Lefika La Phodiso - Projects

The Art Therapy Centre has been involved in facilitating Art Counselling projects since its inception in 1993. In the early years groups were aimed at combating the effects of Apartheid. They were situated in Tokoza and Katlehong and accommodated youth from the Self Defence Units, trauma workers, parents, educators and children.

Art Counselling in the school environment

Since 2005 the majority of project work has occurred in partnership with The Department of Education and has been based within the school context. Within this environment, Art Counselling projects focus on providing support for both educators and learners. A major benefit of this approach is that it magnifies the gains made by each group through their contact in the classroom.

Art Counselling has a dual purpose for educators which consists of support as well as the transfer of Art Counselling skills. South African educators are, for the most part, overburdened by their workload and the size of their classes. In addition to this the problems of HIV and AIDS, violence, abuse, and poverty mean that they often need to act as substitute parents for their learners.

In this respect Art Counselling is a way of caring for the carer – a way of providing a bulwark against burnout, stress, depression, and anxiety. Groups provide a context for applied case discussion providing an opportunity for educators to think together about children with difficulties. Groups are also a context for the transfer of Art Counselling skills which can be used to support learners in the classroom.

The majority of learners who participate in Art Counselling have been orphaned by AIDS or are have been abused. The Art Counselling group is designed to meet their parenting needs, providing an opportunity for them to feel held, loved, and cared for. The ‘good enough’ family is recreated with Art Counsellors acting as group ‘mothers’ and the children as siblings.

In this manner a safe and supportive environment is created in which children have the opportunity to play and create. For most of these children life has demanded that they live in survival mode and the group provides an opportunity for them to be children.

The Art Therapy Centre has worked at schools in Tembisa, Katlehong, Vosloorus, Soweto, Lenasia and Orange Farm.

Case study

In 2006 The Art Therapy Centre facilitated an intervention for AIDS orphans at The Zimaleni Aftercare Centre in Vosloorus.

The children began the year preoccupied by the deaths of their loved ones and with a wish for their own deaths so that they could reunite with their families. For the first term they created images of their parents’ and their own graves. This opportunity to mourn allowed a shift to happen in the second term. The children began creating regenerative images, images of safes environments and an improved sense of self.

Rather than being trapped in feelings of deadness, they became invested in being alive.

Mural Projects

In September 2007, The Art Therapy Centre formed a unique partnership with Plascon and Barloworld. Utilising the resources of all participating organizations, a series of mural projects was initiated to work specifically with children at risk. Mobilizing The Art Therapy Centre’s Art Counselling Units, three school-based units were selected to partake in this pilot project. The units in Alexandra and Katlehong are based at schools for the mentally and physically disabled. The unit in Soweto supports adolescents.

Under the guidance and facilitation of The Art Therapy Centre the projects focused on exploring self and community, through the creation of group murals.

Murals act as a visual voice. They have been used throughout history as a platform for expression, as a way to send a message or inform on a particular theme or issue. Murals may address human rights issues, personal or group experiences and thoughts, and reveal the context and climate of community and political situations.

Creating murals within the Art Counselling Units aimed to provide the
space for children at risk to ‘speak’ to their community about their community; to tell a story, express an opinion, convey a wish or demonstrate change.

These projects provided numerous benefits to the participants. They:

increased learners’ level of self confidence
provided learners with a sense of belonging and acceptance
enhanced group cohesion and participation
encouraged a voice for marginalized groups – expressing images of the desire for acceptance and belonging
created a safe space to express thoughts and emotions
encouraged motivation and purpose – as many children were pessimistic about their future, seeing possibilities and being involved in the murals provided a space for hope and encouragement
identified the Community Art Counselling Units (the Units are now visually identifiable, informing people of the safe space for community support and counselling
allowed a space for safe disclosures of abuse and trauma, which can be followed up by appropriate services
encouraged creativity, fun and play

Crisis Interventions

Xenophobia

Educator Strike
In July 2007 The Art Therapy Centre facilitated a crisis intervention for learners at the time of the strike in the education sector. Art Counselling groups were held in Katlehong, Daveyton, Soweto and Benoni.

The purpose of the intervention was to create a safety net for children and youth who were placed at risk as a result of the closure of schools during the public servants’ strike.

The school structure plays a vital role in ensuring the safety, health and nutritional needs of learners. Without this structure in place children were left unattended putting them at risk of abuse; violence and exploitation; as well as lack of access to food, medication, and emotional care and support.

The objective of the Art Counselling groups was to contain free-floating anxiety and anger, and create a ‘safe space’. The use of art materials in the presence of an empathetic other allowed for the expression of emotion, preventing the enactment of potentially destructive and damaging behaviour.

Tshikululu Social Investments funded the intervention and Emperor’s Palace donated food for the learners in Katlehong, Daveyton and Benoni. Pick ‘n Pay also made a contribution towards the intervention which was used to supply food in Soweto.

A number of positive transformations were noted over the course of the intervention:

Participants expressed great relief at being able to talk about their fears and anxieties. Access to a safe space made them feel contained, cared for, and understood.
Over time the children began to feel less anxious and happier with the realisation that the absence of their educators was not their fault.
Over time the participants gained greater self-awareness and showed improved ability to recognise and engage with their emotions. This boosted their sense of resourcefulness in managing their lives.
Participating in creative activities transformed anxiety into playfulness and fun. Participants thoroughly enjoyed using the art materials and engaging in productive work. Over time they became more confident with the materials and their ability to create.
As the groups progressed, participants were better able to create independently showing that they had grown in confidence within themselves
During groups children increasingly communicated and helped one another in the creative process, they showed increased compassion and caring for one another