Drawing is a creative act that allows children to feel the joy of accomplishment, the ability to act on a whim, to be themselves, freely expressing their feelings and experiences, dreams and hopes. Drawing, like a game, is not only a reflection of the surrounding reality in the minds of children, but also its modeling, an expression of attitude towards it. Therefore, through drawings, one can better understand the interests of children, their deep, not always disclosed experiences, and take this into account when eliminating fears.
Drawing provides a natural opportunity for the development of imagination, flexibility and plasticity of thinking. Indeed, children who love to draw are more imaginative, immediacy in expressing feelings and flexible in their judgments. They can easily imagine themselves in the place of a particular person or character in a drawing and express their attitude towards him, since this happens every time in the process of drawing.
The latter just allows you to use drawing for therapeutic purposes. Drawing, the child gives vent to his feelings and experiences, desires and dreams, rebuilds his relationships in various situations and painlessly comes into contact with some frightening, unpleasant and traumatic images.
Just as a live, but weakened vaccine is introduced to develop immunity from infectious diseases, which stimulates the development of healthy, protective forces of the body, so the repeated experience of fear when displayed in the picture leads to a weakening of its traumatic sound.
Identifying himself with positive and strong, self-confident heroes, the child fights evil: knocks off the dragon’s head, protects loved ones, defeats enemies, etc. There is no place for impotence, the inability to stand up for oneself, but there is a sense of strength, heroism, that is, fearlessness and the ability to resist evil and violence. Drawing is inseparable from the emotions of pleasure, joy, delight, admiration, even anger, but not fear and sadness.
Drawing, thus, acts as a way of comprehending one’s capabilities and the surrounding reality, modeling relationships and expressing emotions, including negative ones.
However, this does not mean that an actively drawing child is not afraid of anything, it simply reduces the likelihood of fears, which in itself is of no small importance for his mental development.
Unfortunately, some parents consider playing and drawing a frivolous thing and one-sidedly replace them with reading and other intellectually more useful, from their point of view, activities. In fact, both are needed. Children with artistic inclinations, emotional and impressionable, just prone to fears, need more games and drawing. In children who are more rational, prone to analytical, abstract thinking, the share of intellectual and rational activities, including computer games and chess, increases. But even with the so-called left-brain orientation, as much variety as possible in games and drawing is necessary to expand emotions, creative range and the world of imagination.
The greatest activity in drawing is observed between the ages of 5 and 11, when children draw on their own, at ease and freely, choosing topics and presenting the imaginary as vividly as if it were in reality.
In most cases, by the beginning of adolescence, the ability for spontaneous fine art is gradually weakening. The correct form and composition are already consciously sought, doubts arise about the authenticity of the drawing, naturalism in the depiction of objects. Teenagers are even ashamed of their ability to draw the way they want, for fear of looking awkward and ridiculous in the minds of others, and thus deprived of a natural way to express their feelings and desires.
If, moreover, they have an anxious and suspicious character, are subject to frequent anxieties, fears, then it is extremely difficult for them to even just start drawing fears, as well as to start any new, responsible business. Further, it constantly seems to them that they are not drawing like that, not that, and that there is no point in depicting fears at all. Both depressive shades of mood and self-doubt interfere.
Here, of course, we need a different tactic for overcoming fears, designed primarily to involve a teenager in some interesting activity, where he could win victories and feel more and more competent and confident. The best effect in this case is given by sports sections, excursions, trips or gaming correctional classes conducted by a psychologist in a group of peers.
Even before adolescence, a psychological obstacle to drawing fears can be the fear of doing something wrong, when the child experiences his failure in advance, that is, imagines it, loses it in his imagination. Usually, this is how the parents set it up, and one should not expect that their offspring will decisively, without hesitation, complete the task.
It follows from a specially conducted analysis that if both parents have an anxious and suspicious nature, then the effect of drawing fears in children is halved; if only one of the parents has a similar character, then the effect is 1,5 times worse.
Negatively affect the results of drawing fears of neuroses and diseases of internal organs on nervous grounds in parents. The reason is the lack of cheerfulness in the family, endless talk about well-being, anxious and suspicious (hypochondriac) fixation on a painful condition. In such an atmosphere, children draw and play less, the predominance of black or gray is noticeable in the drawings.
The less strict and restrictive parents are in raising their children, the more successful drawing of fears, while excessive strictness and widespread prohibitions can reduce its effect from the fear of not meeting the expectations of parents, drawing badly or not drawing at all.
