My recent experiences working with clay have been a part of a tumultuous journey of professional growth. My internship, unfortunately ended prematurely due to conflict and distressing interactions between me and my administrative contact at Say It With Clay, a non-profit “therapeutic” clay studio. My clinical experiences at Say It With Clay were uniquely challenging, forcing me to question the nuanced differences between the “ic” and the “y” of what can be therapeutic and what is therapy. When I suggest using clay for a population of adolescents with eating disorders, it is most important to act intentionally as a therapist to uphold ethical values such as nonmaleficence, and create safety through presence, structure, cultural humility and competence.
I think that the step by step structure and “rules” of pottery craft can help to lend that sense of safety and control to the therapy process. In Joshua’s experience, the individuals in the clay groups were mentally stable and attended for six sessions, for two hours each. The “rules and regulations of the pottery studio” served as “norms” that “created a controlled container” in which the clients could express themselves freely and creatively (Leone, 2020, p. 60). In the case of an adolescent with an eating disorder, it would be important to assess whether the young client would benefit from working individually or in a group for clay therapy, or both. It has been shown that young clients tend to benefit more from the essential social interactions they experience in a group therapy setting, but simultaneously, the client should be supported by individual weekly treatment (Grover, 2017). While clay therapy should be included in in-patient services, this kind of treatment may be better suited to residential or outpatient settings where treatment can be ongoing without a time limit imposed upon it.
As a former ceramics student, I’ve witnessed the struggle again and again to control a lump of clay, attempting to center it and guide it, pushing and pulling, to form it into a symmetrical vessel atop a spinning pottery wheel. Some students who take a pottery class for one semester, give up and never learn. Similarly, eating disorders are notoriously difficult to treat. Learning to throw on a wheel is not a process that will set a client up for immediate success, but rather acknowledges the reality that treatment for eating disorders may be a long, arduous process that takes a lot of attention, attempts, and failures before achieving a satisfying result. It frames the idea of living with the eating disorder as something that will be improved upon over time, with practice.
The mindful, sensory-rich, hands on process of working with clay requires the use of “proprioceptive perception” and is directly suited to adolescents with eating disorders. The process is intense and engaging which helps clients “be mindful of the here-and-now” and the “sensory-rich and kinesthetic movements” makes pottery “provide a profound effect on raising somatic consciousness or body awareness in a physical space” (Leone, 2020, p. 57-61). Often, clients with eating disorders experience body dysmorphia and don’t have a realistic perception of their body, but working with clay would help to restructure and strengthen that perception. I’ve included an unassuming photo of wedged up clay in a bucket because this is what I expect the outcome of the first session with a client would look like. Overtime, through advancement in their clay art making skills, the client would produce different creations and increase self-esteem (Leone, 2020). I would start by reclaiming clay with the client. Old, dried out clay shouldn’t be thrown away - it can be recycled by soaking in water and rehydrated, then spread out on a flat surface and allowed to dry to the appropriate hardness. I would engage the client in a mindful process of wedging the clay, a soothing and satisfying, sensory-rich process of kneading, that is an essential first step before crafting with the clay. The outcome is a lump of clay that is ready to use for next time.
References
Grover, S. (2017). 5 reasons group therapy is the best choice struggling teens https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/when-kids-call-the-shots/201712/5-reasons-group-therapy-is-the-best-choice-struggling-teens
Leone, L. (2020). Craft in art therapy: Diverse approaches to the transformative power of craft materials and methods. Routledge