When you look like a little kids sitting in the sandbox, get dirty with paints, it seems that different and can not be. At school age the norm is that the child keeps interest in drawing and creativity in General. And the majority of children with special health problems are also happy to work with sand, paints, clay. But there are those who your situation is call a professional psychologist. And this is also the beauty of my profession.
Emotional blockages formed due to insecure attachment to his mother leads to the fact that the child is afraid to talk about their feelings, to identify them.
“I feel nothing”
“Let's not about character”
“I can't talk about emotions”
“What are you feeling? I feel fine”, - such answers hear on the first sessions.
to Melt this ice is not easy.&the Unit is so strong that it gives the opportunity not only to verbalize their emotions, feelings, but also creates a fear of working with sand, paints.
In this article I want to share an example of working with a teenager of 15 years with a delay of mental development. in short: intelligence is saved, the emotional-volitional sphere are underdeveloped.
a Few sessions left to establish contact with the teenager. Session, during which the teen could interact with an emotionally involved parent figure. Sessions in which the teen could answer monosyllabic sentences, but more simple “yeah” or silence. And it has been taken maternal figure. “You are, you're good, you can be what you want it to be" - such a basis was the work done.
Sessions took place regularly once a week and it also formed a sense of security.
the Teenager has long refused to verbalize their feelings. The only way to Express their emotions became art practice. First, the teenager chose only pencils. responded to the offer to draw something according to the task, such as house, man, tree. Could Express in color their mood.
After a few sessions I was invited to try to work with sand. Is “try”. in order to assess the suitability of this material to him. the Teenager agreed. A few minutes later he was sitting in front of the sandbox and stared at her. Slightly touched, but to act with the sand afraid. The result was a cell in which was tamped figures, and a few scattered cubes. To describe the sand painting, the teenager did not want and could not.
In subsequent sessions to work with the sand, the teenager refused. Only drew with pencils.
a Certain breakthrough was the opportunity to work with paints. The teenager admitted that he did not draw colors, as an experiment, agreed to try it. Exercises for work I took from the book S. N. Ivanova “Diagnosis and correction of color and pattern" (Moscow, 2017). Special thanks to the author.
During the child, the teenager mentioned the relaxation, in some cases, talked about inspiration, which has long experienced. This apparently normally tense face relaxed.
the Offer to work with sand sounded from me at each session. But the boy stubbornly refused. He continued to paint.
after 16 sessions of the day came when, after my proposal he first just walked up to the sand, picked up some figures. Through doubt, still decided to work with sand, but came to him in a special way. Rather ran up to him, astride on a chair! In the first sandbox is only used colored stones, crystals.
the Second sandbox did not require my invitation. As soon as the teenager entered the office, immediately went to the sandbox and started to work. There has been a lot of interaction with the very sand. The figures used, and then cleaned. All the work was quite dynamic. In the end, the teenager was able to expose the bottom of the sand paintings. For me it was an obvious break in work with the unconscious. Professional jubilation knew no bounds!
In the course of work with the teenager concluded that in the treatment of adolescents it is important knowledge of several methods and techniques. Pre-emptive “entry point” for a contact and correction is the art therapy.
Work with a teenager is still ongoing. New and ahead of his personal achievements, I'm sure.
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