Art by JAL

Group Art Therapy Interventions

Safety & Boundaries

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Birds Nest | Building Boundaries | Guardians

Person in the Rain | Soothing Space

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Art therapy offers a powerful way to explore safety and boundaries. 

  • Creating a Sanctuary: Art therapists create a safe and supportive environment where you can express yourself freely without judgment. This is key to exploring sensitive topics like boundaries. You can even do art therapy exercises specifically focused on creating a safe space, where you depict what safety feels like for you. 
  • Visualization: Art therapy uses metaphors and imagery to help you understand your boundaries. You could draw a picture representing your boundaries, perhaps using a house and fence as a metaphor to depict how much you let people in or keep out.
  • Embodiment: Art activities can help you connect with your body’s sensations and understand how boundaries feel physically. This can be helpful if you struggle to express boundaries verbally.
  • Non-verbal Communication: If talking about boundaries is difficult, art therapy provides a non-verbal outlet for expression. This can be especially useful for people who find it hard to articulate their feelings.
  • Self-discovery: The creative process can uncover hidden aspects of yourself related to safety and boundaries. As you create art, you might gain insights you weren’t aware of before.

The Birds nest

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Materials
Large paper, folded in half

Drawing & painting supplies

Opt. Stencils
Intro
Talking about…where we develop our sense of safety

Then we…will do a specific drawing to see what it reveals

Ground rules… be respectful!

Name & prompt…Who or what helped you feel safe as a child?
Intervention
We actually won’t be having a conversation at the start, we are going straight into the art! Today we are going to be drawing a bird’s nest. I’ll explain why after we finish the drawings. Sounds good?

Okay, once your drawing is completed I want you to now title it, and write a brief story about the picture. It can be just a couple of sentences long.
Conversation
Our sense of safety is something we develop as children. The biggest factor that helps us determine if we are safe or not as children is our attachment to our parents. That's where this drawing comes in! In art therapy, the “Bird’s Nest” drawing is an assessment to explore our attachment styles and sense of security. The Bird’s Nest drawing represents an unconscious metaphor for our perception of our home and family life. The following features of Bird’s Nest drawing may suggest a secure home and positive familial attachments:

Four or more colors are used

The dominant color used is green.

The entire bird family is depicted.

The nest is drawn in a tree.

The nest scene is drawn in profile, not from a bird’s eye point of view.

The entire tree is drawn.

Post-Conversation
Do you think your parental attachment affects your current sense of safety?

Do you think art can reveal aspects of our lives?

Do you think your art and story show a positive or negative attachment?

What is something interesting you noticed about your bird’s nest drawing?

What do you think your drawing means?

Do you think the interpretation is accurate to your life or not? Why?

What story did you tell? What were your thoughts while writing?

How might we “build better nests”?
bird nest art therapy
art therapy bird nest
drawing birds nest
birds nest drawing

Building Boundaries

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safety art therapy
Handout
Materials
Paper

Drawing supplies

Collage materials
Intro
Talking about…types of boundaries and how to set them with others.

Then we…will make some collage boundaries

Ground rules… be respectful!

Name & prompt…Is there anything in your life that you would like to say “no” to?
Pre-Conversation
Having healthy boundaries means knowing where your limits are. It’s important to step back and look at your needs in every relationship. *Talk about handout w/ examples of each type*

Mental: “I respect your perspective although I do not agree”

Emotional: “As much as I want to support you right now, I do not have the emotional capacity”

Material: “I already lent you money last week, so I can’t lend you more right now”

Internal: “I have been social all week, I need a weekend to myself”

Conversational: “I would rather not be a part of this conversation”

Physical: “I prefer not to hug people I do not know”

Time: “I can only stay for 30 minutes”
Intervention
First, I want you to draw yourself on one half of the paper. It can be a literal drawing of yourself, or you can draw something that symbolizes you.

Next, identify one person you need to establish boundaries for, and draw them at the edge of the paper. Again, you can draw them, or something symbolic of them.

Now, think about what kind of boundaries you need to make with that person. Consider, what do your boundary walls look like? Glue the assorted materials around your portrait to create a healthy boundary wall between you & the person.
Post-Conversation
Identify the boundaries you made. What type are they? Why are they there?

Who is the person you need to build boundaries for? Do you have any walls between you and your friends, coworkers, romantic partners, or children? How big are your walls? Are your walls so tall that no one can get in?

Why do you need those specific boundaries? How can you create healthy boundaries in order to express your feelings?

Guardians

Personal Rating (0 stars means not used yet) 

Materials
Clay or Model Magic

Markers or Paint

Opt. Googly eyes, feathers, etc...
Intro
Talking about…guardian symbols in human history.