In the latter case, it is necessary not only to change the attitude of adults, but also to strive in every possible way to encourage the drawing of children, to support and praise at the same time, even for the very fact of drawing, no matter what topic it is.
Very effective and joint drawing. For example, an adult draws schematically, in a childish way, a house, a porch, a boy appears on it, going to a kindergarten or school. On his way, he must cross a ravine, a river, he will come across various people, animals, the sky will be covered with clouds, it will rain, or even a thunderstorm will break out, in general, all sorts of misfortunes, passions, faces will happen, and all this must be overcome.
The child can suggest how best to do this, or draw his own version of the plot. It is also possible to draw on one common large sheet, from one end of which an adult sets off, from the other a child. The meeting takes place in any place, depending on the successful overcoming of obstacles and, most importantly, to the mutual satisfaction of both parties.
This is how fantasy and imagination develop naturally when the child comes into contact in a playful, conditional form with situations that can cause him fear in a different environment. And all this happens when communicating with an adult and his support. And it’s never too late to decide to draw and train your imagination. And it is better to do it first adults. Then we will fully agree with the proverb «The devil is not so terrible as he is painted.»
If the family is incomplete for various reasons, then the effect of drawing fears is less pronounced due to the absence of a father who historically protected the family from external danger. But even in a complete family, the effect of drawing fears can be undermined by conflicts between parents, especially if they are not inclined to recognize the very fact of their existence.
The presence of constant and unpredictable threats to family well-being, or, in other words, the lack of a sense of security and confidence in the strength of family relationships, increases, as we know, the number of fears in children. In addition, fears come to life again, since the negative emotional atmosphere in the family does not change, therefore, no matter what efforts the conflicting parents make to eliminate the fears of children through drawing, the result is always the same: 4-5 times worse than in friendly families.
The best results from drawing fears are achieved at 5-11 years old, at the age of active interest in drawing. In younger preschool and adolescence, it is better to use game methods to eliminate fears. If a teenager continues to draw and discovers abilities in this direction, then the effect of drawing fears will be the same as before.
First of all, through drawing, it is possible to eliminate the fears generated by the imagination, that is, what has never happened, but can happen in the mind of the child. Then, according to the degree of success, there are fears based on real traumatic events, but which happened quite a long time ago and left an emotional trace that is not very pronounced by now in the child’s memory.
An insufficient effect of drawing fears is observed when this or that frightening event, for example, being stuck in an elevator, a dog bite, a beating, a fire, etc., was recent. Then it is more expedient to distract the child or emotionally react to the mental trauma in the game in order to change the attitude towards it.
For ethical reasons, one should not ask a child to depict the fear of the death of his parents in the drawing. With regard to drawing the fear of one’s own death, the results are quite good, but one may not do this, since this fear is usually encoded in other fears and is neutralized as they are overcome. Then the fear of the death of parents gradually loses its painful sound.
There is no need to be afraid of some revival of fears that occurs in the process of drawing, since this is one of the conditions for their complete elimination. It is much worse if they remain smoldering in the psyche, ready to flare up at any moment.
But this does not mean that it is necessary at all costs to knock them out, as they say, with a stick from the carpet. Often, parents are addicted to this, who, with their more than decisive behavior, cause fear in children. Then, instead of helping to eliminate fears, they achieve the opposite effect, not admitting their mistakes and blaming children for their unwillingness to meet them halfway.
Fears are drawn with pencils, felt-tip pens or paints. The latter are more suitable for preschoolers, as they allow you to make wide strokes. Felt-tip pens are more likely to be used by younger students. Teenagers 12-13 years old prefer pencils, which makes it possible to detail the image and erase what they don’t like. Although most children still prefer a set of felt-tip pens, they should be given a choice that makes drawing easier.
Now about who gives the task to draw fear. If this is an outsider and benevolent person, then the effect of drawing is higher than when the task is given by the parents. This is especially noticeable when parents have discredited themselves in the representation of children, trying to eliminate their fears by hiding their own. Or he does not enjoy authority, for example, a father who is too harsh or is afraid of his wife himself and plays an extremely passive, humiliated role in the family.
Therefore, in addition to parents, other adults, including relatives, acquaintances, teachers and doctors, can also participate in eliminating fears, provided that the latter take off their white coats, which sometimes cause unpleasant associations in children. A person who helps a child to get rid of fear, we will conditionally call a Psychologist.
