Kinder therapy in the work of a psychologist with adolescents. Art therapy in working with teenagers in difficult life situations

Creative activity, like art, has a positive impact on both adults and children. Therefore, to work with preschoolers and adolescents, psychologists use a method of work called art therapy. Its popularity is growing every day, and its effectiveness continues to amaze parents and children.

Art therapy for children

What is art therapy?

Art therapy translated from English means “treatment with art.” For children and adults, art therapy is a set of special techniques and exercises using creative types of work. These techniques are used to improve health and correct psychological state.

Art therapy with children was first used in the United States after World War II. Then this method was used to diagnose and identify problems in children who were taken from concentration camps. Today, art therapy not only has not lost its popularity, but has also received much wider application. With the development of psychological practice, methods of working with people who needed correction of their psychological state progressed.

Objectives of children's art therapy

As you know, the left hemisphere is responsible for logical thinking. The right serves as a trigger for processes that help to authentically express feelings and experiences through art and creativity. Art therapy classes with children allow you to synchronize the work of both hemispheres. And as a result, the joint work of the brain hemispheres will be aimed at recognizing and correcting internal problems, fears, complexes and other deviations in psychological balance.

Children's art therapy is used to achieve the following goals:

1. Diagnose the child's psychological problems.
2. The least painful way to bring out suppressed emotions, feelings and thoughts.
3. Strengthen the effectiveness of ongoing psychotherapy.
4. Teach your child to concentrate on sensations and feelings.
5. Facilitate the process of establishing contact with peers and people around you.
6. Develop creative abilities.
7. Develop the skill of self-control.
8. Increase self-esteem.

Art therapy in working with children

In the modern world, children's art therapy is used not only by psychologists. In many kindergartens and schools, this method of psychological assistance is used as part of a methodological program for the development of a child and the formation of his personality. It is worth remembering that when working with aggressive children, certain difficulties may arise: the child may play pranks, break something, tear. However, this does not mean that art therapy cannot help them. Aggression just takes a little longer to correct.

Types of art therapy

Thanks to its active development, art therapy methods for children have managed to cover almost all aspects of art and activities related to creativity. Most of them are applicable to children of different ages. The main thing is to correctly apply this or that technique depending on the age of the children.

Today, the following types of art therapy are widespread:

1. Isotherapy.
2. Color therapy.
3. Bibliotherapy.
4. Dance therapy.
5. Music therapy.
6. Therapy using tissue.
7. Dramatherapy, etc.

The abundance of types of art therapy confirms that art treatment is extremely versatile and effective.

Types of art therapy for preschoolers

Isotherapy

Isotherapy is aimed at helping a child show his true emotions and feelings, overcome fear or learn something new. During isotherapy, an adult asks the child to create a drawing on a given or free topic. The specialist carefully monitors what the child draws and what emotions he experiences at that moment. After drawing, the child describes what he depicted.

Isotherapy - “My Family” test

Monotype

Monotype is a drawing technique using prints. To perform it you will need paints (watercolor or liquid gouache), ink, ink and a smooth surface that will not absorb paint. Plastic objects, linoleum, and paper with a dense glossy surface can be used as such a surface.

Monotype – “the story of one print”

A pattern of spots, lines or something else is applied to the surface. After this, a sheet of paper is applied to the drawing. The result is a mirror print of the design. A sheet of paper with a print is given to the child. His task is to describe the images that he saw on the print.

Scribble

This exercise is very simple - the child is given a sheet of paper and a felt-tip pen, a pen or paints, and pencils. The child’s task is to create balls of lines on a piece of paper without thinking about the end result. After the lines have intertwined into their bizarre pattern, the child examines what happened and describes the images he saw. At this stage, you can complement your work by clarifying the contours, images, or shading in some areas.

