Mobile art studio for children in the hospital

A mobile art therapy studio for children and adolescents removed from dangerous living conditions, who have been isolated in a hospital for a long time before their social status is determined (granting the status of orphan, child without parental care, or referral to a temporary living center). During this time, the children do not attend school for a long time and do not have the opportunity to play in the fresh air.
For almost half a year, we have been providing psychological and educational support to children and teenagers with art therapy.
Two specialists, a psychologist and a teacher from the foundation use art therapy to help reduce the psychological suffering of the child/adolescent, to "face" their fears and experiences in a safe way, and then to overcome them.

At the time that they are granted social status (orphaned children) and further placement in temporary housing centers, children spend a long time in a city hospital, which is not fully equipped to provide them with decent living conditions. Children, who have a heavy emotional state caused by the traumatic event that happened to them, cannot continue their studies, communicate and see their friends, spend time playing and going for walks. Forced prolonged communication with the same people in a closed space generates aggressive behavior.

We created a team of two specialists (a psychologist and a social pedagogue) who work with children in the hospital. Initially, their activities are aimed at providing psychological support after a traumatic event and reducing the influence of negative factors on the emotional state of children. Relief from psychological suffering, stabilization of the psycho-emotional state, reduction of the level of aggression and autoaggression (aggression directed at oneself), development of self-help skills.

The main way of work with children is art and play therapy, which is the safest way to interact with children and adolescents. Art therapy is a means of mainly nonverbal communication. This makes it especially valuable for those children and adolescents who cannot describe their experiences and their condition well enough in verbal descriptions.

Application of these areas of work includes the use of a large number of expendable materials (air plasticine, finger paints, paper, etc.), as well as specific board games and toys, which are aimed at developing certain social skills in children (for example, interaction with peers in a shared environment), as well as inventing a resource for overcoming psychological problems.

With the purchased materials, specialists will conduct 576 hours (for 12 months) of art therapy sessions with children.