Art Therapy and Teenagers
Our group of teens stared at us with angry eyes and hands crossed tightly across their chests. One girl primped and applied lipstick while another adjusted her hot pink thong so it showed just over the top of her jeans. “So”, Brad, my group co-leader said to the group, “what’s up with you guys today?” No one answered. It looked like the group had an unspoken agreement that we would be getting the silent treatment. “Well Brad,” I said in my sweetest voice, “I guess since no one is talking then we need to make puppets.” The kids looked dubious. Brad agreed, “Poppy, what a great idea! The puppets can talk for the kids!” Brad and I started pulling out supplies – felt, hot glue, sparkles, google eyes, shells, marbles, Mardi Gras beads, yarn, markers, and scissors. We spread the materials out on the floor and went to work making puppets. Slowly, our surly group of adolescents slid out of their seats onto the carpet, fingering the materials with interest. “Can I use these black sparkles to make a pimp puppet?” one teen asked. “Whatever you think is cool.” I replied. The boy quickly grabbed up the black sparkles before anyone else could claim them. Brad and I glanced around the room. Now instead of a room full of angry adolescents, we had a room full of industrious teens busily creating puppets. The girl with the thong was happily adding a pink thong to her puppet. Another teen was deep in discussion with another group member about how he could add a do-rag and braids to his puppet with the hot glue gun. Ah, the magic of art therapy works again!
Adolescents are perhaps the most difficult group to counsel. Neither child nor adult, teens are in a kind of developmental limbo. They are too old for time out, yet too young to shoulder grown-up responsibility. Many therapists are reluctant to work with adolescents in therapy because they require a great deal of personal energy and patience. This is unfortunate, because adolescents benefit greatly from therapy with a counselor who understands the special needs of this unique group of young people.
Teens, unlike adults, often need more innovative ways to express themselves than through “talk therapy”. Expressive art therapy groups are a perfect way to allow teens to communicate difficult thoughts and feelings through various artistic mediums. Art therapy assists teens in solving problems, increasing self-esteem, building social skills, and behavior management. The process of art therapy helps adolescents chart their therapeutic journey from start to finish, helping them see where they have been and how far they have come. Many counselors have to work with open groups, groups where new members are continually accepted and there is no set starting point or completion point. Art therapy is excellent for these types of groups because it allows members to participate at their own level, rather than forcing them to “catch up” with other group members.
Group warm-up should be a fun time where members reconnect with each other and transition from the outside world into the safety of the group. A basic warm-up activity is to have the members introduce themselves and tell one good or bad thing that happened to them during the previous week. This is especially important in open groups where new members are present at each meeting. To help the members remember each other’s names, use a simple name association game. For instance, have each member describe him/herself using the first letter of their name. Hello! My name is Poppy and I like popcorn, my favorite dessert is popsicles, and my favorite animal is the panda. Teens feel more included and in control when other members address them by name instead of “Hey you – the new kid”.
Once the group has completed the warm-up activity the group leader should spend a few minutes going over group rules and boundary issues. The rules and boundaries need not be lengthy or set in stone. However, it is important to give teens limits for their behavior within the sessions so they know what is and is not expected of them. Common group rules include: (1) attending sessions on time, (2) no talking when the leader or another member is talking, and (3) not interrupting other members.
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