Then we…will make our own guardians!

Ground rules… be respectful!

Check in…Name & Prompt…what symbolizes safety to you?
Pre-Conversation
Throughout history and across cultures, people have created objects to symbolically protect themselves and their families, their homes, and other meaningful spaces. From tomb guardians in Egypt, lions at the entrances of temples in China, to gargoyles on the sides of buildings in Europe - there are examples of this around the world. Childhood teddy bears are also a kind of guardian in a way; there is something comforting in having some form of symbolic protection.

Why do you think that is?

Do you, or did you, have a “guardian” figure in your life?
Intervention
So today we will be making our own guardians! What kind of figure would be comforting to know was protecting you? Maybe recreate it from your past?

*Explain the materials*
Post-Conversation
Would anyone like to share their guardians?

Is the guardian something new or something familiar?

How does this symbolic figure protect you in your mind?

If the guardian had a name or title what would it be?

Where will you keep this guardian once it's dried?
protection art therapy
guardians art therapy
art therapy safety
art therapy guardians

Person in the Rain

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drawing person in the rain
person in the rain drawing
Materials
Drawing paper

Drawing materials (pencils & markers) Opt. Watercolor paint
Intro
Talking about…our protective factors.

Then we…will do a specific drawing to see what it reveals!

Ground rules… be respectful!

Name & prompt…what do you do when facing a difficult situation?
Intervention
We actually won’t be having a conversation at the start, we are going straight into the art! Today we are going to be drawing a person in the rain. I’ll explain why after we finish the drawings. Sounds good?

Conversation
So in therapy terms, protective factors are things each of us that contributes to our mental health and our resilience to stressors. This might sound somewhat familiar as it is something we ask about during your intake interviews! Some protective factors may include having a support system, having a general positive attitude or good self-esteem, and having healthy coping skills.

In art therapy, this drawing is used as an assessment to determine how you are coping with the stresses of life. It focuses on vulnerabilities, environmental stressors, supports, and coping strategies. So, what symbols are hidden in the drawings?

External stress is reflected by the amount and intensity of the rain.

Let's look at your figure…

Big) the need to be recognized/prone to vanity

Small) anxiety, shyness, or insecurity

Right) a desire to grow your confidence/professionally/future

Left) may have a pessimistic attitude/be stuck in the past

Center) Competitive

Front) ability to confront difficult situations

Side) desire to avoid ambiguous situations

Back) the need to go unnoticed

Still) a want to protect self but struggle to adapt

Moving) you know where you are heading in life

Your methods of defense are represented by the protective gear or lack thereof.

Protective gear could be things such as rain boots, jackets, or an umbrella

No gear) you may feel that he or she is not coping well with stress

Large umbrella) you may feel defensive and prefer isolation

How you drew the picture can say even more!

Drew feet first) choose the wrong way to solve problems

Umbrella first) excessive defensiveness

Strong straight lines) anxiety

Angles/peaks/sharp shapes) aggressiveness

Post-Conversation
Do you agree with how the drawing is interpreted? Why or why not?

What was the most interesting revelation to you?

What was your thought process as you drew the picture? What came up for you?

What do you think the figure in the drawing is thinking or feeling?

v Do you think you have good protective factors/coping skills?

What can you give yourself more protective factors?

safety and boundaries art therapy

Soothing Space

Personal Rating (0 stars means not used yet) 

Materials
Drawing paper

Drawing materials (pencils & markers)

Collage pieces & Glue
Intro
Talking about…what we can do to feel us feel safe.

Then we… will create an ideal space where you feel in control and calm.

Ground rules… be respectful!

Name & prompt…where do you feel safest?
Conversation
In many cases, what makes us feel unsafe is a lack of control. If we could control everything then we likely would never feel unsafe, but that isn’t very realistic is it? We can’t control how others feel or how they behave, we can’t control nature and we can’t control what goes on in the rest of the world. So, that begs the question...what can we control? (What we choose to do)

What are some things we can do to help us feel safe?

Examples: Leave a bad situation | Use our coping skills | Take time for ourselves | Learn about something that scares us | Talk to someone we trust | Take precautions | Comfort objects
Intervention
So, now I want you to imagine a space where you feel safe…where you feel in control. Is this a place you already know? Or is it one you would need to construct? What is in this space? What do you do in it? Think about what it would need to feel safe and soothing/calming. Feel free to let your mind run free, even if it isn’t the most realistic.
Post-Conversation
Tell us about your space…describe it for us.

Does this space exist? Do you plan to make it?

What is in the space? What do you do in it?

What aspect of it makes it safe? What aspects of it make it soothing/calming?

How might you use today’s group when feeling unsafe in the future?
safe space art therapy