Sandbox

Sand therapy in kindergarten is a widespread technique. To use it, it is enough to have a box of sand or a full-fledged sandbox. Children of primary preschool age learn tactile sensations, self-expression and become liberated by sculpting various sand figures or drawing using both dry and wet sand. Sand play results cannot be interpreted. The teacher needs to observe the process, not direct it. The child experiences a release of suppressed energy, which allows it to be transformed and directed towards development and learning.

Sand therapy in kindergarten

Music therapy

It's no secret that music has an incredibly powerful influence on people. Music therapy helps improve the performance of a growing person, relieves stress and develops creativity. The most commonly used exercises are clapping and tapping to the rhythm of music, listening to music, and playing various instruments. Music therapy orients the teacher and children towards mutual cooperation and the integration of various types of activities.

Dance therapy

Dance therapy is a group art therapy with children, which is aimed at combating complexes and helping to establish social contacts. The use of this type of art therapy on the recommendation of a psychotherapist allows you to overcome complexes and learn to express your emotions and experiences through body movements.

Dance therapy with children

Fairy tales

You can work effectively with preschoolers using fairy tale therapy, pursuing a therapeutic correctional goal. The essence of this technique is that various situations from everyday life are played out with children in the form of fairy tales. Today, psychologists and psychotherapists can use the following types of fairy tales in their work:

• Psychocorrectional tale. Such fairy tales highlight a specific problem that gnaws at the child. When performing this task, it is important to remember that the situation in the fairy tale should not completely coincide with the child’s story. During the story, the child needs to make decisions or choices. This will help solve the existing problem.
• Author's artistic fairy tale. This type of fairy tale can highlight a variety of problems and issues. This could be the problem of theft or relationships with parents and much more.
• Tales of transformation. The most common use of this type of fairy tale is to correct a child’s self-esteem.
• Horror tales. Psychologists use them to resist fears, phobias, and childhood fears. They must be told with a drawn-out intonation and a “scary” voice. It is worth remembering that the end of such a fairy tale should be funny.

Fairytale therapy is suitable for both children and adults

Play therapy

Game therapy is used to enhance the progress of a child’s personal development, removing his difficulties of a social and psychological nature. By working with toys, the child creates a model of the situation, expresses his deepest feelings about this situation and finds a way out of it.

Art therapy for teenagers

Adolescence is one of the most difficult periods in the development of a person’s personality. During puberty, many problems of a mental or psychophysical nature may appear and continue. That is why psychologists recommend paying special attention to this age category of children and working more intensively with them.

Art therapy for teenagers

The importance of art therapy for adolescence

In order to maintain and strengthen the mental health of a teenager, it is recommended to use flexible therapy methods. It is necessary to use art therapy for adolescents with deviant behavior, since its methods most closely correspond to the concept of flexibility. For example, with the help of coloring you can calm your nerves, and crafts will reduce the level of aggression and help you let go of a situation that is disturbing for your child.

Using the methods and exercises proposed by experts, you can increase self-esteem, rid a teenager of negative thoughts and emotions, overcome complexes, stress and phobias, strengthen memory and develop thought processes.

Forms of work with teenagers

Today, there are two known forms of art therapy in working with adolescents:

• individual;
• group

As practice shows, group types of exercises turn out to be more useful and effective than individual classes. Group art therapy for children and adolescents has the following benefits:

1. Develops the ability to listen to others.
2. Develops the ability to provide support.
3. Helps to jointly solve team problems.
4. Helps create a positive family experience.
5. Gives the teenager the opportunity to feel his independence.

Correctly applied methods and techniques of art therapy can guarantee such processes as acceptance of oneself and one's individuality, the development of creative abilities and the development of many useful social skills.

Art therapy for children and adolescents

Modern art therapy can be used to prevent teenage depression, which is quite dangerous during the development of a person’s personality.

