Media Process: Paper-making
Population: Adults
Disorder: Depressive Disorders
I was thoroughly excited to engage in the process of paper-making. I felt somewhat intimidated at first when trying to acquire materials, but that was short-lived as I engaged in the DIY components of making screens out of old canvas frames and plastic. To create my pulp, I incorporated scraps of paper, recycled brown paper bags, some old newsprint, dried lavender, flower petals, and frayed yarn. The process of ripping and combining pieces of products that had previously lost utility highlighted a sense of recreation and repurposing. I felt as if I was creating some kind of new life-giving potion of sorts. Working with the paper pulp was extremely sensory for me, which I responded to positively. The process felt very intimate, as I pressed and squeezed the pulp together to try to adhere to some kind of paper-shaped form. After I got the form somewhat shaped on my makeshift screen, I transferred the paper to a few different platforms to dry on, my favorite of which being wooden boards. The boards allowed the paper to dry with a smooth finish and also assisted in absorbing some of the remaining water.
While the process for me definitely seemed to be most aligned with the sensory component, I also felt as if throughout the process I was teetering on entering into the affective component. I felt very attuned and attached to the products that I created, and even though I did not transform any personally significant materials in the process, the paper had a quality of preciousness to it that encouraged an affective response. Overall I appreciated how immersive and sequential the experience was and found it to be deeply engaging.
I am interested in exploring how the paper-making process can be utilized when working with adults with depressive disorders. The immersive qualities of the process seem primed to assist in facilitating engagement, which is often a goal for individuals experiencing depressive symptoms. It also easily can translate into an activity that promotes social engagement and group work, if this were to be done in a communal space. Paper-making is a way to engage in art production by hand, which offers profound connections, not only between the self and the product, but also facilitates the opportunities for “rich expression connected to the self, others, and our communities,” (Mattot & Miller, 2020, p. 311). The repetitive nature of ripping paper to prepare for the creation of paper pulp also assists in managing depression, anxiety, and stress (Mattot & Miller, 2020). While speaking of their work with adults with Major Depressive Disorder and clay use, Nan and Ho (2017) identify the applicability of haptic qualities of materials combined with the visual process of aesthetics and the creation of something personally meaningful as a way to engage complex coordination within the brain. These qualities that are also integral to the paper-making process can assist in reducing depressive symptoms. Also, depending on the significance of materials being transformed into paper, there are ways to facilitate greater emotional reactivity, which would be important to discern with clinical judgement.
Mattot, D. & Miller, G. (2020). Papermaking. In Crawford, P., Brown, B., & Charise, A.
Editors, (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to the Health Humanities (pp.
311-315). Routledge.
Nan, J., & Ho, R. (2017). Effects of Clay Art Therapy on Adults Outpatients with Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Affective Disorders, 217, 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.04.013
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