Young Art Therapy for Children

As part of our programme of sponsoring Young Arts projects we have donated £500 to the Children’s Support Service, Isabel Hospice.  The money is for arts and crafts materials used at group sessions and family days for pre-bereaved and post-bereaved young people. The art/craft activities provide much-needed well-being, fun and friendship for at least 50 young people whose lives have been turned upside down with the death of a parent, sibling or other close family member.
 
It is often very difficult for children in this situation to make sense of their loss and the changes in their lives without the vocabulary or understanding to deal with the trauma they are experiencing.  The Arts activities are a therapeutic tool to enable young people to identify and express their feelings, help them to feel less isolated, and to develop new friendships with other young people.
 
Specifically the money has helped fund two Saturday workshops attended by children 3-11 years old and led by the Hospice’s Children’s Service Manager, Tracie Slade.
 
The first day was for the children to get to know each other, while decorating and putting their names on individual petals of a collaged sunflower.  A second collage was created based on a story read to the children entitled ‘ A Huge Bag of Worries’ by Virginia Ironside.  The children were encouraged to write or draw their worries on Post-it notes which were collected into a visual Bag of Worries.
 
Artistic expression at the second workshop took a different turn, when biscuits were iced with feeling faces, photo frames were decorated for special photos, and memory stones created.  The workshop ended with a coming together of children, carers, staff and volunteers for a reflection ceremony.
 
The Isabel Hospice runs these activities free of charge for the children and are dependent on donations and support from organisations such as the Arts Society East Herts to whom they voted a big Thank-You.