Letter of Intent. Art Therapy in a Wilderness Setting: A Manual for Implementing a Program for Adolescent Girls. Andrea Carlson

Transcription

1 Wilderness setting 1 Running head: ART THERAPY IN A WILDERNESS SETTING Letter of Intent Art Therapy in a Wilderness Setting: A Manual for Implementing a Program for Adolescent Girls Andrea Carlson Campus Alberta Applied Psychology Final Project Requirement

2 Wilderness setting 2 Art Therapy in a Wilderness Setting: A Manual for Implementing a Program for Adolescent Girls Overview Art therapy and wilderness therapy are currently two emerging interventions that can potentially be effectively combined. This project will incorporate aspects of each therapy, combining them into one congruent and coherent method, which will be outlined in a resource. The resource manual will include daily art therapy exercises for a 10-day canoe trip for 6 adolescent girls. The art therapy exercises or creative interventions will vary in length from a few minutes to an all day project and will be tailored to a specified kind of outdoor environment. Problem Statement The problem is that there is not presently a manual and there needs to be a doable manual that a wilderness-trained counsellor and art therapist could use to help to facilitate, master, and co-ordinate the efforts of their therapy with adolescents. Wilderness therapy is gaining increasing popularity with troubled adolescents who are not benefiting from traditional therapeutic interventions (Clark, Leonardo, Cooley, & Gathercoal, 2004). Adolescents often present a challenge to parents and mental health professionals (Pipher, 1994). However, wilderness therapy and other types of viable alternative approaches such as art therapy can be beneficial for adolescents. In this project, the adolescents fit the profile of adolescents who are not yet severely troubled. Generally, in consumer cultures, such as the western culture, adolescents often face a frequently promoted list of desirable achievements, while at the same time, expecting instant gratification. These educational and social contexts challenge those adolescents who are struggling, while at the same time, these factors usually contradict a wellbalanced healthy lifestyle (Adam, 2004). Art and wilderness therapy both offer the potential of

3 Wilderness setting 3 high interest, challenge and flexibility with opportunities for increased self-awareness, selfconfidence, self-esteem, and self-worth (Janofsky, 2002; Meldrum, 1999). Often, these alternative kinds of therapies are just that options when other forms of interventions do not work. Rationale There are three main reasons for this project. First, more research and training manuals are needed, as currently there is only a small amount literature that combines art therapy and wilderness therapy techniques and theories. Having an applied manual would promote a standard approach that could be replicated for research purposes, although that is not the direct intent of this project. One article talked about combining principles of both called Leaping beyond traditional boundaries: Art therapy and a wilderness stress challenge program for adolescents by Klorer (1992). However, the program did not attempt an integrated use of art therapy. Instead, the adolescents used art therapy at the end of the day to process the stress-challenge event and to express feelings about the daily experience; rather than as substantially interwoven activities which become a main focus for how the art evolves from the wilderness setting and how the art/wilderness connections are channelled to achieve the personal growth (Klorer). There are many similarities between the two potentially interwoven disciplines, which are often used with populations that do not show significant and measured change or benefits from traditional treatment methods (Clark et al., 2004). Adolescents can benefit from art therapy and wilderness therapy, individually, and the integration of the two therapies could prove to be a powerful intervention (Clark et al.; Kahn, 1999). Therefore, it is important to explore how they relate and begin to amalgamate the two to discover the therapeutic advantages or strategic possibilities within a complementary synthesis. A manual outlining a program would be a helpful beginning.

