Apr
10
Claude Olivier, King's University College, London, ON (Canada)
Laura Lewis, King's University College, London, ON (Canada)
There has been growing interest in the use of the expressive arts in social work, leading both to theory and practice development. This presentation will convey the facilitated group work practice experiences of two social workers who provided expressive arts experiences in their local community and the benefits of these kinds of programs. Theoretical underpinnings of these groups and considerations for the applicability of these interventions to one's home communities will be explained.
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Presentation Description:
There has been growing interest in the use of the expressive arts in social work, leading both to theory and practice development (Heinonen, Halonen & Krahn, 2019). This poster presentation will convey the facilitated group work practice experiences of two social workers who provided expressive arts experiences in their local community. Dr. Olivier will discuss his work at a local community based women's agency, where he has conducted several art-based groups with disadvantaged women using theatre, painting/drawing. Dr. Lewis will discuss facilitation of single-session arts-based intervention with women's spiritual Church-based groups, inviting participants to a greater understanding of themselves through art-making and poetry. The therapeutic outcomes of these theatrical, drawing/painting and poetry opportunities to foster and build connection will be tied to group work theory and narrated best practices. Corey and Corey (2010) have suggest particular attention be paid to the 1) Establishment of Guidelines 2) Active Listening 3) Genuine Feedback and Empathy 4) Linking 5) Summarizing and Endings in group-work . The presenters will share information focused on attention to these effective group facilitation skills, as applied to a arts-based intervention groups. As well, the use of personal reflection handouts will be discussed for their utility in giving shape and insightful form to the art experiences themselves. Discussion on the pros and cons of structuring reflective activities will be facilitated. For the authors, incorporating art-making and poetry into group-practice experiences led to the discovery of how using art and poetry can help transcend client/client, and worker/client divides, as each person finds common humanity through creating and interacting with these offered activities. Poster Presentation Goals:1) To define the kinds of connection that are fostered through groups that have an expressive arts focus - i) Connection to self (one's emotions, creativity, dreams, hopes, personal strengths, and playfulness) ii) Connection to others (witness others' emotions, commonalities, shared humanity, social activism. 2) To discuss the importance of "surfacing" thoughts, and feelings that are stimulated through expressive arts activities, and how these activities stimulate the making of personal connections to one's lived stories of resiliency, capacity and connectedness. 3) To discuss the importance of the features of effective group work practice facilitation and how self-reflection/shared discussion of these personal reflections in group may enhance personal connection and social acceptance amongst group members. 4)Discussion of how to manage presenting cathartic emotion in group will also be conveyed Expected Outcomes: Those who attend this poster presentation will hear about these community-based group work practice initiatives, will understand the theoretical underpinnings of these groups implementation, and will hopefully be stimulated to consider the applicability of these interventions to one's home communities.
References:
- Barnes, Rosemary. “Take It Public: Exhibiting, Performing and Critiquing Expressive Arts.” Canadian Art Therapy Association Journal, vol. 25, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1–6.
- Corey, Marianne Schneider, et al. Groups : Process and Practice. Brooks/Cole, 2010.
- Gardner, Morgan. “‘The Whole ME Presented Itself. KABOOM!:Expressive Arts and Critical Reflection.” Alberta Journal of Educational Research, vol. 57, no. 4, 2011, p. 409.
- Heinonen, Tuula, et al. Expressive Arts for Social Work and Social Change. Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2018.
- Wilkinson, Fay, et al. “Visible Voices: Expressive Arts with Isolated Seniors Using Trained Volunteers.” Arts Health, vol. 5, no. 3, 2013, pp. 230–237.
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