Art Therapy : Rotating Picture

I like this exercise as a way to help people understand the difference between what we can and cannot control in our lives and learning to make the best of what comes our way. It is a simple but powerful art group.

Number of participants: Works best with a minimum of 4 people, large groups should be divided into groups of 4-6.

Time frame: At least 45 minutes, you could allow more time if desired depending on how artistic your group is.

Supplies needed: Plain paper, drawing medium (colored pencils, crayons, markers, pastels)

Setup/room requirements: Tables for each group, preferably so that each group has their own space.

Safety precautions: Keep in mind safety requirements of your facility, don’t bring drawing mediums that could be used as a weapon.

Instructions:

Tell your participants that they are going to be doing a creative expression exercise today to provide insight into their lives. I always preface my art projects by telling people that I do not judge on how well they can draw or how artistic they are, that I am more interested in the meaning behind the work and if they can share that with the group. That usually helps people to feel more comfortable with doing an art project, especially if they are not particularly artistic. Explain to them what you would like them to draw. A popular example I like to do with this exercise is to have them create a drawing of what they would consider success in their future to look like. Some other examples you could use are: a happy place for them, how they see themselves, or a goal they would like to achieve. Make the subject of their art relevant to the reason they are currently doing this group with you; is it for therapy, religious reasons, etc.

After explaining what you would like the group to draw pass out a paper to each participants and the drawing supplies and allow them to begin their creations. Allow the participants to work on their art for about 10 minutes and then ask them to pause. If they were in the middle of a specific part you can allow them to finish that part and then pause. Tell them that they now need to pass their paper to the person sitting clock-wise from them. Now have the group continuing drawing but on that person’s paper adding what they choose to the drawing that person began. So in the example of what success looks like, I would instruct the participants to now contribute to that person’s vision of success. I never tell them it should be positive, I wait to see what they come up with at the end, that helps with processing. Be prepared that you will probably have several people upset that someone else gets to draw on their paper, but that’s good for processing too!

I usually let them continue to draw on someone else’s paper for about 5 minutes before I again ask them to pause and then pass again clock-wise. I continue this pattern until the paper gets back to the original person. This is why having groups of no more than 6 is best so that it gets all the way around the circle. Once they get their original paper back I ask them to look over it for a minute, and then I open up time for the participants to share what their picture represents.

How to process-items you could discuss

1. How easy or difficult it was for your participants to let go of control of their drawing. How is that like the control we have of our lives.

2. How much should we let other people’s impact on our lives affect us.

3. The awareness we need to have of the impact we are having on others lives. Is it positive or negative.

4. How their pictures changed from the vision they had in their head originally to something else, that might not have been their idea of “perfect.” Is there truly a perfect? Can we still find beauty in life if it doesn’t turn out exactly how we want it to.

Feel free to contact me with questions on how to implement the intervention and if you would like processing suggestions. Good luck!