This presentation is about “First Aid Interventions”: the use of single sessions to deal with negative feelings and traumatic events. When an art therapist has little time, or the patients may not be able to come back, we have identified three approaches that may be useful for an art therapist to keep in mind. According to different patients needs and different situations, the art therapist may focus on one of these three objectives: 1) Helping the Patient to Cope with the Negative, increasing Containment and Distress Tolerance; 2) Helping the Patient to leave aside the Negative and to Strengthen the Positive, through the use of relaxation, imagination and connection with Nature; 3) Facilitating Integration of Negative and Positive, and Transformations from Negative to Positive. I will offer some examples of these three approaches, which may be useful tools for art therapists working with distressed patients or in emergency situations.
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The Arts of Inclusion and Connection
Contemporary Challenges for Art Therapy, Dance Movement Therapy, Expressive Psychotherapy