Media Process: Papermaking Population: Adolescents Disorder: PTSD
This paper making process was, out of all the processes we did over the period of the 10 weeks, the most transformative and the one that resonated the most. I have a strong feeling that it has partially to do with our guest speaker sharing his own story and experience with the craft and engaging in a way that was inspiring and motivating. I chose to take this opportunity to do personal reflection and some "soul work". I wrote raw, personal letters to several people in my life and shredded them up as part of the pulp making process, added paint and several other scraps of paper from my collection, and created square paper with a screen I purchased. I reflected on the process, experience and symbolism of transformation of experiences, trauma and emotions in my own life and considered this would be a beneficial intervention with many different populations but chose adolescents with posttraumatic stress symptoms/disorder. Working with the materials, having the right tools and bringing intention into the papermaking were all important aspects of this process. The act of making the paper in it of itself from making the pulp to planning what to do with the paper makes its way from beginning to end along the Expressive Therapies Continuum. Working with the pulp and shaping it into paper is a sensory/kinesthetic and tactile process. This specifically was calming, childlike, and enjoyable. The repetitiveness of making several pieces of paper, and the textile experience allowed for a calming and centering oftentimes experienced by those working with craft materials (Leone, 2020). Adolescents and children with posttraumatic stress symptoms deal with a wide variety of life-altering symptoms that can impact development, social engagement, interpersonal relationships, internalizing and externalizing behavioral symptoms (Bokoch, 2020). This process engages creative thinking, several transformative processes along the ETC and has endless possibilities with narrative therapy and art therapy, giving control to the client and allowing them to reclaim their own story.
References:
Leone, L. (Ed.). (2020). Craft in Art Therapy: Diverse Approaches to the Transformative Power of Craft Materials and Methods. Routledge.
Bokoch, R., Hass-Cohen, N. (2020). Effectiveness of a school-based mindfulness and art therapy group program.Art therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 0(0), 1-10.https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2020.1807876.