He should not condemn for the presence of fears or read instructions, urge to pull himself together, show will, etc. He needs to win over his ward, be consistent in his judgments and confident in actions and deeds. A prerequisite is the belief of the Psychologist himself in the effectiveness of the method used to eliminate fears.
The role of the Psychologist should be clear to the child, and the time of the conversation to identify fears is agreed in advance. It needs at least 20-30 minutes and a calm environment. People around should be warned about the inadmissibility of interrupting the conversation.
If children have not reached adolescence, it is advisable to offer as a kind of psychological warm-up to play a little on their own. The props for the game are the most diverse: a house made of large cubes, there is a bed, a table, a wardrobe in it; a teremok in which various animals live; Christmas trees imitating the forest, a broom left by Baba Yaga; drum, tank, cannon, robot; rag dolls worn on the hand, ordinary dolls depicting people, animals and fairy-tale characters; medical supplies, etc.
Attitude towards them will allow you to discover those fears that will be forgotten or hidden during the conversation. Stiffness, unnatural behavior, tension indicate both the inability to play and fear, which is expressed by appropriate facial expressions and the avoidance of various characters or objects in the game.
For example, a child willingly puts a rag fox and a bunny on his hands, but not only does not notice the same toy wolf, but also categorically refuses to include it in the game, which is explained by fear of this character. Cessation of play in the absence of an adult indicates fear of loneliness, etc.
The psychologist is not necessarily included in the game if it goes, as they say, without a hitch. Permission to play and the provision of material for it already in themselves mean participation in the child’s activity, a friendly disposition towards him.
After establishing contact, they move on to a conversation, the purpose of which is to identify fears. You can start asking about fears from preschoolers and during the game itself, as if by the way interspersing questions into game pauses. The psychologist does not sit at the table, but is next to the player, squatting down if it is a small child.
The next change of subject game and direct participation in it help to avoid fatigue and satiety with questions. In a conversation, they try not to raise their voice, not to make emotional or semantic accents in the pronunciation of certain words, not to inspire fear with the phrase “Tell me, are you afraid of …”, but ask: “Tell me, are you afraid or not afraid of …”, and they are waiting for an answer . After a short pause, they move on to clarifying the next fear.
All identified fears are communicated to parents in a separate conversation so that they can organize the drawing of fears at home. It is explained how individual fears can be portrayed if the child asks about it.
For example, the fear of loneliness — draws himself and at the same time everything that he is afraid of when he is left alone, that is, materializes his fears and fears. The fear of attack is reproduced in the form of aggressively behaving adults. The fear of getting sick or being infected is represented by the hospital or the germs. The fear of being late is reflected, say, by a student running to school, whose clock shows the start time of the first lesson.
Sleep fears are depicted as a falling asleep child, whose fears are fully visible in the picture. The fear of the dark is usually a slightly shaded room where the unflattering characters of the child’s fantasy appear. Fears of animals are drawn for each of them separately. This also applies to fairy tale characters. Fear of heights is indicated by a mountain or a tall building where one stands; fear of depth — a gorge, a well, the seabed; fear of water — bathing, dousing, etc. Fire and fire do not require comment.
War is depicted as a battle. Fear of blood, injections, pain — respectively: blood flows from a finger, an injection is given, or an image of one syringe is enough, a boy or a girl cries from pain, etc. Fear of unexpected impacts — something falls, breaks, a beep sounds, a signal.
After diagnosing fears, you should play with the child and the parent in outdoor games such as throwing the ball, tags, and skittles. All this creates a cheerful emotional atmosphere that resists the emotionally negative effects of fear.
At the end of the game, it is necessary to note the success of the children, praise, shake hands and offer to draw fears at home, saying: “Draw what you are afraid of, each fear on a separate sheet.” For preschoolers, the list of fears is with the parents, the students write them down under dictation. In all cases, there is no mention of the need to draw oneself, it is enough for the first time that the child depicts the object of fear itself.
Usually two weeks are allotted for the task, and the child is again invited with all the household members to a game lesson, to which he brings his drawings at the same time. This eliminates unnecessary fixation on fears and on the very work to overcome them. Everything goes as if in parallel, along with a fun game. Then only verbal (verbal) influence, naked rationalism, the uncompromising principle of drawing fears at all costs is excluded. In addition, adults are additionally informed about the need to play mobile, emotionally saturated games with children as much as possible.
