30 Art Therapy Activities for Individual or Group

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Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP, LMHC Executive Director: AllCEUs Counselor Education Host: Counselor Toolbox Podcast Objectives • Identify 30 art therapy activities and the goals and benefits for each 1. Collage • Medium (2 or 3-D) • Picture • Bulletin Board • Book or Notebook Cover • Scrapbook • Photo Blanket • Quilt • Website (Canva, MineCraft) • Materials • Odds and ends (buttons, keys, material, yarn) • Nature • Pictures from magazines, online, wrapping paper, greeting cards, food bags/boxes • Paint • Stamps • Macaroni/Beans • Benefits • Fine motor coordination • IRL: Scissor use, turning pages, gluing • Virtual: Typing, mousing, photoediting • Visual expression • Problem solving/creativity “How can I depict…” 1. Collage • Uses • Before and After • Layered with Goals • Most Important • Happiness (or other emotions) • My Accomplishments • Tribute/Memory • Nature (with leaves, feathers, sticks…)

• Positive Affirmations • Superhero (anxiety) • Friendship • My Happy Place

  1. Sculpture • Medium • Clay • Playdough or salt dough • Paper Mache • Pinata / Piggy Bank • Wadded Newspaper • Scarecrow • Multimedia (jars, foam balls, felt, popsicle sticks, pipecleaners, paper towel tubes, plastic shopping bags, cardboard from boxes)

  2. Sculpture • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Creativity and problem solving • Visual self expression • Uses • Superhero • Family • Memory • Self-Portrait • Emotion

  3. Puppets • Material • Socks • Felt finger puppets • Pipe cleaner finger puppets • Popsicle stick puppets • Brown paper bag • Toilet paper roll • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Verbal communication • Creativity • Uses • Giving a voice (What I wish I could say) • Addressing the anger/monster • Observation (What does the alien see) • Angel vs. Devil • Teach interpersonal skills (Sally is sad, what should Sammy do???) • Team work

  4. Gratitude Tree • Medium • On the wall • On paper • With sticks and tags • Materials • Paper cutouts • Paint (finger, brush, pens) • Sticks and gift tags or cardboard “leaves” • Uses • Remember things that are going right (depression, frustration) • Help remembering to focus on the good (negativity) • Gratitude in grief

  5. Wind chime • Materials • Keys • Buttons • Beads • Silverware • Bamboo pipes • Shells • Chandelier crystals • Bells • Terracotta pots • Feathers (and bells) • Cookie cutters • Decorated soda or tin cans • Soda bottle tops (metal) • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Creative expression • Uses • Grief • Favorite things • Happy memories • Mindfulness

  6. “Stained Glass” • Materials • Shrinkable plastic sheets or ornaments (Shrinky Dinks) • Benefits • Find motor skills • Creative expression • Uses • Mindfulness • Memory window or attach to LED Christmas light strand to make a garland • Things that make me feel… • Things that remind me of (grief) • Things that inspire me (goals)

  7. Flag • Medium • Solid color nylon flag (~$8) • Cut a king sheet and sew or glue edges • Large piece of cardboard (large shipping box or appliance box). Fortify edges with colored duct tape • Hint: Take a picture of the flag and print it out or have it added to water bottles for each person to have a miniature version • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Encourage communication and discussion • Visual expression

  8. Flag • Uses • Identify common and complimentary attributes • Enhance unity/group cohesion • Self-Awareness: What do I/we stand for • Communication about similarities and differences between groups (flags)

  9. Family or Personal Crest/Logo • Medium • Digital • Hand-Drawn • Can be added to cups, bottles, blankets… • Benefits • Self-reflection • Visual expression through colors and symbols • Fine motor • Uses • Enhance family communication • Encourage reflection on personal values and history • Enhance verbal expression by explaining what the symbols mean • Create a symbol of resilience and strength

  10. Promotional Flyer or Ad • Medium • Online • Paper/Posterboard • Video (watch Anthony Sullivan or 10 best infomercials) • Benefits • Verbal communication • Fine motor skills • Uses • Self-esteem building • Empowerment (How can this product address a problem?) • Exploration of impact on others (What can this product do for you)

  11. Photography • Medium • Digital photos • Benefits • Similar to collages it encourages critical/creative thinking skills • Fine and gross motor skill development • Communication skills • Social Justice