4 Wilderness setting 4 Secondly, when adolescents are suffering from low self-worth and/or self-esteem, parents may be unable to encourage their daughters to engage in health building activities. Self esteem meaning how well they feel about themselves and self-worth the value they place on themselves as people. A group setting with other girls in the same situation could help the entire group to understand that they are not alone in their feelings of fear or discouragement or their thoughts about themselves as having inadequate behaviours related to and promoting self-doubt. Parents or guardians are often unaware of the global pressures that affect their children and further to this point, today s parents are more likely to have less outside support and are more likely to be overworked and tired (Pipher, 1994). A wilderness experience which focuses on activities to increase self-esteem and confidence may benefit both the adolescents and the parents who are also struggling. Finally, since many of the issues that adolescent girls have are universal, preventative measures or interventions are intended to enable girls to understand themselves and their emotions and abilities better; although there may be some cultural differences to which a group leader may need to consider, be sensitive about, and make appropriate adaptations, generally. For example, the group themes that emerge during art therapy may offer reassurance to the participants that they are not alone (Adam, 2004). Some therapeutic interventions, including wilderness therapy, focus on the already severely troubled adolescents (Clark et al., 2004). It would make sense to place more emphasis on prevention and to focus on adolescents before they become severely troubled and difficult to engage in constructive activities. Literature Review Unfortunately there is no literature that specifically discusses a form of therapy, which combines art and wilderness therapy. However, both forms of therapy have been used with

5 Wilderness setting 5 adolescents and have been proven successful with this population (Hendee, 2000; Kahn, 1999; Russell, Hendee, & Phillips-Miller, 2000; Ward, 1999). Therefore, I will briefly discuss both forms of therapy beginning with art therapy. Supporting Literature: Art Therapy Art is universal and is found in all cultures worldwide. It is one of the fundamental forms of communication among humans and provides a channel to express human experience (Clouston-Carlson, 2003). Art therapy is defined as the intentional therapeutic use of art by an art therapist (Johnson, 1999). The art materials or media are the main communicative tools in the therapeutic process and are the things that enable the participants to communicate both verbally and non-verbally (Kahn, 1999). Movement is also included in the art making (Hammond-Meiers, 2005). Art therapy can be an individual or a group process. Depending upon the dynamics of the group, group work can expose different patterns, etiquettes, and forms of communication (Ward, 1999). Art therapy enables the clients to be empowered by encouraging clients to gain perspective and insight into their thoughts and feelings, which provides the insight that they do in fact have the ability to be self-sustaining (Johnson). The process of art therapy provides the opportunity for the healthy and creative aspects of the self to be discovered (Meldrum, 1999). Individuals are encouraged to recognize patterns in themselves or their work and to create new possibilities; the imagination is key to this process (Clouston-Carlson; Kahn). Throughout the therapeutic process the art therapist and clients have a continuing conversation about the artwork and the meaning (Malchiodi, 2000). The art therapy environment helps individuals to discover creative solutions, reorganize their lives, and obtain self-sufficiency (Cattanach, 1999). Although generally art therapy has been found to be helpful with a variety of populations, with adolescents specifically, it can help with academic issues, peer pressure, conflicts with

6 Wilderness setting 6 teachers or parents, future career planning, substance abuse and family issues such as divorce and deaths (Kahn, 1999; Riley, 1999). It is often used with children with special needs such as students who do not communicate verbally (Kahn). Phillips (2003) found art therapy could be employed therapeutically to address violent imagery. Moon (1998) demonstrated how to use art studio therapy in the therapeutic milieu of a hospital setting with adolescents. Art therapy does not have to be a certain length of time to be effective; it can be effective in a very short period of time (Johnson, 1999). Art therapy is giving severely ill patients hope, inspiration, and meaning to their therapeutic goals (Johnson). Art therapy is a powerful form of therapy and if it can do such amazing work with the already severely ill, I believe that the potential for the normal population is great. Art making has the potential to powerfully address adolescent needs of individuation and relationship building (Moon, 1998). It helps adolescents to define their personal identity (Adam, 2004). Art making can provide adolescent girls with a safe option for reducing stresses and tensions, as opposed to unhealthy alternatives such as substance abuse, or self-mutilation (Cooper & Milton, 2003). Thoughtfully mixing various components of the healing arts, particularly, art therapy into wilderness therapy, is a new and current venture that needs more development, application, and research. Supporting Literature: Wilderness Therapy Berman and Davis-Berman (as cited in Russell, 2001) defined wilderness therapy as using outdoor activities, group therapy and other traditional techniques in an outdoor setting to promote personal growth. The unfamiliarity of the wilderness environment provides a favourable learning environment and has a major impact on the participants (Rosol, 2000). Typically, wilderness therapy programs include a variety of physical challenges that are designed to replace destructive

