Art Therapy Work
Personal Artwork
The Feeling of Unity
The Feeling of Unity explores the benefit of a weekly emotion-regulation-themed art therapy group. The study was conducted in an OASAS-approved outpatient clinic for adults with substance use and co-occurring mental health disorders.
From an attachment perspective, individuals with insecure attachment history and limited regulatory capacities are at risk of developing substance use disorders. The art therapy group has shown advantages for individuals who experience frequent dysregulation by creating a holding environment, managing emotions through creative materials, improving client engagement, fostering social connections, and building frustration tolerance skills. Seven art therapy directives were designed to meet essential treatment goals for those clients with substance use and other psychiatric diagnoses at the clinic.
Directive 1: Acrylic Print Book
This project is an intro-level directive that combines printmaking and book-making methods. The project is adopted from an emotion regulation directive designed by Edell (2016). The participants were encouraged to identify recent emotions and assign colors to them. They later used the colors to visualize the emotions in a painting and create prints using the painting. When finished, the participants bound the pages together into a print book as the final product.
The directive was found beneficial for improving client engagement, building confidence, and understanding the ebb and flow of intense emotions.
Directive 2: Pompom Doll
This project was designed as a family-oriented art project, as many clients had children in their families. After being introduced to basic pompom-making techniques, the participants utilized various materials to decorate their dolls. They were also encouraged to take extra materials and make dolls with their family members at home.
The directive appeared helpful for clients to destress through textile materials, process family conflicts, and strengthen social relationships.
Directive 3: Paper Beading
This project aimed to help clients build self-regulatory skills through the repetitive process of beading. The participants were encouraged to create paper beads and combine them with premade beads to create bracelets. The directive was found successful in destressing, building self-competence, improving engagement, and enhancing social connections. Many clients also shared that they enjoyed the directive as the final products were aesthetically pleasing.
Directive 4: Body at Peace & Body in Tension
This project was designed to promote physical awareness for emotion regulation. The participants were encouraged to reflect on how emotions and physical states could interact and affect each other. Transitioning into artmaking, they later created two self-portraits to represent the self at peace and the self with tension using materials of choice. The themes that emerged from the group included mindfulness techniques, emotional containment, and self-care.
Directive 5: Squeegee Painting
Squeegee Painting was a directive designed to promote spontaneous artmaking and reflective writing. The participants used cardboard and acrylic paints to create paintings and later added written reflections to their images. The directive was effective in engaging non-verbal clients, practicing healthy risk-taking, and building self-reflective skills.
Directive 6: Journaling Notebook
This project focused on the benefit of journaling for emotion regulation. The participants used various texture paper to create their own notebooks. The notebooks were found useful for time management, personal health management, and containing intense emotions.
Directive 7: Mindfulness Weaving
This project utilized cardboard weaving techniques to explore the benefit of textile materials for emotion regulation. The clients were encouraged to create yarn tapestries while discussing personal matters in the groups. The directive was found beneficial for building frustration tolerance skills, processing gender identities, strengthening therapeutic alliances, and improving self-competence.