10. If desired, paricipants can write behaviors of the past that they have already left behind on the fallen leaves.
Observations
This activity was done with a group of twelve. Several participants needed help and individualized attention to get started and to conceptualize desired life change. All embraced the concept of identifying behaviors they wished to leave behind, and about half put their trees in strategic locations so they could do daily checkups. One woman made a Christmas tree and decorated it with pinecones that fell off—Christmas represented her target date for achieving the desired changes.
Inspired by: A Yaqui Indian ceremony in which the entire village lets go of personal issues and the entire village is cleansed in a group ceremony.
Childhood Comforts
Location: Indoors
Time: 35 minutes
Materials: Jumbo pencils and crayons, the style used in early elementary school
Construction paper
Objectives
• To encourage positive recollection of and appreciation of internal resources.
• To access the creative resourcefulness of childhood.
Directions
1. Invite participants to recall the variety of ways in which each found safety as a child, with emphasis on the child’s adaptive wit. Emphasize the unexpected multitude of creative ways children have in recognizing and attending to the need for comfort.
2. Read aloud the following explanation:
This activity is designed to bring out the remembrances of when you were young and looked forward to the time when you could have a 32- or 64-pack of crayons. But back then, you learned to adapt and to work with the colors at hand.
The purpose of using elementary school materials is to bring back a time when participants faced challenges different from the ones they experience as adults. Note that the jumbo crayons come in only eight colors.
3. Encourage discussion within the group of possible responses: a place, gesture, toy, pet, relationship, or activity. There is no correct discovery.
4. Emphasize that this is neither an art project nor an evaluation of artistic ability. It will not be graded or displayed. It is a process of self-discovery.
5. Remind participants they can use as many sheets of paper as needed.
6. Invite participants to make an artistic rendering or a symbol of something that brought comfort to them as a child. Read aloud the following explanation: No matter what our background as children, each of us went through normal, healthy developmental stages in which we discovered our own ways of finding resources to help us feel safe or comforted. The purpose of this activity is to remember some strengths and resources we discovered in childhood and to capture and enjoy those feelings. In this safe environment, where we are here and now, remember a time when you were very young. You are invited to close your eyes and think back to ways that you found safety and comfort as a child. Maybe it was a friend, pet, toy, doll, a stuffed animal, a blanket, or some other object. Or maybe it was a hiding place or secret playhouse where you learned to feel safe and comfortable in your own way, all on your own. Use the materials here to draw those images, which is a way to help you to remember some of the strengths that have kept you safe.
7. Invite volunteers to show their work and talk about the meaning.
Observations
By encouraging recollection and appreciation of resources within, the client is better equipped to problem solve in the present and future. This strength-based activity encourages connection to forgotten or unappreciated internal resources. A study by Sarah Davies and Gail Kinman, presented in 2010 at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference, indicated that recovering alcoholics who focus on positive experiences in their past may be more successful in managing their addiction.
This activity was performed in a cafeteria setting on two separate occasions. Several group members had come from traumatic life circumstances and had never had a healthy or safe home life. Permission was given to draw what they felt like. Initially, two group members were withdrawn, but as the drawing began, everyone became more expressive. Some reassurance was needed regarding poor drawing ability. Both occasions resulted in full participation—everyone became actively engaged and wanted to tell the group about their drawings.
The range of responses included special blankets and a dog who “listened”; several participants cited a grandmother, an aunt, a neighbor, and stuffed toys or dolls. One of the women who had lived in a series of foster homes found comfort in church and drew the gesture of her foster mother looking over her shoulder to see she was sitting in the pew behind. Without exception, the activity was received in a positive manner. The discussion among group members was powerful and memorable. Being able to connect with any sense of safety was considered a benefit.
Art therapy attributes meaning to layers and individual interpretation of designs. While this activity was not done as art therapy, those elements were recognized and therapeutically discussed with participants.
Inspired by: This activity was designed after watching a group of elementary school children drawing their own safe places. The enthusiasm of the youngsters and their adaptability to circumstance was remarkable.
“The process of growth that accompanies a relaxing exercise fills in some pieces that were missed in childhood.”
ROXANNA ERICKSON-KLEIN
Family Tree
Location: Indoors
Time: 60 minutes
Materials: Pens or pencils
Blank paper
Family tree handouts
Samples based on the templates
Objectives
• To offer a multigenerational perspective on various qualities or characteristics found in families, including mental illness or substance use.
• To facilitate identification of risk factors.
• To encourage change.
Directions
1. Before the session begins, review the suggested templates and create samples to show. Alternatives are shown for a traditional family, a modified family, and a foster family.
2. Introduce participants to the concept of charting family trees.
3. Explain a simple family tree using a three- or four-generation format.
4. Engage participants in discussion of visible physical traits that can be identified through generations, such as eye color.
5. Identify patterns of behavior that are seen through generations, such as occupations, hobbies, or religious affiliation.
6. Discuss potential for behavioral patterns, including substance abuse, mental illness, or domestic violence to occur in multiple generations.
7. Facilitate group discussion identifying the value of raising awareness of patterns.
8. Direct participants to create their own multigenerational family tree and illustrate how various traits or qualities may be expressed