  12. Photography • Uses • Mindful Awareness: 10 pictures of something green • Emotions: 10 pictures of things that make you happy • Problem solving: 10 pictures of things that make you unhappy (and what to do about it) • Nonverbal communication • Scavenger hunt: 1 thing that is green, 1 thing that is plastic… • Creative expression with blur and focus • Find the shapes in a picture and discuss how different shapes, like different people give life depth and pizazz • Take a picture of something and ask people to write down 5 thoughts or assumptions they have
  13. Stepping Stone • Medium • Stones and paint • Concrete/plaster and forms • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Creative expression

• Uses • Achievements/Goals • Hardiness: Important things in my life (can be turned over when not going well) • Each member of the family and discuss attributes and how each contributes to your path • Memorial • Resilience/Dialectics (2 sided stones with the crisis on one side and resolution on the other) • Conceptual: Hope, Faith, Courage 12. Build a Home • Medium: • Legos and markers • Each block represents something you need for your house to feel like a • Cardboard Box / pictures, construction paper • Outside and Inside • Benefits • Creative expression • Fine motor skills • Uses • Explore what and who is important in someone’s life • Have people discuss the differences between what they need to make a house a home

  1. Jewelry / Meditation Beads/Key Chain • Materials • Floss or yarn • Beads, twine and closures • Finished strips of material or 1” wide ribbon with a button closure • Uses • Meditation/Anxiety • Use beads to prompt meditative thought (like rosary beads) • Mindfulness/Distress Tolerance • Use beads of different shapes, materials, colors etc. • Inspiration (STACK: Smart, Trustworthy, Agreeable, Caring, Kind)/Anxiety/Depression/Self-Esteem
  2. Masks • Medium • Store bought • Paper/plastic plates and string • Paper bag • Ski mask • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Visual communication

• Uses • Split mask (side to side or front and back) “My inside and my outside” “Happy and Sad” “Child and Adult” • Superhero inside • Emoti-Masks • My many hats • The chameleon inside • The person I most admire

  1. Graphic Novels/Cartoon Strip Bookmarks • Materials • Digital storyboard • Notebook • Cardstock bookmarks • Felt bookmarks • Large popsicle sticks • Old wide belt • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Visual expression • Written communication • Uses • Anxiety: Write out a success • Anger: Tell the story and explore assumptions and omissions • Grief: Close one chapter and open a new one • Mindfulness/Affirmations/Encouragement • Interpersonal skills: Improve emotional intelligence

  2. Worry Jar or Box • Materials • Old jelly or pickle jar • Pencil box • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Improves self awareness • Uses • Anxiety/Distress Tolerance 16B. Happiness Box • Materials • Old jelly or pickle jar • Pencil box • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Improves self awareness • Uses • Depression management • Opposite emotions

  3. Grief Pot • Materials • Large terra cotta pot (gently broken) or clay heart • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Verbal/written expression • Uses • Grief: Write on the inside the things you lost, write on the outside the things you still have and your resources

  4. Terrarium/Image in a Bottle/Diorama • Materials • Fish bowl, aquarium or gallon pickle jar. • Four of my favorite themes are: • My safe place • My favorite place • Heaven • My life in 2 years • Best things in my life • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Uses • Anxiety • Depression • Grief • Goal Setting/Motivation

  5. Motivation Buttons • Medium– Blank Buttons • Benefits • Creativity • Fine motor • Uses (create one each day) • Awards/rewards/Accomplishments • Inspirational sayings • Distress skills • Favorite activities • Things that make me happy • My strengths • Gratitude • Things I like about you… (group or family therapy) • Hint: Get a set of 30 and swap out images each month. Store images in a happiness box

  6. Crochet or Finger Crochet • Medium • Yarn—extra soft • Benefits • Fine motor coordination • Sensory integration • Uses • Create a soft scarf, mini blanket or small pouch/purse that can be held or worn when anxious. • Provides a manual activity to do when anxious

  7. Lighthouse • Medium • Draw or print a picture of a lighthouse. • Discuss the purpose of the lighthouse and what in their life is a consistent source of guidance • Have the person draw themselves in relation to the lighthouse and color the scene to represent how they feel (stormy, calm, isolated etc.) Then explain how they feel • Unhappy • Discuss who is in the lighthouse guiding them to safety (can be people or HP) • How are those people creating light in the darkness • Happy • How does knowing the lighthouse is always there make them feel safer?

