Art therapy in primary education

Diplomski rad usmjeren je na prikaz art terapije kao znanstvene discipline te njezinu primjenu s djecom osnovnoškolske dobi. Likovno izražavanje predstavlja jedan od najstarijih medija ljudske komunikacije. Osim komunikacije, likovno izražavanje smatra se odrazom čovjekovog unutrašnjeg svijeta. Važnost primjene crteža u dijagnostičke i terapijske svrhe posebno je vidljiva u radu s djecom. Naime, djeca imaju poteškoće verbalizirati određene emocije i iskustva, posebno traume. Stoga je likovno izražavanje u art terapiji idealno sredstvo komunikacije i izražavanja vlastitih misli i osjećaja. U radu je prikazan povijesni razvoj art terapije, temeljna načela i teorijski pristupi. Nadalje, prikazan je razvoj dječjeg likovnoga izražavanja te aspekti interpretacije dječjeg crteža u dijagnostici. Poseban je naglasak na primjeni art terapije u radu s djecom osnovnoškolske dobi. Vidljive su prednosti primjene art terapije u radu s djecom s ADHD-om, autizmom te različitim emocionalnim poteškoćama i poremećajima u ponašanju.This thesis represents art therapy as a scientific discipline and its application with primary school children. Artistic expression is one of the oldest media of human communication. In addition to communication, artistic expression is considered as a reflection of a person's inner world. The importance of applying drawings for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes is especially evident in working with children. Namely, children have difficulty verbalizing certain emotions and experiences, especially trauma. Therefore, artistic expression in art therapy is an ideal means of communication and expression of one's thoughts and feelings. The paper presents the historical development of art therapy, basic principles, and theoretical approaches. Furthermore, the development of children's artistic expression and aspects of the interpretation of children's drawings in diagnostics are presented. There is a special emphasis on the application of art therapy in working with primary school children. There are many advantages of applying art therapy in working with children with AD/HD, autism, and various emotional difficulties and behavioral disorders