We asked our Art Therapist, Nives Canavese to share her experience working with children facing anxiety challenges and how Art Therapy can be used to help overcome this common presentation.
Introduction
This blog covers the generalised symptoms and various types of anxiety disorders that children may experience. And the importance and benefits of accessing Art Therapy early on in your child’s anxiety diagnoses, which is crucial to ensure ongoing child development, good mental health and wellbeing.
Anxiety is a very general term used to describe a feeling of extreme worry and unease about current or perceived concerns including those that may not have happened yet. Feeling anxious is a natural response when receiving upsetting news or the occurrence of difficult life events i.e. school pressures, family issues, or social challenges. However, when a person feels ongoing anxiety that prevents them from engaging in normal life activities such as going to school, work or seeing friends, then one’s anxiety is at risk of becoming an anxiety disorder.
Understanding Anxiety in Children
Specifically speaking, children can be diagnosed with a range of anxiety disorders depending on what they are struggling with symptoms may overlap. Diagnoses may range from Generalised Anxiety or Panic Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Selective Mutism Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Specific Phobias.
Anxiety symptoms can range from:
- Trouble sleeping and /or nightmares,
- Tiredness and fatigue,
- Suffering from digestive issues i.e. stomach aches,
- Unexplainable body pain or physical problems,
- Excessive clinginess around parents or caregivers,
- Experiencing increased tantrums, emotional meltdowns or panic attacks,
- Poor concentration and focus, especially in class,
- Feeling restless, agitated and very fidgety including self-harm,
- Avoiding certain situations and / or social isolation, i.e. refusal to attend school, avoiding family get togethers,
- Feeling self-conscious, especially around others.
What is Art Therapy?
Art therapy uses a holistic client-centred integrated humanistic approach to increase self-awareness, empathic understanding and bring out healing through prioritising mental health and emotional wellness. It achieves this through implementing targeted creative artmaking processes including free drawing, painting, collage, sculpture work, journaling and other expressive modalities i.e. dancing which help express what is internally going on in a sensory calming and non-verbal way.
In doing so under the guidance of a qualified and experienced art therapist, your child will be empowered to gain insight, process their thoughts, feelings, and emotions so that they can resolve what’s causing them anxiety, and continue to positively enjoy life and thrive. Therefore, art therapy is more about what transpires during the creative process, as opposed to being skilled at artmaking or the quality of the finished artwork.
Benefits of Art Therapy for Anxiety Reduction
The benefits of Art Therapy and engaging oneself in guided creative expression can reduce anxiety symptoms in the following ways:
- Art therapy boosts mindfulness (MBAT): The process of artmaking helps to ground and anchor your child in the present moment of the here and now, by providing a mindful point of focus on creating rather than dwelling or becoming fixated on anxiety provoking thoughts. In doing so, the creative process helps relieve anxiety symptoms, boost mindfulness, provide clarity and effectively problem solve by finding a solution.
- Art therapy calms the nervous system and reduces stress: Studies have shown that engaging in artmaking interventions such as drawing and clay modelling help relieve anxiety symptoms and reduce stress, particularly when focussing on positive thoughts, feelings and other content which boosts cortisol levels. This results in the body deactivating the sympathetic nervous system’s fight-flight-freeze response and reactivating a state of ‘rest and digest’.
- Art therapy encourages self-expression: Anxiety causes one to feel an overwhelming build-up of big and complex emotions that are difficult to verbally express in a safe way. Given that, guided Art Therapy by a qualified professional, provides a therapeutic space to constructively express and safely release stored feeling. Leading to relief and the development of healthier ways to manage and reduce anxiety.
- Art therapy boosts self-esteem: Research indicates that having low self-esteem places one at greater risk of experiencing an anxiety disorder and other mental health issues. Thus engaging in creative expressive artmaking processes have proven to increase self-esteem and self-worth the freedom to express oneself and creating a sense of accomplishment.
Effective Art Therapy Techniques and Tips for Parents and Educators
The following Art Therapy activities and creative ways of expressing oneself may help calm anxiety and reduce stress. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to work their way through this list until they find a good fit for their child/ren.
