Organised by Teapot TrustTeapot Trusts delivers art therapy to children and young people living with a chronic condition. Art therapy is an alternative to traditional talking therapies as it provides a way to express and process feelings that can be difficult to articulate.
2024 Supernova Kelpies - Friday · 15 March 2024 ·
Joanie is five years old and is in hospital waiting for a transplant.
Joanie is often tearful on the ward and would scream "No, no, no!” when it was time to change her dressings. Often this quick procedure could take hours of negotiating and upset.
Joanie was offered weekly art therapy and this became something she looked forward to. She liked to create games with her art therapist Megan where she was able to say “no." Joanie was always in charge.
Megan introduced some collage materials into a therapy session, which included several rolls of the same bandage tape that was used for Joanie's lines and dressings. She initially ignored them but eventually asked to try it. She carefully drew a swirling line and several splashy dots and then declared that we needed to cover it all with tape.
Joanie initially wanted Megan to handle the tape but soon took over. She expressed worries about it “breaking and ripping the paper” and was able to share that this is something that she feels might happen to her.
Gradually, Joanie became more confident with the tape, pulling it back and repositioning it and also sticking it to herself and Megan. By the end of the session, Joanie was playing a game where she taped her hand to the table and Megan had to rescue hers only to get "catched" by the tape until Joanie rescued them.
Through her art making Joanie was able to become familiar with the tape and stated that "It wasn’t scary, it was fun!” They were then able to spend time looking at all the places she had tape on her body and imagined that when the nurses removed the tape they were rescuing her too.
Joanie continued to demonstrate anxiety when her dressings were changed but she was better able to regulate herself and allowed herself to be comforted by the nursing staff.
Joanie continues to find ways to express and understand her difficult emotions through art therapy intervention.
Please visit www.teapot-trust.org to learn more about how art therapy is making a difference in children's lives.
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