September 2022 - Watercolor Breathing Therapeutic Art Making Intervention
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.
This intervention is a blend between the bubble breathing activity and last month’s doodle story! A little less messy than the bubble breathing, and a spin on the doodle story makes for a fun balance. It also is another that takes teaching a breathing technique and linking it to an art intervention. These can be so helpful to help clients remember and connect to a breathing technique, and hopefully increase the likelihood that they will use it!
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:
Plain paper
Watercolor paint
Paint brushes
Water
Straw
I HIGHLY recommend poking a hole at the top of the straw with a pushpin. This ensures that the client will not accidentally suck up any of the paint. Even though everything is non-toxic it still doesn’t taste great!
Markers or pen
Uses: This intervention is another that takes teaching a breathing technique and linking it to an art intervention. These can be so helpful to help clients remember and connect to a breathing technique, and hopefully increase the likelihood that they will use it!
Artistic skills needed: None!
Instructions:
Have the client get their brush very wet and pick a color of paint they’d like to use
Have them put a few drops of the paint onto the paper in a blob shape
You want a good amount of water/paint so that there is enough to blow around. They can keep adding water droplets to the paint if needed. They can also start by adding a few drops of water to the paper and then adding in the paint as well
Next, have your client take a deep breath, ask them to hold it for a second if they can, and then exhale through the straw to blow the paint around into a splatter
Have them rotate the paper and blow a few times if they don’t like the shape they made at first
Have them make as many paint splatters and they would like and allow them to dry
I would avoid using a hairdryer to speed up the process because it can change the shape that was originally created. You can blot it with a tissue or paper towel to remove excess water if needed
After the paper is dry, have your client find images and shapes in their splatters!
If the paper is still a little wet, using a pen can work better than a marker to avoid smudging.
If they are having difficulty finding images, I usually will try to have them look for foods, flowers, animals, or basic shapes to start. Try to avoid pointing out what you see until the end so you don’t influence what they are seeing
Encourage them to rotate the paper to see new shapes and images and also encourage them to add on drawings to the splatters to create their image. The splatter can just be a part of their image (check the example video to really see what I mean here)
The images that the client sees can potentially give you some insight into what is on their mind. This is not always the case and any interpretation should be avoided or done with extreme caution. Always ask questions about why they chose images and never assume you know why they chose something. Clients can be depicting images from shows, movies, or things they have seen on the internet. If you assume a client is including a certain image, it can be very dangerous and give you a biased opinion. Please take this note seriously and proceed cautiously. If you have any questions about why this is, please reach out and I would be more than happy to give more details as needed!
