In Pictures… Rasha Al Saheely reveals important details about art therapy

Rasha Al Saheely, art therapy specialist, presented important details to Life Foundation for Development and Social Reintegration about the importance and how to use the art in communication and psychological rehabilitation. Al Saheely presented a detailed description of the treatment and followed it with a practical model on trainees. Psychological schools, and explained the efforts of psychologists in this area, and to increase the benefit Rasha Al Saheely wrote to Life Foundation’s website this article about art therapy..:

Art is no longer a painting or a sculpture, but it is one of the most recognized therapeutic methods at the local and international levels. The American Association of Plastic Art Therapy has described this type of treatment as the therapeutic use of artistic production through the invention of art and reflection on its production and operations.

Individuals can raise their awareness of themselves and others, cope with their symptoms, stress and trauma, improve their cognitive abilities, and enjoy the joy of life through art. Art therapists are trained professionals in both art and therapy. They are familiar with human development, psychological theories, clinical practice, and healing ability of art. They use art in diagnosis and research.

When the patient comes complaining of psychological suffering, we ask him/her to draw us a picture or more, and then analyze, in terms of ideas, and the manner in which the lines and colors, shapes and elements, and then link with the poles of the psychological problem to find out the source of those images to find out the causes of the problem. Then we start treatment by using mental arguments and behavioral technical training through mental images reinforced with formal and physical images and vice versa to reach the individual to understand the problem. We return to the exploitation of images again to help the patient to find appropriate solutions, and to express views that we feel are appropriate to overcome the problem. Hence, the role of behavioral cognitive techniques in rehabilitating the patient and adapting him to the problems that arise through therapeutic methods such as exposure, confrontation, guided imagination, or problem solving skills is clearly demonstrated.

Diseases that can be treated with plastic art

There are many diseases that can be cured including psychiatric illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and neurological disorders in general. And physical diseases, where art therapy contributes significantly to the comprehensive rehabilitation of mental patients and psychological trauma as a means of rehabilitation and community integration.

The main goal of art therapy:

The main goal of art therapy is therapeutic, not technical, but if there are situations with skills and artistic talent, therapeutic processes begin with these “talents, skills and skills” so that they can be developed and refined.

* Therapeutic steps:

Our therapeutic steps are very similar to the steps of psychotherapy in terms of diagnosing “diagnosing the problem”, going through the treatment plan and starting to implement it, and up to follow up.

The length of treatment may be prolonged or shortened according to the problem or type of disease we are dealing with, as well as the patient’s acceptance of treatment, enthusiasm and follow-up treatment sessions without boredom.

Stages of Art:

Primitive art

Ways to communicate and express ideas, beliefs and feelings.

Of ancient Egyptian art

In most of his theses he sought life after death, which led to the departure of the ancient Egyptian artist from expressing the struggles of everyday life, in contrast to what is evident in contemporary Egyptian plastic art and its emotional integration with the everyday life of the artist and his society.

• In the eighteenth century, the appearance of art and its psychological role is due to the discovery of mental fees, sometimes called “art of the insane.” The history of the art of psychiatrists in Western civilization dates back to 1735 when William Hogarth published a collection of graphic arts under the title “The Rake’s Progress,” depicting a psychologist at Bethlehem’s Asylum, staring at a collection of drawings Which he believes he has painted on the wall of that sanatorium. This group of art of drilling has aroused the curiosity of some psychologists at the time to study the characteristics of mental illness through the drawings of their patients.
• In Germany, the research of psychiatrists in the art of the insane began with the research work of psychiatrist Fritz Mohr, and it was found to be among the leading diagnostic tools for drawing as a basic material for psychological diagnosis. Moore’s research was based primarily on Max Simon’s research Max Simon Which preceded it in that track. In addition, Moore’s discoveries in the diagnostic chart have led to the construction of many diagnostic tools such as Rochech test and the TAT test which are used until the present.
• Regarding to the treatment of plastic art, it’s modern beginnings with the father of psychotherapy Freud, who himself continued to monitor the characteristics of disease through art when analyzed the production of some of the previous artists and contemporary to him, which led to focus on the expressive value and art of art that has freed the unconscious from What psychological issues camping inside.
• Young was an art practitioner and encouraged his patients to express the art for clinical benefit.
• In this context, Margaret Naumburg, the first pioneer in art therapy, adopted these theories, having deepened her studies and came out with what she recently called “Art Therapy”, focusing on the clinical benefit of technical processes; It has therapeutic benefits as well as diagnostic benefits known to psychologists.
• In the 1950s in the United States of America, a teacher of art education, Edith Kramer, saw art and creative processes as an important part of therapy.
• Hence, art therapy began with two applied approaches, one focusing on psychological processes, the other focusing on art itself and its innovative processes in order to reveal psychological processes and derive the clinical benefits through them.

There are several definitions of the concept of artistic expression, including:

• It is the disclosure in the language of formation about the meanings and feelings and emotions of humanity.
• It is a symbolic language that has to reveal the hidden aspects of human experience.
• It is the language that makes communication between the artist and the public lines, shapes, colors, spaces and symbols.
• It is a kind of defined and specific feeling of the individual’s feelings and thoughts.
• Emotional liberation and self-expression through art.
• Is the psychological significance within any work of art and translate the senses of the individual self without pressure or domination.
• Human behavior is subject to the internal configuration of the individual and the external factors surrounding and interacting with him and is linked to the activity and experience of the human and through it grow experiences and develop feelings and clear tendencies and identify interests and trends appear.
• The role of artistic expression to improve the mental health of the patient.
• It is a tool that works to put the patient in a positive context with those who deal with him.
• Builds positive motivation to strengthen positive psychological defense, confidence and self-esteem, and to adjust reliability.
• Helps to drop the individual to his negative or positive experiences and pent-up emotions and the phenomenon in the work of art, which causes a kind of release and mitigation and vent.
• tends to develop capacity to assume responsibility by engaging in meaningful and positive collective work.