Exercises for group work

Various exercises are used to eliminate depression and other problems in adolescents. From this variety, we can single out the exercises that are most popular and, accordingly, lead to good results.

world creation

The task of each group member is to come up with their own world, country or state and depict it on paper. After all the drawings are completed, you need to present your drawing. The world presentation includes:

1. Description of the population.
2. Description of the activities of the population.
3. Description of traditions and culture.
4. Presentation of the legislative framework.
5. Image of the coat of arms and flag.

Mood

Teenagers in the group need to draw the mood in which they are at a given moment in time. The leader monitors what each group member portrays. If the picture shows something negative, then the presenter asks to take another sheet and draw something that could correct the situation. When all the drawings are completed, the group discusses them together.

Art therapy and mood

My favorite animal

Group members must portray themselves as the animal they love most. When the drawings are completed, they are shown to the rest of the group, interpreted, and described. Discussion is underway.

Conclusion

Art therapy is a modern direction in psychology that allows us to solve most of the existing problems of children and adolescents. One of these problems may be neurosis. A wide variety of art therapy exercises allows you to use them in kindergartens, schools, and at home. And also this type of psychological correction can be an element of the program used by a children's summer camp.

Today there are many different exercises for children of different ages. In some countries, to maintain children's mental health, art therapy must accompany the learning process.

Ekaterina Shchitova
Art therapy session “The Power of Creativity” (art therapy as a method of developing stress resistance in adolescents)

Currently, more and more people around the world are experiencing stress. This is due to the large emotional stress that arises in different life situations. Stress experience different age groups: children from preschool age, schoolchildren, students and older people.

One of the reasons stress in children - the expectation of punishment from parents for various offenses and poor performance at school.

Teenagers and youth are exposed stress for various reasons. It can be stressful conditions related to passing exams, relationship problems in the family, with peers, difficulties in learning, etc. Personal characteristics such as low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, fear of failure, uncertainty about one’s future are also reasons stress in adolescence.

Currently, psychology is paying more and more attention to various art therapy methods, which serve to successfully overcome stressful situations and the formation of stress resistance.

From english « art therapy» translated as “treatment based on art classes(figurative) creativity..." However, in practice art therapy is not always associated with treatment in the strict medical sense of the word. There are many application examples art therapy as a means mental harmonization and human development as a way to resolve social conflicts.

Almost everyone (regardless of their age, cultural background and social status) can participate in art therapeutic work, which does not require him to have any visual abilities or artistic skills. That's why art therapy has virtually no restrictions on use.

Art therapy work in most cases causes teenagers positive emotions, helps overcome apathy and lack of initiative, form a more active life position. Art therapy is an appeal to internal personal, life experience.

Thanks to art therapy you can get rid of negative thoughts that block the abilities of our body, free yourself from causing emotional stress. Once negative emotions become available for directed visualization, it becomes possible to get rid of them by expressing them in a drawing, sculpture or collage.

Art therapy is a powerful tool for working with stressful situations and ways out of them. With its help, a person releases his emotions and thereby relieves tension. One of the important resource states of a person is confidence in his forces, which leads to calmness and concentration of thoughts when fulfilling your life goals. At formation of stress resistance confidence in one’s own resources appears, self-esteem increases and a person’s internal harmony is restored, which leads to satisfaction life and personality development.

Art therapy session« The power of creativity» .

The target audience: teenagers

Number of persons: 10-12 people.

Age:14-16 years.

Target - formation of stress resistance in adolescents, harmonization of personality development through the development of abilities of self-expression and self-knowledge.

Plan classes:

1. Preparatory exercise – "Color the picture" (20 minutes).

2. Basic exercises – "We express our concern", "Drawing with both hands" (45 min).

3. Final exercise – "My portrait in the sun" (15 minutes).

Materials: album or drawing paper; brushes, paints, colored pencils; CDs, tape recorder.

In the first exercise, participants classes color the pictures. This task is a preparatory task. The purpose of the preparatory exercise is: set the guys up for class, create a favorable atmosphere for work.

