Creativity by Ken Robinson

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity

I recently watched this ted talks video about the structure of education and how education today does not focus on multiple forms of intelligence and does not foster creativity. His argument is that the education system today nurtures only certain academics such as math, languages, engineering, etc.. He notices how worldwide the education system has a hierarchy of subjects where math is that the top and the arts are at the bottom, when both are equally important. He believes children today are not taught or allowed to make mistakes which educates people "out of their creativity."
He argues that people are educated to focus on academic ability in order to land a job. He also says that people do not get to explore their creativity because it was not the focus academically or they were not nurtured/validated during their educational journey.

This reminds me of our class because it took me many years as an adult to believe that I was artistic, talented, and that even if my art wasn't perfect it still had value and meaning. Creative arts therapy class brings out these ambivalent feelings about discovering my own talent. It furthers my desire to nurture and help a client express their creative side as well as my own.

Doing Anger Differently article response

This article describes a powerful intervention for adolescent boys with anger issues. I wish I had known about this for my placement last year. I was working with a 21 year old high school freshman. He had been transferred around from school to school because he was causing trouble everywhere he went. He would be kicked out of class for talking, joking around, not doing work, banging on classroom doors to distract other teachers, etc. It was clear that he was angry, being the oldest freshman and unable to focus on his work. As a result, he would act out to release this anger and, at one point, got physical with another kid who was making fun of him. He barely came to school so it was hard to process the anger with him, let alone find ways to engage him.

I feel as though the Mapping Anger Game would've been helpful for him in that he could externalize all the feelings that had been building inside and fueling his behaviors. Talk therapy was not very successful because, as Currie states in the article, young adolescents have a difficult time describing their subjective, emotional response when they are triggered to act out. By playing the scenarios in which my client acted out on a percussion, he would be able to hear where the situation became more intense. As a result, he would be more aware of his feelings when his anger was triggered and would be able to change his behavior. This is an incredible strength based technique that I can see as being very empowering for an adolescent male such as my client because it makes him feel more in control and conscientious of why he is acting the way he is. Additionally, it is putting the responsibility of appropriate response in the adolescent and letting them make the right decision in the moment rather than being told what to do by a parent, teacher, etc. as they have been their whole life.

Response to class exercises

The past few weeks in art therapy class have been quite eye opening for me. I consider myself a pretty creative person and thought these exercises were going to be super easy for me. Boy, was I wrong. With each exercise, I noticed that I am over thinking it every single time. My brain has become so over analytical (partially due to the analytic skills I have been building in my classes/internships and partially because I am a naturally introverted, thinker type of person) that I struggle to just let go and go for it. This has been pretty eye opening for me not only on a personal level, but on a professional level as well. I could be doing art therapy exercises with grown male and female veterans someday at the VA. Will they be over thinking the exercises I give them? Will they be self conscious and struggling to just let go? I'm really glad that I am being made aware of these feelings now in that someday I will have a better understanding of the clients experience.

Art Share: A Door Decoration

Hi, everyone. This is a photo of a door decoration that I worked on at my field placement.  It is at an elementary school. The other interns and I also decorated a bulletin board, and we will probably post some other creatures in the social work room. I made the whale out of poster board a day or two after drawing some whales in one of the art therapy class activities. I think it might be becoming a schema for me.

            I do not really know if this is an example of art as therapy, but I think it does make the hallway and office seem more inviting. I also think that animals and creatures can be comforting to people, and art is one way to bring that kind of comfort to people in a lot of different situations.

Case Example: Art as part of a curriculum based intervention

I intern with with Columbia University Social Intervention Group piloting a curriculum based STI/HIV intervention with couples, specifically males under community supervision (most of the time it's probation) and their female partners. The intervention is made up of 5 sessions that begin with a warm-up activity, and the warm-up activity for one of the sessions is an art activity. The curriculum asks the couple to each draw their own picture of their experience with community supervision.

In class a couple of weeks ago, we were discussing what it means to have the appropriate materials when asking clients to make art. We only have copy paper at my agency, and only one box of scented markers that is shared by two of my colleagues. Out of the ten colors that were supposed to be in the box, I was only able to locate four (brown, black, yellow, red). I understood that there was a message behind the incomplete materials that I would be presenting to them, and the profound thing that I was asking them to do.
I know that if I were a client and I was given those colors and asked to draw about an intense experience like community supervision, I'd feel like the activity was pointless.

It was a perfect example of how agencies recognize that art can be helpful in our work, but also how it is not taken seriously as a modality that requires resources.

PS. The other colors were eventually relinquished by my colleagues, but I had to promise to bring them back. We are not very good at sharing apparently.

Childhood Memories

Honestly, this week brought me back to great memories as a child. The first drawing I was immediately taken back to my third grade art class, and I could remember where I was sitting, what the classroom looked like, and even the smell of the room and all its materials. It's amazing what comes to memory as soon as you draw something familiar. Also with the play exercise, it was hard at first to tap into the imagination, especially since we're adults and I felt a little silly, but nonetheless it was fun to allow myself to feel like a kid again.