The art of fine arts branches of various important areas of psychological therapy, where the practice of art in the discharge of negative shipments in different groups of disease and show some positive aspects of psychological and physical research has shown and scientific experiments that psychotherapy through art has a significant impact on the progress of these cases to The study of Victoria Khan in 1988 showed the extent to which sculpture contributed to the development of the emotional, aesthetic and motor aspects of some different groups of special groups aged 6-18. That art contributed to modifying negative behaviors of the members of the sample.

At the beginning of the practice of art we find close association with psychological treatment and showed in the art of prehistory and stone age that the first artist put on the walls of the caves and stone formations in many areas such as Africa, Spain and others .. So control the fears when going out to hunt, for example, A picture showing how to overcome the prey despite its power or when looking at primitive art in Africa.

Art Therapy

Is to use plastic art in an organized and planned manner to achieve diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in individual or group activities according to the objectives of the treatment plan and the development of its stages, the purposes of the therapist and the needs of the patient which helps to complete the process of mental and psychological compatibility.

Definition of art therapy

First, the British Society:

It is a form of psychotherapy that uses art as an essential means of communication. It is practiced by both qualified and registered and therapists working with children, youth, adults and the elderly.

Customers who can use art therapy may have a wide range of difficulties, disabilities or diagnosis. This includes, for example, emotional, behavioral or psychological health problems, learning or physical disability, life-limiting conditions, brain injury, neurological conditions, and physical illness. Art therapy can be offered to groups or individuals based on customer needs. It is not an entertainment activity or an art lesson, but its sessions may be fun. Customers do not need any prior experience or knowledge in art.

Second: Definition of the American Society:

Is the therapeutic use of the art industry under a professional relationship of people suffering from illness, trauma or challenges in living or seeking personal development.

People can increase self-awareness and other coping with symptoms, stress, painful experiences, enhance cognitive abilities and enjoy the pleasures of life by producing art and thinking about products and technical processes.

It depends on the belief that the creative process involved in the artistic expression of the self to help people solve conflicts and problems, develop personal skills and conduct management, increase self-confidence, self-awareness, and achieve insight. Art therapy integrates human development and visual arts (painting, painting, sculpture and other artistic forms) and technical process with models of counseling and psychotherapy.

Objectives of art therapy:

• Helping the mental patient to improve his thinking through technical practices.
• Contribute to self-affirmation and a sense of self-confidence.
• Contribute to improving cognitive deformity and negative patient perception of himself and his community.
• Development of the emotional area that appears in the sensory awareness, which leads to interaction with different stimuli in the community and its members positively.
• Contribute to the integration of the treatment aspects of this group to pass this period.
• Modifying behavior, including values ​​such as positive cooperation and integration into team work, self-esteem, self-confidence,
• Assist in the development of some mental abilities and responsible for some neurons and areas of the brain.
• Contribute to the modification of the style and way of thinking.
• Self-assertion and a sense of confidence that he knows that he is capable of solving problems, self-expression and positive production through artistic expression, the practice of plastic art and successful work.

The practice of art therapy

A practical explanation for the feelings of the trainees through the trainees (realistic for the practice of the institution and the training of art therapists)

• We did it and we were a group of seven individuals where we did a circle of chairs and we knew ourselves and talked about what rejoice and what saddens us and our goals and what we want to achieve.
• Then we put a basket in the middle and assumed that this basket can throw all the negative things and things that grieve us and we did so.
• We also assumed that this basket has positive things and things that rejoice and each of us began to take all that he needs from them and so on.
• This activity is important, it works to empty feelings and drop the inside of the individual emotions as well as the conversion of negative energy to the positive and the sharing of feelings and communication between individuals also reflects the individual sense and the sense of others.
• Also, we must take into account this activity only one person in the group, because this is an attack and leads to the person being separated from attention.
• Also note the movement of his hand when performing the activity and note what negative thing that threw in the basket and we work on the report and work on it.

Draw :

• We all took a large white board and a variety of colors among the colors of the water and wax colors and colors of wood and each of us took part of the painting and began to draw anything on his mind at that moment and took a specific time and a third of an hour and then came the trainer to discuss what we painted.
• The trainer put the painting in front of us on the ground and then took each of us a drawing passing on each person in us and each of us says what felt from this painting and what he wants to add to it and what he also wants to delete it and then come the owner of the painting and talk about it and how it feels and draws it and so until the end All fees.

Then we take the painting again and we all work to make it one integrated and overlapping panel by overlapping the drawings together and taking out a suitable shape.

• In the exercise of this activity, we must take note of the first one Begin to draw, and the last one, whose moving fast, and who was lazy, and who had the motivation to engage and participate.

Just to realize what we are seeing from the draw without paining, guid the painter and aware him by “why don’t draw this instead of that, why not to do .. etc.”

• Turn off the light and playing “Relaxation Music”

Each individual in the group speaks about his feeling when he come and when he going.

Wood veneer :-

• Group work is aiming to:

Focus – Continuity – Delaying desire

• Where we divide ourselves into groups and each group must have a leader and the duration of this activity hour if it is a collective action like what we did in a group and two hours if it was an individual act.
• We selected a leader of the group distributed roles on us and then began to work, which is a piece of wood square we draw on it and then paste the other wood veneer color and lack such as the shape on the piece in the form of geometric shapes or any other form to complete the whole shape.
• This activity helps to focus and work accurately. Wood crust is very thin and must focus so as not to damage also teaches the individual to postpone the desire and get rid of the impulse also continuity in the work it needs time and persistence.