Family art therapy groups focus on the motivation, maintenance, and development of open-resource communication within the family.
The term “art therapy” stands for any therapeutic use of the creative art-making process as part of the professional interaction between a therapist and a client. The “therapeutic use” means that the chosen activity helps the client achieve awareness of his or her inner self – “What I feel”, “Why I react this way”, “What I want”, “Why I am (not) doing it”, “What scares me”, “What makes me happy”, “What I prefer”, and so on.
The group’s major goals include creative expression of accumulated emotions (both positive and negative), identification and transformation of automatic behavioral patterns in child-parent relationships, resolution of complicated conflicts, interactive developmental experiences, and, not least, deriving pleasure from collaborative creative acts.
During the sessions, parents learn to fully comprehend and accept their children, provide themselves with more freedom for self-expression, and build a healthy subordination model. Most techniques revealed in the classroom can be applied at home as well.