7 Wilderness setting 7 habits and attitudes with more effective behaviours, as well as higher self-reliance and selfesteem (Janofsky, 2002). Throughout the duration of the wilderness experience therapy participants increase self-awareness, which in turn increases the recognition of the consequences of behaviour (Newes, n.d.). The wilderness setting offers the opportunity for participants to experience immediate, natural and logical consequences (Beringer, 2004; Russell, 2001). Wilderness therapy puts the participants outside their comfort zone and uses principles from experiential education (Beringer; Berman & Davis-Berman, 1995). A major component of the therapeutic process in wilderness therapy is for the participants to reflect on the experiences that they have while in the outdoor setting and consider how the experiences might impact or influence other areas of their life (Herbert, 1998). Wilderness experiences also enable the participants to feel an increased sense of control over their environment by teaching them healthy coping strategies. Wilderness therapy has been used with many populations including the normal population; it has also been used with juvenile delinquents, PTSD sufferers, sexual abuse survivors, the mentally ill, and the disabled (Newes, n.d.). However, it is often geared towards adolescents to enable them to overcome a variety of issues including emotional, adjustment issues, addiction and psychological problems (Russell et al., 2000). Generally, year old youths are the main clientele (Hendee, 2000). Disadvantaged, at risk, and multicultural youth benefit the most from wilderness therapy treatment programs (Hendee; Russell et al.). Wilderness therapy with women has been found to be the starting point of a journey to higher self-esteem, better coping strategies, sense of control, and life-style changes (Kessell, 1994). Using wilderness therapy with any group needs to be carefully considered and researched, as it would be unethical to put participants in risky situations (Mitten, 1994).

8 Wilderness setting 8 Methods and Procedures First, I will take an in depth look at the current literature on art and wilderness therapy. I will focus specifically on articles and resources that focus on these forms of therapies with adolescent girls. I will search the University of Calgary library and the databases available to me through the Campus Alberta website; specifically Psych INFO, Academic Search Premier and Ovid databases. I will use the terms art therapy, wilderness therapy, canoe trips, adolescents, and human females as search terms. Within this step I will determine clear definitions of wilderness therapy and art therapy, as there are currently differing definitions of both. The second step will be to determine the therapeutic and practical aspects regarding the length and difficulty of the canoe trip. This is important because the length of the journey will determine the amount of travel needed each day and the amount of time allotted to each activity. I have chosen a canoe trip because it is an actual journey from one point to another, which serves as a metaphor for the personal journey each individual will undertake as part of the process. Near the end of the trip the group will begin to talk about what will be different about them, and about their worlds when they return to their homes, which is part of the future pacing by visioning and/or expanding the learning of their art therapy and wilderness experiences to their everyday worlds. For example, they will need to talk about what they might want to integrate back into their home life, what they want to share with their families and friends about the experience. Likely they will have learned new things about themselves and may need to have time to reflect upon how they have changed and how this affects them and the people around them. This process may help the participants learn how to integrate future personal insights and experiences. The third step will be to determine which activities will likely and specifically promote increased self-awareness and self-esteem for adolescent girls. This will occur within wilderness