Participants themselves choose the visual means who they want to work with. Based on the chosen color scheme, one can judge the emotional state of a person at the moment. Drawings are most often abstract in nature, which contributes to the manifestation of imagination.

Basic exercises take the longest. They correspond to goals and objectives classes:

Exercise "We express our concern" :

Participants classes are suggested to take a comfortable place, relaxing pose;

find a feeling of anxiety in yourself; determine where she is localized: in the stomach, face, head, legs; take colored pencils; subdominant hand (not with the hand with which the participant is engaged in labor activities) throw out anxiety from yourself and transfer it to paper.

Exercise "Drawing with both hands" .

Participants draw with both hands. This exercise allows you to activate both hands and both hemispheres of the brain, helps you get rid of unnecessary sad, anxious thoughts, and calms your nerves.

The goal of the final exercise is to complete classes. It is usually short in time and easy to implement.

Exercise "My portrait in the sun" .

Participants draw the sun, write their name or draw their portrait in the center of the solar circle. Then they draw rays and write their virtues along the rays, all the good things they know about themselves. It is necessary to try to have as many rays as possible.

Bibliographic list.

1. Kiseleva M. V. Art therapy in working with children: Guide for child psychologists, teachers, doctors and specialists working with children /M. V. Kiseleva. – St. Petersburg: Rech, 2007. – 160 p.

2. Kopytin A.I. Workshop on art therapy / A. I. Kopytin. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001. – 448 p.

3. Kopytin A.I. Guide to group art therapy / A. I. Kopytin. – St. Petersburg: Speech, 2003. – 320 p.

4. Loginova O. I. How to cope with stress? / O. I. Loginova // [Electronic resource] / Mode access: www.olga2901l.narod.ru

5. Marder L. D. Colored world. Group art therapeutic work with children / L. D. Marder. – M.: Genesis, 2007. – 143 p.

6. Williams H. "Speaking" drawing, or how to discover your deepest "I"/ H. Williams. – M.: AST: Astrel, 2007. – 205 p.

Anxiety is a child of evolution

Anxiety is a feeling familiar to absolutely every person. Anxiety is based on the instinct of self-preservation, which we inherited from our distant ancestors and which manifests itself in the form of a defensive reaction “Flight or fight.” In other words, anxiety does not arise out of nowhere, but has an evolutionary basis. If at a time when a person was constantly in danger in the form of an attack by a saber-toothed tiger or an invasion of a hostile tribe, anxiety really helped to survive, then today we live in the safest time in the history of mankind. But our instincts continue to operate at a prehistoric level, creating many problems. Therefore, it is important to understand that anxiety is not your personal flaw, but a mechanism developed by evolution that is no longer relevant in modern conditions. Anxious impulses, once necessary for survival, have now lost their expediency, turning into neurotic manifestations that significantly limit the lives of anxious people.

2.3.1. Psychological program “Art therapy as a method of developing the ability for self-knowledge and self-expression of adolescents”

Relevance. According to numerous studies (Galiguzova L.N., 1996; Pashina A.Kh., 1993; Prikhozhan A.M., 2005; Ryazanova E.P., 1993; Tolstykh N.N., 2005, etc.), the obtained In childhood, traumatic experiences affect the child’s overall development and lead to disruptions in relationships with others. Under these conditions, quite often a specific attitude of the child towards himself is formed, and self-acceptance is disrupted. Self-knowledge, which is significant for adolescents, fades into the background, giving way to feelings of inferiority, uselessness, and rejection. As a rule, this causes internal tension, anxiety, inadequacy of defensive reactions to grievances, increased sensitivity to the opinions of others, etc. As a result of prolonged exposure to traumatic situations in the family and school, maladjustment occurs on the child. The internal constraint and emotional closeness of such adolescents interferes with self-disclosure and self-expression.

