Drawn by Experience

Art Therapy with Victims of War

`When you start drawing, you are going to lose control. Someone said to me, my drawings don't lie.' An art therapist explains how her job is to help people to search for the past, to lay down their burden of hidden memories and feelings by expressing them visually. Her clients are people who have lived through wars, often as children, and they may have spent many years unconsciously repressing recollections of the terror and pain they suffered. Drawing and modeling can lead them gradually to unbury and release these feelings; and even when the subject matter is painful, the process itself, which may take months or even years, can still be enjoyable. However, as the therapist points out, `art therapy has got nothing to do with artistic achievement. It is the authenticity that counts.'

This program is particularly suitable for teacher training.

© 1998-2008 The Roland Collection & Pira Intl.