Art therapy with a child with pulmonary hypertension

An 11-year-old girl with life-limiting pulmonary hypertension was offered art therapy as a mode of communication about her condition. Hour-long therapy sessions were weekly, over 5 years during which her condition improved and she prepared to move on to college. No claims are made for art therapy apart from it being part of her treatment. She said she needed art therapy because when she tried to express her fears to her parents they would begin to cry. The images illustrate the process of art therapy in her adjustment to chronic illness. In the first session she made a clay butterfly (figure 1) alongside the art therapist. This set the pattern for further sessions. She went on to create and use the ‘Royal Family’ puppets, with an additional dark figure, that threatened the family, but remained under her control (figure 2). Within a therapeutic relationship, she directed...
Source: Archives of Disease in Childhood - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Journalology, Other rehabilitative therapies, Drugs: cardiovascular system, Stroke, Hypertension, Child health, Competing interests (ethics) Images in paediatrics Source Type: research