Art Journaling

I recently covered the Art Journaling group for a colleague. The group addresses high risk factors for sex offenders, and the day's topic was addressing how this population views women as deceptive. The directive was to create an image about a time that a woman did something genuinely nice for you. The responses were varied, including one man who had a hard time thinking of any time that had happened to him. He had difficulty in his relationships because he never felt love and affection from his parents. Another patient talked about how he felt when his fiancee had bought him gifts. Others talked about the love they had felt from their mother and grandmother. Though one man said that his mother doted on him so much that he used to compare the love of all women to that of his mother, and that adversely affected his relationships with women. The technique the group participants used was silhouetting, and they all seemed to enjoy the creative process.

Male vs. Female energy

My colleague presented at the AATA conference about male and female energy since the field of Art Therapy is dominated by women. He talked about his presentation during a recent supervision, and the Art Therapists were invited to make art about the topic. It was an interesting discussion since most of the group are women working with male sex offenders who alternately need male and female energy depending on the situation. The Art Therapists at the hospital have had to be more in touch with both their male and female sides in order to work with this population. Much of the art work depicted an integration of the male and female energies. A great topic for thought and discussion, with staff or with patients.

Mural Group

Today I filled in for the facilitator of the Mural group, and I was discussing with other staff the benefits of such an Art Therapy group. The patients have the opportunity to work on their interpersonal skills by working together. They have to figure out the theme of the mural, the composition, what images will be incorporated into it, who will work on what parts, etc. Sometimes it can be frustrating if there is no clear leader or if all the group members have controlling tendencies, as sex offenders often have. It's also challenging when the participants have different artistic abilities. The patients are encouraged to use problem solving, team work, and supportive words.

Termination in Supervision

One of the Art Therapists decided to transfer to another facility, so on her last day of supervision, I had everyone in the group make an art journal page for her. We then bound up the pages into a book to take with her. Hopefully, it will help remind her of her colleagues here, some of the things that she learned, and the experiences she had. It was also a nice chance for her co-workers to share something creative and meaningful with her. Termination can be a difficult time for clients and staff, bringing up issues of loss, abandonment, trust, etc., so it's important that it be addressed.

Round Robin Art Journal

One of the Art Therapists at the hospital suggested we do a Round Robin Art Journaling project. Whoever wanted to participate could bring in or make an art journal/altered book. Then, whenever you had time, you could "check out" someone's journal and fill up a page for that person with art, writing or both. This was a nice way to share something positive, supportive, or meaningful to the other person. During supervision one week, we all took the time to work on one another's art journals. It was fun and creative and nice to have diverse art work in your own journal.

Intimacy through Art Therapy

A few weeks ago, I filled in for a colleague in an Art Therapy group that helps the sex offenders develop intimacy in their adult relationships. This addresses another high risk factor for them. The directive was to draw a safe or special place for yourself. It was interesting to note that most of the group members drew a place that they would be alone. One was up in a hot air balloon. Another was in a boat in a bayou. This really represented to me how difficult it is for some of the patients at the hospital to develop healthy relationships. Discussion focused on how to develop more meaningful relationships when you have a tendency to avoid doing so because of past negative experiences or only having experience in developing relationships with inappropriate age groups.

Problem Solving

Recently, I filled in for a facilitator of an Art Therapy group where the directive was to draw an image about the group on a piece of paper which had been cut into the shape of a puzzle piece. After the group members finished drawing, they were instructed to put all the puzzle pieces together. It was interesting to see the group dynamic as some members went right to work trying to put the puzzle together. Others just wanted to boss the rest of the group around without doing any hands on work. Others preferred to let the motivated ones do the work. When one man tried to help out and received some negative feedback from a peer, he just gave up and walked out of the group. Sex Offenders have difficulty problem solving, so it was interesting to see how each one reacted and how they worked with each other. Discussion took place about the frustrations and each person's role.