He was drawing for 6 lessons and there was no cause for concern.
His drawings did not have a clear shape, but the color scheme seemed quite calm.
6th session is a kind of “equator” of art therapy.
Most children start talking with the help of their pictures in the middle of the course.
He wasn’t an exception.
“What will we name your drawing?”
“War!”
“Okay, tell us when you’re done.”
He wanted to fit in the allotted time, so he was drawing a mile a minute.
I decided to give him more time, to wait as long as it was necessary.
– I’m done, it’s finished… it’s …a clown…
“But you did name the picture differently, right?”
– No, I changed the name … Let it be a clown.
It is common for children to run away from what frightens them. To deny.
This is often supported by the family. They are taught to live by the principle:
“Don’t talk about the bad, and nothing bad will happen to you.”
Fighting actions intensified near the front. Quite often we hear the sounds of shell bursts, machine gun fires. The tension is increasing. The drawings show the same story.
Children react calmly to this on the outside. They don’t show any signs of weakness.
But inside, of course, it’s not that stable.
Children need a sense of security on an ongoing basis.
Thanks to arttherapy we manage to stabilize emotional tension and show the fear the way out.
*The child’s name has been changed.
