Meaning of drawings/ drawing therapy?

Question

I've been asked to help out a lower school student (im in sixth form)..with bullying issues.
Turns out the boy I'm helping isn't completely innocent himself.

I want to do some drawings with him, to develop my understanding of how he is feeling, because when he's talking to me, his emotions are unclear.

is anyone able to tell me how to go about this process?
...do I tell him what to draw?
...how do I find the meanings of the things he draws?

ect.

can you help?

good suggestions so far, thanks, some people have mentioned that therapy is dangerous...

I'm not actually looking to do a full blown session of therapy with this student!!
I didn't know how to word my question, and thought that came close to it!
...I know that creativity is sometimes useful when dealing with children, so I was trying to apply that to gain further understanding of the principles behind what a child draws, and what the child's drawing means....

Answer 1

Short answer: don't do it. It's extremely dangerous! Therapy of any type requires a lot of training and should be left to the professionals.

Answer 2

art therapy is very complicated. and it is dangerous to analyse pictures without the proper therapeutic relationship in place.

you could ask him to talk about his bullying and ask him to draw a picture of himself. he may draw a very small person when in fact he is large, or he might draw a stick insect person very basic in appearance. this doesnt mean that he is basic and shows the complexities or analysis. you could talk to him about the bullies and ask what he thinks would stop the torment. get him to draw that. keep in mind that art therapy doesnt work for everyone. sometimes it can be helpful to just listen.

you could ask him what he would like to do to the bullies. ie: send them into space, put them in a dungeon, blow them up etc. then he can draw this. i once worked with a child who drew a fabulous castle that had two sides, one where she lived with her mum and brother and the other where her dad lived. with the history of domestic violence it was important to her that she could see her dad, but on her terms. so she drew a one way door that only she could open. her dad was within her reach but she was still safe.

or what about an island scene? one nice island, with trees and food, music and nice things where all his nice people live and then a horrid island with no shade, water or comfort and then he can draw all the bullies on this island. the ideas need to come from him though if there is to be meaning behind it.

hope this helps.

Answer 3

hi there... well everything i was going to suggest kt_sub2000 has already suggested and more, i know your wanting to use drawing and a way of therapy but have you tried the use of words eg poetry, i write poetry when i am feeling down, happy, or just want to express how i am feeling it helps me to stay sane, tell the lad it doesn't have to rhyme it just has to be how he feels and that poetry comes from the heart and not from the rhyme, this could be an alternative if he isn't a good artist.
hope this helps and the best of luck, its very commendable what you are trying to do :)

Answer 4

I don't see how his drawings are going to help you. If you can't understand his emotions when he talks to you how will you be able to interpret his drawings when you have no art therapy training?

Answer 5

Jung originated or at least popularized art therapy. I searched "art therapy exercises" and came up with the following: