February 2023 - Scratch Off Coping Skills Therapeutic Art Making Intervention (& digital coping skill resource)
Finding creative therapy interventions can be so difficult! That is why I have created a library of creative interventions so that any therapist can easily find interventions to do with their clients. Please keep in mind the importance of the terminology you are using with these interventions! Art Therapy interventions are done by a trained and registered Art Therapist. Luckily, all of these interventions are appropriate for any clinician to use as Therapeutic Art Making interventions! All of the interventions found in my Creative Intervention Library are art activities perfect for therapy sessions. Most of the interventions also have a telehealth modification for those of us who are still seeing clients virtually. Every month, I post a new creative intervention for you to use. Looking for more? For the price of a cup of coffee per month, you can get access to a second creative intervention as well as access to the entire library catalog of previous months.
It has been a while since I did a more involved intervention, and I couldn’t resist this one! With that being said, I did also create a digital version of sorts for you and your clients to use for Telehealth sessions. This intervention is fun, engaging, and a great resource for a client to take with them.
Please note, If you do take any photos of client’s art work, make sure you have a consent form signed for this. I have a Consent to Photograph Artwork Created in Therapy Sessions Form in my products if you need one for your practice. Even with therapeutic art making, it is ethically necessary to have this consent form signed. Also make sure to remove any identifying information from any art work before photographing it, such as names or signatures.
I offer personalized intervention ideas in the clinical consultation and supervision I provide as well! When I work one on one with clinicians, I love being able to create specific interventions tailored to each client and their presenting concerns. Feel free to reach out with any questions to see if creative supervision and consultation would be a good fit for you and your practice!
Process Video:
Age range: 8+
Diagnosis: Any
Supplies Needed:
Paper
Printer (or you could draw and write the images and words with your client if you don’t have access to a printer)
Packing tape
Acrylic paint
Dish soap
Paintbrush
Something to mix paint in/on
Uses: This intervention is helpful for clients who don’t know what coping skills to use or doesn’t often think of their coping skills when they need them the most
Artistic skills needed: None!
Instructions:
Start by having your client pick a few shapes and coping skills to go in the shapes (in my example I used 6, but there can be as many as they would like)
You can also access the template that I created in Canva here (just make a copy of it if you would like to edit the coping skills!)
Print out (or draw/write) the chosen shapes and coping skills
Cut a piece of packing tape big enough to cover each of the coping skills wording and cover the words with the packing tape
This step is necessary for the scratch off effect to work. You may be able to use scotch tape, but I highly advise that you test it first because I am not completely sure if it will work like the packing tape does!
The entire shape does not have to be covered in the tape, unless the client wants the entire shape to scratch off. You will only be able to scratch off the paint that is on the tape. If the paint is just on plain paper, it will not scratch off
Mix any color of acrylic paint with dish soap in a dish or on a piece of scrap paper
I did 2 pumps of dish soap, this does not have to be exact
If your client chooses a lighter color of paint, the words may be visible through it. You can print the words in a lighter grey or they can do a few coats of paint but just keep in mind darker colors will likely work better
Have your client paint over the shapes and packing tape, covering them completely
In the process video, you can see that the client might need to dab the paint on over the tape versus brushing it, as it can get streaky and transparent. Either dabbing it on or doing two coats can help this
Either let it dry or you can use a hairdryer to speed up the process
Once everything is dry, it is ready to be scratched off! I like to present this as a tool for clients who might need reminders of coping skills to use, or even just a new fun way to pick what coping skill to use. Sometimes even the process of scratching off the coping skills is calming in itself and can be helpful.
Because this intervention isn’t the most telehealth friendly, I also created a digital resource for you and your clients to use! It is set up almost like Jeopardy where they pick a category of coping skills and a number, and it will show a random coping skill for them to use. All you have to do is click “slideshow” and the numbers can be clicked to show the coping skills. You are welcome to send this to clients as a tool. I believe (but have not tested it out yet) that you can make a copy of the document and you can edit the coping skills if you would like to. If you have any questions about editing it, feel free to message me! You can access the document here.
