Intervention

My behavior modification goal for the group of adolescent girls I teach art to on Sundays is that of individual interaction between group members, in other words, group cohesion. I am trying to increase how often each girl interacts with another member of the group during our sessions. The group meets once a week for an hour and a half; the first half hour is devoted to an art therapy exercise and the rest of the time is devoted to learning how to draw. The art therapy aspect allows the children to express something of themselves to the group which we hope will promote a sense of group cohesion. Each of the art therapy exercises is geared towards interacting with another member of the group or expressing a personal hope or characteristic to the group as a whole. “Putting a problem on paper can make it seem more external, rendering it easier to deal with” (Hutson, 2007, p. 26). When we ask the girls to talk about what has been going on for them at home or at school we get very short answers that are formal and impersonal. The art expression allows room for the girls to become more personal without the risk of being the only one doing it since all of the group’s members have to participate.

Membership, acceptance, and approval in various groups are of the utmost importance in the individual’s developmental sequence. The importance of belonging to childhood peer groups…can hardly be overestimated. Nothing seems to be of greater importance for the self-esteem and well being of the adolescent, for example, than to be included and accepted in some social group, and nothing more devastating than exclusion (Yalom, Leszcz, 2005, pg. 57).

For the next hour we focus on learning to draw; this part of the session allows my fellow intern and I to interact with the girls individually, observe them at somewhat of a distance, and it allows the girls to talk among themselves and form their own bonds within the group. Producing a work of art has its own rewards which Dr. Lefkowitz, the director of the FCU (Family Crisis Unit), uses as the reason to justify keeping the art groups running to the board of directors. That reason is “producing something gives people a sense of control and enhances self esteem” (Hutson, 2007, p. 26). Dr. Lefkowitz is also a big supporter of giving these children something normal in their otherwise dysfunctional lives to look forward to.

Each of the exercises we employ we adapt to the communal concerns and taboos. For instance this past week the exercise we chose to use was for each girl to draw a picture of themselves as a super hero. This presented a problem for this particular group of girls who all come from ultra orthodox homes within the Jewish community. The problem would be that they are not supposed to watch television and the idea of possessing “magic” is also problematic religiously. For instance, the Harry Potter books by J.K Rowling are banned from many schools because of its magical content. Instead we had them draw a gift basket for the holiday of Purim. We explained that it could be a basket that they would like to receive or give and it could be filled with anything they could think of. We told them it could be an emotion, money, a food with a special power etc. In this way the project made sense within their religious context and was appropriately timed since Purim would be the next evening. The girls had no problem drawing or understanding what we were talking about and had no objection with the magical aspect of the exercise. They did have some trouble sharing their picture with the group but everyone did share and we hope this will become easier for the group members as time goes on.

Traditional developmental literature states that the tasks of adolescents are to attain self-identity and independence. Female models of development call for the need to help adolescent females rediscover their voices in an environment of connectedness. Connectedness, or cohesion, is an integral part of group counseling. Socialization needs to occur within a cultural context, especially at adolescence (Muller, 2000, p. 264).

Franz Alexander’s theory of the corrective emotional experience is what I am using to support my use of a safe social environment with a peer group to enhance the girl’s social connectedness. The theory stems from psychoanalytic theory and purports that exposure to emotional situations that in the past have been difficult to handle can be therapeutically used under more favorable circumstances. This allows the client to internalize the positive experience and transfer it to their every day interactions (Yalom & Leszcz, 2005).

References
Hutson, M. (2007). The Healing Arts. Psychology Today , 26.
Muller, L. E. (2000). A 12-session, European-American-led counseling group for African American
females. Professional School Counseling , 264-270.
Yalom, I. D., & Leszcz, M. (2005). The Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy Fifth Edition. New
York: Basic Books.