Sharing successful directives

During a recent supervision, I asked the Art Therapists to have in mind a directive that had worked well in one of their groups. I asked one supervisee to present her directive for the rest of the group to do. The directive was to create a timeline using symbols for significant events, indicating if the event was positive or negative. It was a good exercise because it gave the therapists a sense of how the patients might feel when presented with an Art Therapy directive. Some of us were confused and had questions. Some of us didn't know where to start. Some of us only had a couple of events, some had many events. The supervisee used this directive with PTSD clients in the past, and you could see how it would be interesting to hear about the different events and how they effected their behavior.

New Year's Goal

Since it's the beginning of a new year, in supervision, we drew about our goals for the coming year, as Art Therapists. Everyone's goals were different, from being more organized, to using new directives, to going with the flow more. This can also be a good directive for patients to help them think about what they would like to work on or accomplish, short term or long term. They can also discuss how to achieve their goals and get feedback from peers.

Helping patients deal with the holidays

This month we've talked about the holidays, and the various ways the patients react to them. Some really get into the decorating, others get depressed, some get angry. In one of my groups, before Thanksgiving, we talked about being thankful. Of course this can be difficult for our patients who are hospitalized against their will, but they were all able to think of something they were grateful for. I also told the supervision group about the year a group of patients got upset because they weren't allowed to have lights on their Unit tree, so they threw their entire tree down a flight of stairs. As therapists, we can help by letting the patients do art and talk about their feelings, whether positive or negative.

Empathy for Patient

During a recent supervision, I asked the Art Therapists to draw a patient they felt sympathetic or empathetic towards. We often complain about patients since sex offenders are difficult to work with, so this was a change from our usual venting. This directive also helped explore transference and counter transference. The hospital frequently has staff who have inappropriate relationships with the patients, so it was also important to see how something like that can get started and discuss how to prevent that from happening.

Tie Dye Project

At work, the Art Therapists in the department bought white t-shirts with the name of the facility and "Art Therapy" on them. Then, during supervision, we all tie dyed our shirts using a kit bought from Michael's. All the shirts came out uniquely, as everyone used different colors and methods. It was a fun activity, and it helps us feel united and a part of a group which is good for morale. Staff and patients have made positive comments about the shirts and our creativity.

Coloring Mandalas for Meditation

In the Coloring Mandalas for Meditation group, during the first session, I had all the group members make a list of positive feelings. I then had one member choose a feeling from all the lists, and then each member chose a Mandala to color based on that feeling. It was interesting because one sex offender had a hard time even identifying any positive feelings. One felt that his list of 7 feelings was complete even though I said they could continue adding to their list. Eventually, I hope the group members will be able to talk more about their feelings and how they can experience more positive feelings in their lives. In the meantime, maybe just meditating on a positive feeling for the duration of the group will be helpful.

Good Lives Model

The facility where I work is transitioning to start using the Good Lives Model in our sex offender treatment. In a few weeks, I'm bringing back a group we used to run called Coloring Mandalas for Meditation. This will fit with one of the goods referred to as Peace of Mind or Inner Peace. Coloring mandalas can be focusing and calming. In addition, creating mandalas can help relieve stress and reduce pain. Hopefully, the group members can use this activity as a healthy coping skill, and improve the quality of their lives.