Recent placement with Lighthouse for Perth a non-profit charity offering crisis support for anyone aged 12 + who is at risk of self-harm or suicide. The aim of the sessions was to run 6 art sessions for the promotion fo good health and wellbeing in the participants.
This was with 2 young people suffering from anxiety and depression. The sessions focussed on positive elements in their lives. Looking specifically at theme 'what is home to them', 'their happy place'. This not to focus on home exactly but to focus as to where they feel at 'home' and where or what helps them to feel at their happiest.
Both participants chose their animals as these make them happy and feel at home.
So animals was the chosen theme of their project (this was self-directed by the young people) and we did a variety of workshops such as artists’ books, mono-printing, lino printing, watercolour painting, needle felting and drawing.
Here are a few examples of work they created.
I used the placement also for research purposes and wrote my dissertation on the results. I used discussion, questionnaires and an outcome rating scale to establish initially a baseline of their use of art for wellbeing and at the end of the block of sessions to establish whether the participants found the sessions helpful and in what way.
The young people through discussion, the questionnaires and outcome rating scale relayed that they enjoyed the sessions, felt relaxed, enjoyed learning new art techniques and felt it helped improve their wellbeing.
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