مدلی برای هنر درمانی در زمینه آموزشی با کودکانی که رفتار پرخاشگرانه دارند

This paper presents a model for improving the effectiveness of individual art therapy with children who behave aggressively. It addresses two major challenges. First, these children often present the therapist with several dilemmas, such as how to respond when faced with symbolic or direct expressions of aggression, and how to establish a treatment relationship when clients arouse strong emotions in the therapist. Second, when working in educational settings, art therapists often question whether they should strive to integrate themselves into the school and, if so, what should be their role with teachers and parents? The model presented here emerged from a phenomenological study that included a survey of a large sample of Israeli art therapists and in-depth follow-up interviews with two sub-samples of therapists, who treated aggressive children and whose cases showed the most and least improvement. The study, which focused on the relation between treatment outcomes and therapists’ practices, perceptions, and experiences, yielded a conceptual model for effective treatment. The model highlights the dual principal of conveying acceptance and directing toward change, which is applied on three levels: the child, teachers and parents, and the therapist. The paper presents the model and suggestions for its implementation.

The introduction of art therapists into educational settings has been documented mostly in the past three decades. Art therapy provides a unique solution for children with special needs, as it addresses many aspects of the child, including cognitive, emotional, and social. When schools provide art therapy, they take responsibility for helping children to learn by removing emotional and behavioral barriers to learning and offer access to services for families who cannot afford to purchase them privately (Anderson, 1994, Bush, 1997 and Dalley, 1990). Kramer (1971) suggests that art therapy is ideal for working with aggressive children1 as aggression is an abundant source of energy for creative activity. The creative process both utilizes and neutralizes the client's pent-up aggression. However, despite the importance of the creative process for expressing aggression, it arouses unique difficulties and professional dilemmas in treating this population, which may be implicated in treatment effectiveness. Moreover, there is a lack of research in this area and the little research that exists suggests that art therapy may not always be effective with this population. A recent review of all the published studies conducted on the effectiveness of art therapy (Reynolds, Nabors, & Quinlan, 2000) revealed a total of only 17 studies, covering a wide range of age groups and referral problems and only two of them examined behavior change in children (Rosal, 1993; Tibbets & Stone, 1990). They found improvement in indicators of emotional well-being but only one found improvement in behavior. This paper explains the challenges that art therapists face in working with aggressive children and offers a conceptual model for effective treatment.