There is no need to rigidly demand from children the quick drawing of all fears, as well as the absolute fulfillment of the drawing plan. It is much better to support, sympathize, remind and, in case of difficulty, suggest your options to children.
When a task is given, it is not said that it will necessarily relieve fears, since high expectations regarding results can serve as an obstacle to overcoming fears. It is especially necessary to be careful with obsessive fears that arise against the background of a heightened sense of duty, when any failures are experienced extremely painfully and lead to a deterioration in the general condition.
It is best to say that drawing fears will help overcome them and that no matter how they are depicted, the main thing is to draw them all without exception with felt-tip pens, paints or colored pencils, each fear on a separate sheet. It is better to draw completely on your own, without the help of adults. The very fact of receiving a task in this way organizes the activities of children and mobilizes them to fight their fears.
It is very difficult to start drawing fears. It often takes a few days before the child decides to start the task. This is how the internal psychological barrier, the fear of fear, is overcome. To decide to draw means to directly come into contact with fear, to meet it face to face and with a purposeful, strong-willed effort to keep it in memory until it is depicted in the drawing.
At the same time, awareness of the conditionality of the depiction of fear in the drawing in itself helps to reduce its traumatic sound. In the process of drawing, the object of fear is no longer a frozen mental formation, since it is consciously manipulated and creatively transformed as an artistic image.
The interest that manifests itself in drawing gradually extinguishes the emotion of fear, replacing it with volitional concentration and satisfaction from the task performed. Invisible support is provided by the very fact of the participation of the Psychologist who gave this task, to whom you can then entrust your drawings and thereby, as it were, free yourself from the fears depicted on them.
If the child has not drawn all the fears by the appointed day, the visit is either postponed for a week, or the existing drawings are discussed. Praise for success and lose some of the fears in an exciting, imaginative game is much better than scolding or shaming for an unfinished task. Then the Psychologist will be perceived not as a Pointing Finger, but as an adult who believes the child and is always ready to help him.
At the conversation, the presence of both parents and other adults involved in the upbringing is essential. A positive effect will also be from the participation in the discussion of drawings and the game of brothers and sisters. Such an emotionally positive group increases the responsibility for making decisions about the presence or absence of fear and at the same time acts in a mobilizing way.
The conversation, as in the first time when identifying fears, is preceded by a game that has a more dynamic, emotionally rich character. Usually, tags, overcoming any obstacles and playing with the ball act as such an emotional warm-up.
Then everyone sits down in a semicircle so that it is convenient to examine the drawings in the hands of the Psychologist. The order of the drawings presented for discussion does not really matter. However, you can start with more easily eliminated fears — water (for boys and girls), open space and blood (for boys), doctors, diseases, nightmares and animals (for girls). In practice, we consider fears, having previously mixed them, like a deck of cards.
Each drawing is shown to everyone present, while the child talks about what is shown in the drawing, that is, he concretizes his fear. Previously, this was difficult to implement, fear arose from a mere idea and could not be indicated in words. Such a barrier only increased internal tension and kept fear in a fixed state. Now the child speaks quite freely about fear, consciously managing it in a conversation with a person whom he trusts and who can understand his feelings. It is important not to be shy and to say everything as it is, fear will still be eliminated — if not by drawings, then by other means.
After viewing the first drawing, the Psychologist’s remark follows: “You drew this fear, and now tell me, are you afraid of it or not?”. In the future, the phrase is gradually shortened: “Are you afraid or have you stopped?” — and towards the end it sounds like: “Are you afraid — are you not afraid?”. All words are pronounced in an even, but not monotonous and, moreover, unhurried voice. Rather, it has an emotionally elevated and, as it were, “solemn” connotation.
At the same time, artificial suggestion of the absence of fear should be avoided: “Now you are not afraid?”. Since this phrase is too binding, the child may agree, if only not to contradict and safely survive the moment.
If you carefully analyze the phrase cited for the first time “You drew this fear, and now tell me, are you afraid of it or not?”, then one inspiring fragment can be found in it, namely the combination “… and now …”. To some extent, this is a call, an expression of hope, encouragement and an optimistic attitude when discussing drawing fears.