  8. Lighthouse • Benefits • Fine motor • Verbal communication • Visual expression • Uses • Mindful awareness • Creative visualization for anxiety, anger or depression

  9. Self-Care Box • Medium • Medium sized box • Tackle box • Diaper bag or backpack • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Gross motor skills • Planning

• Uses • Vulnerability prevention • Anxiety—General/situational • Depression • Sickness • Communicate to others what you need/want

  1. Coasters • Medium • Cork tiles • Ceramic tiles • Benefits • Fine motor • Visual expression

• Uses • Happiness reminders (photos, leaves, drawings, wrapping paper, greeting card images…) • Notable quotes • Concepts: Hope, Faith, Love, Courage, Humility, Honesty, Loyalty…

  1. Daisy Chain or “Brick” Path • Medium • Construction paper • Shower curtain hooks with gift tags • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Visual expression • Uses • Steps to achieve a goal • Necessary activities to prevent relapse • Accomplishments (self-esteem) • Behavioral chaining (Where could you have broken the chain of negative events)

  2. “Recipe” Box • Medium • Recipe box and index cards • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Goal setting • Written communication • Uses.. Create a recipe for positive feelings—What ingredients do you need? How do you put them together? • My recipe for happiness • My recipe for courage when I am anxious • My recipe for comfort when I am sad

  3. Paper Fortune Teller • Medium: Paper • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Uses • Affirmations • Self-Esteem • Random Acts of Kindness • Distress Tolerance Activities (8 tolerance or coping skills) • Mindful Awareness (mood, attitude, focus/concentration, health, energy, friends, family, work/school)

  4. Balance • Medium • Build your own balance with a coat hangar and 2 cans or plastic cups. You will need stones, marbles (at least 5 shooters) or coins of at least 2 different sizes (dimes and quarters work well). Decorate on side of the can to represent happy and the other side to represent unhappy. • Uses • Fine motor • Math/weight estimation • Decision making • Verbal communication • Uses • Teaching purposeful action • Self awareness of distress vs. happiness • Motivational enhancement (pros and cons)
  5. Eggs • Medium • Extra large plastic Easter eggs—When eggs hatch, they bring new life • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Uses • Distress Tolerance: Write an emotion on the outside. Fill with strips of paper with coping skills • Important people: Write their name on the outside. Fill with descriptions of them • Goals: Write the goal on the outside. Fill with plans to achieve it • Resources: Write the resource on the outside and fill it with resources (Safety, support, encouragement, creativity, humor, problem solving)

  6. Alphabet Awareness • Medium • Poster Board Letters • Wooden Letters • Cardboard Letters with O-Ring • White-Board Letter (Temporary) • Poster board (1 for each person) • Popsicle Sticks in Decorated Jar • Benefits • Fine motor skills

  7. Alphabet Awareness • Uses • Positive affirmations. Participants use the positive word in a self-statement and an other-statement. (i.e. able, agreeable, adaptable, adventurous, able, authentic, ambitious, amusing, appreciative) • Mindfulness: Find something positive for the letter of the day and decorate accordingly • Distress Tolerance: Identify activities you enjoy that begin with each letter and decorate accordingly • Gratitude • Daily goals

  8. Snowflakes • Just like each snowflake is different, so is each person • Medium: Paper • On each part of the snowflake have the person write something special about themselves (or pass around in group) laminate snowflakes to preserve • Benefits • Fine motor skills • Uses • Self-esteem • Ice breaker (Guess who!)

  9. Balloons • Medium • Party balloons • Take the wind out of their sails: Inflate each balloon and tie off write on the balloon something that makes you unhappy which you have no control over. Have the person hold the balloon closed and then let go when they are ready to stop giving it energy. (can also use masking tape to re-use balloons) • Write an emotion on each balloon. Have participants decorate them accordingly. Start by having the group try to keep one in the air. Then add another emotion and so on until they are having to juggle 4 or 5 emotions. The last emotion to add is happiness. They will be so distracted trying to keep the other balloons in motion they will likely not notice happiness when it is added • Balloon Sculptures

  10. Balloons • Benefits • Gross motor skills • Fine motor skills • Team work • Uses • Teaching mindfulness and purposeful action. • Improving coordination and agility

Summary • There are endless things you can do with art therapy to: • Express emotions • Enhance mindfulness and self-awareness • Increase happiness • Improve interpersonal communication • Enhance fine and gross motor skills • Develop self-esteem • Teach teamwork

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