Art Therapy for Hospitalized Children

Art therapy involves a process of allowing children to create works of art as a means of expressing themselves and releasing emotions. This type of therapy is often used as psychiatric treatment, specifically for children who have had a traumatic experience or have a disability. In other cases, art therapy can be beneficial to any child who is hospitalized as the result of an illness or injury.

Benefits

• According to Tracy Councill's book, "Handbook of Art Therapy," "Participating in creative work within the medical setting can help rebuild the young patient's sense of hope, self-esteem, autonomy and competence while offering opportunities for safe and contained expression of feelings." Children can use art to express feelings they might not have the words to express orally. They are able to draw images that depict their fears and anxieties, and in that process they can release some of those negative feelings and focus on positive ideas like hope and optimism.
  Children are in control of the art they create. They are able to dictate the materials they will use, the images they will create and the way a piece of art will turn out. When life feels out of control for a child who is in the hospital, having control over art can be empowering.

Methods

• Noted art therapist Edna Pinchover at Haddassah Hospital in Jerusalem conducted a study on art therapy using the methods for this therapy developed by Elizabeth Keubler-Ross. The study, titled "Art therapy for hospitalized children inspired by Elizabeth Kuebler-Ross' approach," was published in the Harefuah medical journal in October of 1998. According to Pinchover, the process of art therapy begins when the child creates a drawing about his illness or condition. Pinchover states that, "through conversation with the therapist in an atmosphere of empathy and honest consideration, the patient becomes aware of her/his reactions, behavior, intentions and ambitions." The therapist can use the art work as a starting point in a conversation about the patient's condition. The art can reveal certain emotions or opinions the patient has about his condition, and in explaining the art to the therapist, the patient really explains his feelings. The therapist can then help him work through those feelings and come to a better understanding of what is happening to him and what may happen in the future.

Patients with Traumatic Injuries

• Children who have traumatic accidents are suddenly placed into frightening situations. One minute they may be riding a bicycle down the road, and the next minute they are in an ambulance. The trauma from experiencing an accident combines with the pain they feel from the injury and the fear of the unknown as hospital personnel try to heal them. Art therapy helps children make sense of all these events that happened in rapid succession, and allows them to slow the events down and process through them at a later time.

Patients with Long-Term Illnesses

• Children with long-term illnesses suffer from repeated hospitalizations. They may be under constant medication and intervention from hospital personnel, undergoing painful and frightening treatments in an attempt to ward off an early death. These children may fear dying, or simply feel sick of being sick. Art therapy can help them process through the difficult and overwhelming emotions of a long-term illness, and understand better what the illness does to their body and how they can work through it and look toward a healthier future.