People often ask, "What is trauma?" They think of the trauma team at a hospital who help accident victims. Certainly that is trauma but trauma also includes many other situations. Some examples are the aftermath of wars, divorce, death of a loved one, domestc violence, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, natural disasters, or an event such as 9/11. These art activities  can be used in mental health and substance abuse therapy. They are designed to address the three stages of trauma recovery which are:

1. Physical and psychological stabilization.

Common trauma symptoms are:

• Emotional flooding: too many emotions at once, being overwhelmed
• Numbing: not feeling anything
• Flashbacks: remembering the traumatic event as if it were really happening
• Memory impairment
• Sleep disturbances
• Hypervigilance: constantly on guard in a state of tension
• Physical pain
• Addictions

It is possible to learn how to contain the symptoms and to learn pacing skills so as to not become retraumatized.

2. Discussion of the traumatic event

There is also a written section to each exercise for further exploration. People using the exercises are much more willing to share with a counselor after they have done some processing.

3. Exploration and management of the aftereffects

People can begin to explore even healthier ways to function in the world beyond managing symptoms.

If you are dealing with trauma issues, depression, substance abuse or other mental health concerns, there are creative exercises that can help. Suppose you feel like you don't have enough people in your life that support you. You can create a paper weaving in which the strips of paper metaphorically represent the support you have right now. You can then identify with your counselor the changes you need to make and become aware that there might be support that you need to eliminate.

Perhaps you have difficulty expressing your feelings. There are projects that help you identify your feelings and also discover if you use one feeling to cover up another. For example, some people use anger to cover up what they are really feeling.

There are art activities to help you deal with relationship issues, boundary issues, and low self-esteem among many others.

None of the activities require artistic ability. They are a fun, safe way to get to the core of your issues in an accepting environment.

The exercises were developed by a team of Art Therapists at the Sidran Institute. The institute works with trauma victims and also advocates for them. I have discovered in using the Sidran materials that they are helpful for a great variety of issues.

If working with art materials is not something you enjoy, That’s OK. There are many other approaches we can use to help you deal with your problems such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Your experience will be individualized based on your needs. You will be treated with respect and dignity and you will be a part of determining what you need. Nobody knows what you are going through better than you do.