This program is aimed at compensating for the consequences of long-term exposure to traumatic situations - harmonizing the emotional sphere, developing the ability for self-knowledge and self-expression of adolescents. The proposed training also has a positive impact on the development of the ability to socially adapt. The program is based on art therapy methods. Classes are held in group form, but many exercises can be used for individual work.

Art therapy sessions mainly use visual arts. In order to prevent mental satiety, it is advisable to combine drawing exercises with the use of music, movement exercises, psycho-gymnastics 1, with writing stories, the method of figurative visualization, etc. In addition, these methods help identify, understand and work through difficult-to-verbalize problems and experiences of clients.

Adolescence and adolescence are favorable periods for the use of art therapy. Communication through expressive products is often preferable to verbal communication, since it helps young people to “hide” their experiences in visual images and avoid direct contact with an adult (psychologist, teacher). As children and adolescents become aware of their intrapsychic problems and conflicts, they can gradually move on to verbalizing, overcoming, and resolving them.

Theoretical foundations of the program. The term “art therapy” (literally art therapy) was first introduced by A. Hill when describing his own work as an art teacher with tuberculosis patients. Initially, art therapy was developed in the context of the theoretical ideas of S. Freud and C. G. Jung, and later acquired a broader conceptual base, including the humanistic models of personality development of C. Rogers and A. Maslow. The further formation and development of this psychotherapeutic direction is associated with the names of D. Winnicott, V. Aucklander and others. Art therapy arose at the intersection of science and art and combined the achievements of not only different areas of psychotherapy, but also pedagogy, cultural studies, and sociology. Therefore, some experts consider this direction as a type of creative activity with a significant “therapeutic” effect. The non-clinical definition, according to A.I. Kopytin, considers art therapy as a tool for progressive pedagogy, development of mental health potential and the formation of a full-fledged creative personality.

Art therapy is a specialized form of psychotherapy based on art, primarily visual and creative activities. Art allows us to reconstruct a conflict-related traumatic event in a special symbolic form and find its resolution through the restructuring of this situation based on the creative abilities of the subject.

The benefits of art therapy work with children and adults who have been abused or have other traumatic experiences have been proven. According to many authors, due to the dissociation of traumatic memories, the victim’s ability to verbally express feelings is impaired, due to powerful psychological defenses and the characteristics of nervous processes associated with impressions of dramatic events. At the same time, the author notes, the images are captured as “flashes”, conveying, like a photograph, all the smallest details. That is why they can only be reproduced through visualization. Visual media, in this case, provide a unique opportunity for reflection, awareness and processing of traumatic memories. And in the process of drawing, it is possible to observe dramatic events as if from the outside, abstractly. For this purpose, techniques of graphical modeling of situations, stories in pictures, retrospective review of works, writing stories are used.
and others.

The goal of art therapeutic work is to encourage group members to learn through experiences that were previously not realized by them, to “reveal” the logic and arguments of certain previously unconscious actions. The more understandable a person becomes to himself, the better he understands the effects of his own personality on others, the more capable he will be of understanding possible deviations
in your behavior.

In other words, in a spontaneous drawing, the unconscious, hidden by internal censorship, not only appears, but is also realized. By learning something new about yourself, a person develops intellectually and emotionally.

There is a wide range of indications for art therapeutic work with children, adolescents and adults.

Among them:

negative “I-concept”, disharmonious, distorted self-esteem, low degree of self-acceptance;

difficulties in emotional development, impulsivity, increased anxiety, fears, aggressiveness;

experiences of emotional rejection, feelings of loneliness, stressful conditions, depression;

inappropriate behavior, disturbances in relationships with loved ones, conflicts in interpersonal relationships, dissatisfaction
in a family situation, jealousy, hostility towards others.

Among the positive phenomena recorded by both foreign and domestic experts, the most significant can be named.

Art therapy:

Creates a positive emotional mood in the group.

Facilitates the process of communication with peers and adults.

Joint participation in artistic activities contributes to the creation of relationships of mutual acceptance and empathy.