9 Wilderness setting 9 therapy activities and art therapy activities. For wilderness therapy, I will examine current wilderness therapy resources and manuals and determine the key activities to incorporate into a 10 day trip. The duration, as well as the setting, will determine many of the activities. Next I will examine current art therapy techniques catered to increasing self-esteem and confidence which lend well to an outdoor setting, using the resources and times available. Ideally, most of the materials needed for the art therapy portions will be found in the natural surroundings. Furthermore, all of the materials, whether found or brought, will not harm the environment or people in any manner. The choices of the art therapy activities are important to the therapeutic process; a broad range of media provides the client with an option to choose a medium, which reflects their mental state (Ward, 1999). As mentioned previously the nature of the wilderness itself may influence the media explored. Although the activities will be outlined in the manual according to a recommended timeline, it is expected that other themes and unexpected events may alter the timeline and it is important to follow the needs of the group and to go with what is important at that time. Having flexibility and extra time is a necessity on a canoe trip as weather, illness, animals, or group dynamics may alter the plans or priorities at any given time. The theme of the trip, waves will be developed through experiencing and riding the waves. This theme is relevant because on a canoe trip, the strength of the wind and the water will determine how the day will go (how far one can travel, how difficult it will be). This theme will be incorporated into both the art and wilderness therapy activities. For example, waves are formed by wind and water and there are many characteristics of wind and water that can be explored such as washing away, blowing away, patterns in rock formations, sand, as well as resistance. I will integrate art and wilderness into the planned activities in a manner that is timely

10 Wilderness setting 10 and relevant for the participants. For example, if there are cliffs to climb on the route, then rock climbing could be an option for a group activity and appropriate thematically. Canoeing will obviously be a big part of the trip and the learning. The next step will outline the characteristics of the leaders needed to adequately staff and lead a trip of this type. The trip is catered for a group of 6 girls therefore at least 2 leaders are needed to have a ratio of 1:3 which would be suitable for this type of wilderness trip. Ideally, both of the leaders would have all the qualities needed so that they could share equally in the responsibilities; these qualities will be researched for practical suggestions. Finally, the manual will be put together. Daily plans will list the amount of travel needed as well as the activities for each day. There will also be daily goals for the group as a whole and for individuals. At the end of any major activity and at the end of the day, there will be a time for reflecting and debriefing. The manual will also include safety recommendations for a trip of this type. Proper consent is needed by parents or guardians for this type of trip. Therefore a sample consent form, which outlines the activities and the potential benefits and risks of this type of wilderness trip, will be created. Potential Implications This project will offer the development of a manual for a new and exciting combined therapy to use with adolescent girls, and, as well as, this manual may lead to further manuals for many populations through the potential model it forms. Specifically children and adolescents are commonly interested in participating in wilderness camping. However, there is also the possibility of confusion because summer camps or wilderness tripping camps do not always offer a therapeutic aspect to them, and therefore consent forms will need to clearly outline the activities as well as the risks and possible benefits. The well being and the safety of the adolescents are

11 Wilderness setting 11 paramount so that is why the manual will also include a safety and precautions section with a mandatory list of items to follow. Although the trip is not intended for severely ill or highly troubled adolescents, there is the possibility that the challenges of the trip, or the therapeutic aspects of it will cause larger issues to emerge and therefore options for follow-up counselling and de-briefing will be outlined in the manual and consent form. However, it is important to note that this manual is for a final project only and will not be tested out in any fashion as part of the procedure. It is hoped by the author that this manual will be the starting point of a new option for therapy for adolescent girls who need help with self-esteem how well they feel about themselves and self-worth the value they place on themselves as people. It is also hoped that researching and reflecting upon activities specifically geared towards self-esteem, will aid the choices for the activity structures of the manual. A possible increase in the current knowledge base of this author would likely occur, guiding the development of the manual. By reflecting upon the combined strengths of art therapy and wilderness therapy, further questions about how to increase self-esteem through art therapy and wilderness therapy may be elicited. Hopefully, other researchers and counsellors who access and read the manual as my final project, available on-line, will be inspired to improve the manual, as it could be seen as a continuous work in progress.