- Scribble or doodle aimlessly: This activity helps one to explore being free from the usual constraints of family and school life and has been shown to enhance the processing of emotions by clearing the mind and becoming more present.
Caregivers and educators can also co-create a doodle artwork with their child/ren by taking in turns to add onto what have been doodled to make funny imaginative creatures etc.
- Embrace colouring books: Pre-printed colouring books and template sheets can provide creative structure for children who don’t know where to begin or become overwhelmed in having a blank page staring back at them. Mindfulness colouring books also help children deescalate overwhelming emotions so they can better regulate themselves.
- Make mandala art: The spiritual and universal nature of circular Mandala patterns and designs are thought to symbolise the turning of suffering into healing and joy. Especially when followed on by a mindfulness or healing meditation. Many free Mandala colouring templates and calming meditations can be googled and downloaded off of the internet.
- Create a self-portrait: Drawing or collaging a self-portrait can be a visually helpful way to express and process challenging or conflicting emotions, and positively alter a child’s self-talk and the way they sees themselves or interact in the world. Parents and educator may encourage their child/ren to create an abstract feeling-based self-portrait to help them visually express, emotionally release and talk about what’s going on within.
- Create a Playdough or Clay Sculpture: Engaging the hands to sculpt a 3D object of choice is another helpful way to get in touch and release anxious feelings and pent-up emotions, without harming oneself or others in the process. Research also shows that anxiety disorders such as PTSD symptoms are greatly reduced when using the hands to work with clay and a sense of accomplishment upon creating something meaningful to the child.
- Eco-Painting a peaceful nature scene: Taking children into nature to paint their unique interpretation of the nature scene before them aids mindful self-expression, and significantly reduces anxiety and stress by being out in the fresh air amongst peaceful surroundings.
Parents and educators can explore the works of nature-based artists i.e. Claude Monet and contemporary artist Javiera Estrada with their child/ren to draw inspiration from. Or alternatively take a small art journal and watercolour paints and paint and journal about their seaside experience while visiting the beach on an excursion.
Anecdotes and Real-Life Examples
Initially upon first working with Client B who is diagnosed with ASD related anxiety and an intellectual learning disability, he was unable to position and draw his facial elements (eyes, nose, mouth, ears and hair) on a self-portrait template without prompting and visual reference to my face. However, upon helping him to progressively co-create weekly artworks commencing with colouring in mindfulness pages in coloured pencil, followed by a mandala using uplifting coloured felt tipped markers, an abstract circle composition in soft pastels and a collaged self-care treasure box – client B was able to complete his first nature-based drawing which included an image of himself.
During this process I have observed how the calming effect of engaging Client B in carefully chosen sequential art interventions and matching art materials has progressively reduced his high anxiety and tendency to become easily agitated. In addition, I have observed an increase in Client B’s self-esteem, confidence and self-initiated capacity to verbally express himself and hold positive social conversations with myself, family, friends and the public. Client B now looks forward to his weekly Art Therapy sessions and enthusiastically engaging in learning and grasping new artmaking techniques.
Evidence-Based Outcomes and References
Research states that over 301 million people globally experience or live with anxiety, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) also confirming that anxiety has risen by 25% since the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wagner’s 2019 research study of participants diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, or panic disorder established that art therapy helps reduce anxiety and symptom severity, increases life quality and effectively supports traditional anxiety treatments, and was sustained three months following the study (Wagner, 2019).
Collaborating with Art Therapists
Art Therapy is an integrative therapy that uses a client centred, strengths-based humanistic approach. And is successfully enhanced when supported in collaboration within a holistic multi-disciplinary team including parents / care givers, educators, medical staff and other allied health workers.
References:
- Art Therapy for Anxiety: Benefits, Activities and Prompts https.//unyoked.co/wellness/art-therapy-for-anxiety
- Child Mind Institute (2018). Understanding Anxiety in Children and Teens https.//childmind.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09-CMI_2018/CMHR.PDF
- Wagner, K. D. (2019). Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents: New Findings Psychiatric Times Vol 36, Issue 2.