Strengthens the child's cultural identity and helps overcome the language barrier, especially in multinational schools.

Allows you to address those real problems or fantasies that for some reason are difficult to discuss verbally.
Provides an opportunity to experiment on a symbolic level

with a variety of feelings, explore and express them in a socially acceptable way. Working on drawings, paintings, sculptures is a safe way to discharge destructive and self-destructive tendencies (Ruddestam K., 1993). Art therapy allows you to work through thoughts and emotions that a person is used to suppressing.
Develops a sense of internal control. Art therapy classes create conditions for experimenting with kinesthetic

and visual sensations, stimulate the development of sensorimotor skills and, in general, the right (figurative) hemisphere of the brain.

Promotes creative self-expression, development of imagination, aesthetic experience, practical skills in visual arts, and artistic abilities in general.

Increases a person’s adaptive abilities to everyday life and school. Reduces fatigue, negative emotional states and their manifestations associated with learning.

Effective in correcting various deviations and disorders of personal development. Relies on the healthy potential of the individual, internal mechanisms of self-regulation and healing.
Allows you to build a relationship with your child based on love

and mutual affection and thereby compensate for their possible absence in the parental home.
One picture is worth a thousand words - says Eastern wisdom. Indeed, graphical methods give a person the opportunity to
in the content of visual products, should focus not on speculative ideas and one’s own projections, but on the associations of the author himself and the “language” of his body (Goodman R., 2000). What has been said is consonant with the beliefs of M. M. Bakhtin, according to which it is impossible to master the inner person, see and understand, making him the object of an indifferent neutral analysis. You can approach him and open him up - or rather, force him to open himself up - only through communication, dialogically.

The use of graphic methods when working with the client’s unconscious has its own characteristics. IN The works of psychotherapist V. Oaklander contain simple instructions that reflect the very essence of the art therapeutic discussion of visual material, according to R. Goodman, "golden rules".

Let the client talk about his work the way he wants to.

Ask to comment on certain parts of the drawing, clarify their meaning, describe certain shapes, objects or characters.

This will help avoid making premature assumptions about the content of the work.

Ask the client to describe the work in first person, preferably for each element of the image.

The client can build dialogues between individual parts of the work, regardless of whether those parts are characters, geometric shapes or objects.

Encourage the client to focus on the colors. What are they telling him? By focusing on the color, he can become aware of something. It should be taken into account that colors can be used in different ways at different times: in some cases they reflect the properties of objects, in others - the author’s attitude towards these objects.
and the client is not yet ready to accept them, remember that there will be an opportunity to return to these explanations.

Pay special attention to missing parts of the image
and empty spaces in the picture. It is not at all necessary that the absence of one or another part should carry a symbolic load. The image may have a "shorthand" character.

For example, according to experts, when depicting a human figure by persons who have suffered violence, the absence of the lower body in some cases may indicate repressed sexuality, and in others - a distorted image of the “I”.

Remember that sometimes you should take the image literally, sometimes you should look for something opposite to what is depicted, especially if there is reason for such an assumption.

Often children strive to reflect an ideal, unrealistic image of “I” in a drawing, as a result of which they painfully experience the collapse of this ideal every time.

Ask the client to talk about how they felt while creating the work, before it began, and also after it was completed.

Give the client the opportunity to work at a pace that is convenient for him and with the knowledge that he will depict something that he can depict and reflect those states that he is ready to explore. Regardless of the degree of directiveness of the approach, we must give the client the opportunity to feel that he is in control of the artistic process and its results. Strive to highlight the most consistent themes and images in the client’s work. Over time, as semantic connections are determined, much can become clearer and “speak” in them. Over time, the client will be ready to see unified lines of meaning in his images in the context of all the work done.
in the group there is a so-called “working” atmosphere - preparing participants for spontaneous artistic activity and intra-group communication. For this purpose, warming up motor exercises, elements of psycho-gymnastics, as well as simple visual techniques are used. For example, various variants of the “doodle” technique (according to D. Winnicott), “paint test” and others, designed to reduce control by consciousness. The next stage of the lesson involves the creation of a thematic drawing by each individual or group as a whole. This stage of the lesson is conducive to psychodiagnostics. Thus, fairly comprehensive information about the author can be obtained by interpreting the drawings in accordance with the established criteria of well-known projective techniques.