The same impact will be from drawing the attention of those present to the very nature of the image of fear. “How it is done is interesting, with fiction. An adult would not be able to draw like that. And the colors are chosen as they should, and the arrangement of the figures is suitable, ”etc. In this simple way, it is possible to increase the activity and interest of the child in a joint venture with adults to eliminate fears. Moreover, after each Drawing, the Psychologist’s question and the child’s answer, approval is expressed: “so”, “good”, “what’s next?”.
If there is no positive effect yet, then the drawing can be put aside without comment or be accompanied by the words “nothing”, “everything has its time”, “move on”, “we will return to it later”, etc.
After the discussion of fears is over, those drawings for which a positive effect has been achieved are named and shown. The author should be praised, a friendly pat on the shoulder, shake hands, give a toy. And then it must be said that the drawings with his former fears will remain for all time with the Psychologist, who, in this way, «accepted» them to himself, freeing the child from them. If this is a preschooler, then it is mentioned that fears from now on will “be” in a drawer or closet, “closed” there forever, like a genie in a bottle.
After discussion, a game is proposed again in which everyone actively participates. It is mobile, requires patience, and contains some risk, such as bowling, fighting with wooden swords, shooting with suckers from a pistol and a bow. The game is built in such a way that the child is sure to be able to win, which further increases his self-confidence.
With the consent of the children, it is possible to play out some of the fears that have just been “taken off the agenda”, say, jumping off the bedside table, climbing through several chairs, reproducing the environment of a medical office, etc.
At the end of the meeting, the drawings depicting the remaining fears are given back with the words: “Now draw so that it is clear that you are not afraid, and bring me your drawings again.” This implies that you need to draw not only the object of fear, as for the first time, but also be sure to not fear yourself. Let’s say it’s not the child who runs away from Baba Yaga, but she runs away from him; he no longer cries in pain; fights with the Dragon; floats on water and flies on an airplane.
Here, the effect of suggestion is obvious — installations to overcome fear in the imagination by means of its specific, given graphic image. There is a mobilization of all mental resources of the child for active resistance to fears in the life-affirming, active position of the Creator.
The phenomenon of group support also works. The child is no longer alone with his fears — they came out, lost their aura of exclusivity, and even faded after their previous image. In addition, the Psychologist and parents create a mentally favorable field of support and faith in his ability to cope with fears.
A new home-made drawing depicting oneself as conquering fear is attached to the old one, and when all or most of the drawings are ready, a meeting with the Psychologist is arranged. On average, it takes 2 weeks to draw yourself as non-afraid, and you need to make an appointment in advance. Before it, as many outdoor, sports games, walks, excursions are organized and, if possible, conflict situations in the family are not allowed.
In addition to drawings, fears can be embodied in the form of masks specially made at home, plasticine figurines, designs from improvised materials: for example, a spider can be made from wire and cloth, a dragon can be made from ropes on a stick, etc. When such crafts are the fruit of joint activities children and parents, the results of eliminating fears are usually better, especially with the participation of the father.
At this, third in a row, meeting (the first is diagnostic), a game is also offered at the beginning, but already taking into account past fears. To do this, on the playground, among various objects, there are masks and dolls reflecting previous fears. Unobtrusively given the opportunity to play with them, which enhances the effect achieved.
After the warm-up game, the task is discussed with the installation: “Now we will look at your drawings and ask if you are afraid now or not.” A positive result is reinforced each time with praise: “so”, “good”, “well done”. The discussion is followed by another game, success in which is encouraged by a reward in the form of a toy, book or badge.
The effect of eliminating fears through drawing is quite pronounced and stable and amounts to 50% when depicting fears of the “I’m afraid” type and 80-85% of the remaining fears when depicting oneself in an active position resisting fear. If the child draws himself for the first time, and not only the source of fear, then the effect is immediately higher.
If the author does not include himself in the second drawing, where he is «obliged» to be according to the instructions, then this indicates either the exceptional intensity of fear, or its obsessive nature, which is usually combined with a phobia.
The question arises: is it possible to immediately invite the children to draw themselves as undefeated, to save time, so to speak? Yes, you can, but the effect will be lower and not as persistent. It takes time for the child to overcome the internal psychological barrier of insecurity and fear of his fears, then there will be a gradual deactivation of fear in his mind and faith in his own strengths, capabilities, and abilities will develop.
The remaining fears, and they are usually no more than 15-20%, can be played according to the stories composed on their theme, which will be discussed in the next chapter.