12 Wilderness setting 12 References Adam, D. (2004). Mindfulness-based art for wellness experience for adolescents. Manitoba Journal of Counselling, 30(3), Beringer, A. (2004). Toward an ecological paradigm in adventure programming. Journal of Experiential Education, 27(1), Berman, D. S., & Davis-Berman, J. (1995). Adventure as psychotherapy: A mental health perspective. The Journal of Leisurability, 22(2). Retrieved on November 2, 2005, from Cattanach, A. (1999). Links between the arts therapies. In A. Cattanach, (Ed.), Process in the arts therapies (pp ). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Clark, J. P., Leonardo, M. M., Cooley, R., & Gathercoal, K. (2004). The effects of wilderness therapy on the clinical concerns (on axes I, II, and IV) of troubled adolescents. Journal of Experiential Education, 27, Clouston-Carlson, J. (2003). Comprehensive paper. An unpublished doctoral research paper, Wilfred Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario. Cooper, B. F., & Milton, I. B. (2003). Group art therapy with self-destructive young women. In D. J. Weiner, (Ed.), Action therapy with families and groups: Using creative arts improvisation in clinical practice (pp ). Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association. Retrieved December 2, 2005, from the Ovid database. Hammond-Meiers, J.A. (2005). Women s group experience in art therapy and movement therapy. Thesis, Vancouver Art Therapy Institute, Canada. Hendee, J. C. (2000). Wilderness experience programs for personal growth, therapy, education and leadership development: Their extent, social-economic and ecological impacts and

13 Wilderness setting 13 natural resource policy and implications-a five-year program of research by the University of Idaho wilderness research center University of Idaho. Retrieved on November 2, 2005, from Herbert, J. T. (1998). Therapeutic effects of participating in an adventure therapy program. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 41, Janofsky, M. (2002, September 21). Outdoor therapy camp workers charged in hiking death of boy. The New York Times, p. 13. Johnson, D. R. (1999). Essays on the creative arts therapies: Imaging the birth of a profession. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas Publisher. Kahn, B. B. (1999). Art therapy with adolescents: Making it work for school counselors. Professional School Counselling, 2, Retrieved April 6, 2005, from the Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection database. Kessell, M. J. (1994). Women s adventure group: Experiential therapy in an HMO setting. Women & Therapy, 15, Retrieved December 1, 2005, from Klorer, P. G. (1992). Leaping beyond traditional boundaries: Art therapy and a wilderness stress challenge program for adolescents. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 19, Retrieved January 4, 2007, from Pysch Info Database. Malchiodi, C. A. (2000). Art therapy. In A. E. Kazdin (Ed.), Encyclopedia of psychology, (Vol. 1. pp ). Washington, DC; London: American Psychological Association; Oxford University Press. Retrieved April 6, 2005, from Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection database.

14 Wilderness setting 14 Meldrum, B. (1999). Research in the arts therapies. In A. Cattanach, (Ed.), Process in the Arts Therapies (pp ). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Mitten, D. (1994). Ethical considerations in adventure therapy: A feminist critique. Women & Therapy, 15(3/4), Retrieved December 1, 2005, from Moon, B. L. (1998). The dynamics of art as therapy with adolescents. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publishers. Newes, S. L. (n.d.). Comprehensive paper: Adventure-based therapy: theory, characteristics, ethics, and research. An unpublished doctoral research paper, Pennsylvania State University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Retrieved on November 2, 2005, from Phillips, J. (2003). Working with adolescents violent imagery. In C. A. Malchiodi (Ed.), Handbook of Art Therapy (pp ). New York: The Guilford Press. Pipher, M. (1994). Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls. New York: Ballantine Books. Riley, S. (1999). Contemporary art therapy with adolescents. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Rosol, M. (2000). Wilderness therapy for youth at risk. P & R, September, Russell, K. (2001). What is wilderness therapy? Journal of Experiential Education, 24(2), Russell, K. C., Hendee, J. C., & Phillips-Miller, D. (2000). How wilderness therapy works: An examination of the wilderness therapy process to treat adolescents with behavioral problems and addictions. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS, 15, Ward, C. (1999). Shaping connections: Hands-on art therapy. In A. Cattanach, (Ed.), Process in

15 the Arts Therapies (pp ). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Wilderness setting 15