The next stage of group work is creating conditions for intragroup communication. It is believed that verbalizing internal experiences helps to reduce their severity and, to some extent, free oneself from them. Therefore, each participant is invited to show their work
and talk about those thoughts, feelings, associations that arose
he is in the process of artistic activity.

The final stage involves a reflective analysis of the work
in a safe group environment. There are usually elements of spontaneous “mutual therapy” through friendly statements, positive programming, and support. The atmosphere of emotional warmth, empathy, and care that usually develops in classes allows each training participant to experience a situation of success in a particular activity. As a result, a positive experience of self-respect and self-acceptance is gained, and self-esteem is strengthened.

Target this program - harmonization of the emotional sphere
person through the development of the ability to self-expression and self-knowledge.

Tasks:

Development of the ability to express personality.

Development of the need for self-knowledge.

Stimulating socially acceptable release of repressed emotions.

Emotional response to traumatic experiences.

Strengthening your own personal value.

Estimated time: 26 hours.

Material: badges, colored and simple pencils, paints, markers, felt-tip pens, whatman paper, etc.

Features of organizing the group's work:

During the classes, only paints are used, with the exception of the first lesson, where participants are offered a choice between paints, pencils and felt-tip pens.
This is due to the fact that many teenagers are afraid to use paints as a tool of self-expression in their first lessons, citing the fact that they do not know how to draw “carefully”,

i.e. “the way they want.” Free choice of means of self-expression in the first lesson allows for a “soft” transition to the use of paints.
Classes are accompanied by calm music, which helps

in combination with the use of paints, the group members quickly relax.

Each exercise and lesson as a whole necessarily ends with a reflective analysis of accompanying feelings and thoughts.

Art therapy is effective in small groups of 5 to 10 people, as this helps create a trusting atmosphere. In addition, it allows you to pay more attention to each group member, which is very important for teenagers in the process of self-discovery.

To conduct classes, it is desirable to have a group of children with an age difference of no more than 1-2 years. The program is intended for teenagers aged 14-16 years.
The maximum duration of each lesson is 2-2.5 hours, with

subject to a combination of multidirectional exercises that prevent mental satiety.

lesson program

Lesson 1

What seems inaccessible sometimes lies at arm's length.

Target Eastern wisdom.

- getting the group members to know each other, creating the prerequisites for more free expression of their feelings, introducing themselves.

Exercise 1. Introduction
Each of the training participants chooses a name for themselves as they will be called in the group; it may not coincide with their real name. Group members write their chosen name on a card and attach it to their clothing. Then the participants introduce themselves in a circle. These names remain

each of them throughout the training. After introducing themselves, each group member says a few words about themselves.

Exercise 2. Testing colors
without thinking about why this is being done. Let your hand guide itself along the sheet of paper; the main task is not to leave the sheet blank. You can use all the colors or just one - as it turns out, the main thing is to fully engage in the work and use one sheet of paper after another. The work lasts 10-15 minutes. In general, this activity is aimed at identifying the general emotional state of the artist based on what colors dominate on the paper at the beginning, how they change during the work.

The exercise allows you to emotionally tune in to the further course of the lesson and relieve the tension that naturally arises at the beginning of training sessions.

Exercise 3. Doodle

This exercise can be done in pairs, where after creating doodles, partners exchange drawings and create an image.

Exercise 4. Self-presentation

The purpose of this exercise is to introduce yourself to the group without resorting to
to words, but using only figurative means. The drawing can reflect the teenager’s lifestyle, his interests, values, family, friends, occupation, and peculiarities of his worldview.

