Thinking of Others – Tailored Gifts of Art

Posted on June 28, 2010 by admin

This is one of my favorite art therapy directives. I use this in groups of all ages and everyone seems to really enjoy the feeling of connection it brings to themselves and to others. When working in a group one of the most important things I teach is how to become “a thinking about others person.” Since connection is ultimately what helps us feel less isolated and more confident and happy, I make sure to focus on helping people actually experience this feeling:

1. Put names of each group member in a bag or hat.
2. Have group members pick one name out of the bag. Think of a grab bag…but this certainly does not have to take place during the holiday season only.  In fact, it works really well if your intent is to “Bring the holiday spirit to Fall (or Summer)” and for example, pretend it’s the holiday season in July.
3. Once they have chosen a name out of the bag, their goal is to think about everything they have learned about this person since the group began. Therefore, this works best with a group that has been working together for some period of time. For example, what are this person’s hobbies, likes, dislikes, favorite places to visit, what is important to them, etc.
4. Now create a special gift, specifically tailored to this person.
5. Once complete, they present the gift to the group and the group has to guess who they think the present is for. Or they simply present the piece of art to the person they were making the gift for.

*  There you have it! A homemade, thought out and hand-touched gift for everyone! Participants usually leave this group with a huge smile on their face feeling as though they have connected to themselves and others just a little bit more.

Discussion: 4 Comments

4 Responses to “Thinking of Others – Tailored Gifts of Art”

1. 

   Patrick Dieter

   - 28th Jun, 10 10:06am

   Elissa:

   I have been an addictions therapist for 7 years, and a musician for 40.

   The above website was created by my wife, Carol McCullough-Dieter who is an Art Therapy graduate from Marylhurst University, and former database administrator/author. It contains a database of art directives specifically for art therapists, and it also offers a feature where therapists can choose to store their directives for easy access, and also share them as part of the overall database if they wish. Please check it out, enjoy, and consider linking to your awesome blog!

   Patrick Dieter, BA, CADC II, CDP

2. 

   admin (author comment)

   - 28th Jun, 10 12:06pm

   Wow Patrick…now this is cool stuff. Thank you so much for sharing this very usefull tool! Can’t wait to check it out and spread the word!

3. 

   julie cast

   - 29th Jun, 10 07:06am

   This is just fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing!

4. 

   admin (author comment)

   - 29th Jun, 10 09:06am

   My pleasure…and stay tuned for more to come!