Media: Clay
Population: Children with trauma and stressor-related disorders
I was quite excited to try the lint clay because I love trying new media and getting messy! However, I quickly realized that there was human hair in it and promptly dumped it in the trash. I did pick out pet fur out from it beforehand, but the hair grossed me out too much to work with it. I did use the same recipe with leftover paper pulp and it produced a similar type of clay, but it was difficult for me to shape and I defaulted to ceramic clay to make a monster.
While I frequently make monsters for fun, I thought that this would be an interesting way to work with children with trauma and stressor-related disorders while externalizing fears and challenges and potentially using narrative therapy to discuss the character that the child made. Narrative therapy is strengths-based and gives ample opportunity for externalizations as well as creation of narratives around the externalized creature (Gehart, 2016). Ceramics has an inherent precious quality to it as opposed to a material like Model Magic, so I would hope for there to be some importance placed on this piece; yes, your trauma/struggle/challenge is difficult, but it is also a part of you that we can navigate together. Additionally, it can be repaired or remade if it happens to break.
I would be interested in material interaction with ceramic clay, as the consistency can invite interesting responses that reveal psychological characteristics (Penzés et al., 2015). Ceramics can be a long process, which will also give insight into responses such as frustration tolerance, impulse control, and sensory sensitivity. I have had students who would not touch ceramic clay unless given gloves, and I had one student on the Autism Spectrum who refused to use it at all, so I would have adaptive supplies as well as alternatives like PaperClay or polymer clay available for clients.
References
Gehart, D. R. (2016). Theory and treatment planning in counseling and psychotherapy (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Pénzes, I., Hooren, S. V., Dokter, D., Smeijsters, H., & Hutschemaekers, G. (2015). Material interaction and art product in art therapy assessment in adult mental health. Arts & Health, 8(3), 213-228. doi:10.1080/17533015.2015.1088557