Exercise 5. Drawing yourself in this world

Teenagers are invited to depict the world around them as they imagine it and to draw themselves in this world. The drawing can be metaphorical, symbolic or realistic.

This exercise is used as a diagnostic exercise and provides information that is advisable to use when determining tactics for further training.

Psychological commentary. At the first stages of work, participants differ in the degree of readiness for expression, contact with an art therapist, and openness in verbalizing their experiences. Some people perceive fine art as creating realistic, beautiful drawings. At this stage, participants are explained that their work will not be graded. What is important is not the aesthetic side of a “work of art,” but the process of its creation, the emotional state of the author of the drawing, his inner world, and the search for adequate means of self-expression.

Lesson 2

To seek wisdom outside oneself is the height of stupidity.

Aphorism of Ancient China

Target - expanding the range of means used for self-expression, developing the ability to verbalize one’s own feelings and experiences.

Exercise 1. Fruit basket

All group members are invited to identify themselves as a fruit and introduce themselves. Then the participants, with the exception of one, sit down
in a circle on chairs. The one left without a chair is the buyer. A buyer comes in and says: “I came from the market - I bought an apple and a pear.” At the same time, Apple and Pear change places, and during this time the Buyer must have time to sit in the place of one of these players. Then the remaining one becomes a new Buyer and everything repeats.

The exercise allows you to emotionally prepare participants fortraining session, avoid “attachment to a place”, develops memory, attention, dexterity. Typically the game lasts 5-7 minutes.

Exercise 2. Drawing a feeling

Teenagers are asked to draw on a blank sheet of paper the personal feelings that overwhelm them at the moment. They can be expressed in the form of colored lines, spots, geometric shapes. You should not try to draw something specific, highly artistic. The main thing is to convey the mood. Therefore, you need to draw spontaneously everything that comes to mind.

Exercise 3. There are different feelings...

Teenagers are given blank cards. Everyone writes on it the name of any emotion, feeling or state. Then all the cards are collected, shuffled and dealt out again. Each participant draws on a piece of paper the feeling, emotion or state that is written on the card. The group tries to guess the emotion from the drawing.

Exercise 4. What emotion is this?

Teenagers are given blank cards. Everyone writes on it the name of any emotion, feeling or state. Then all the cards are collected, shuffled and dealt out again. Next, each participant, in turn, needs to use gestures, facial expressions, and pantomime to depict what is written on the cards. The group guesses the depicted emotion, feeling or state.

Group reflection based on the results of the lesson.

Lesson 3

In life, what matters is not how many talents a person has, but whether he was able to develop any of them.

N. Enkelmann, German psychologist.

Target - in-depth analysis by teenagers of their own personality, elaboration of previously suppressed thoughts and feelings, correction of fears.

Exercise 1. Find the changes

One of the participants is invited, having memorized the location of objects in the room and individual details on each of the participants, to go out the door for a few minutes. The rest of the participants make one change on themselves and 5-6 changes in the room. Then the driver comes in and tries to detect all the changes.

Exercise 2. Characters of my personality

Teenagers are encouraged to portray themselves as a community of different characters, reflecting different facets of their own “I”.

Exercise 3. I'm in the wild forest

Participants are invited to draw themselves lost in a wild forest.

This exercise has high diagnostic potentialscrap and allows you to work out fears and strategies for dealing with the situationyah fear of something. It is important to focus adolescents’ attention on possible ways out of a symbolic stressful situation.

Exercise 4. Grab your hands

Participants stand in a circle, close their eyes and, at the leader’s signal, begin to converge towards the center, arms extended in front of them. Everyone's task is to grab as many hands as possible without opening their eyes. Then they open their eyes and look: who grabbed whose hands, who was pushed back, etc.

Group reflection based on the results of the lesson.