The use of art therapy in children and juvenile with traumatic experiences

Traumatski događaji utječu na biološke i psihičke procese koji zatim ometaju razvoj i formiraju obrasce za život u odrasloj dobi te utječu na individualnu sposobnost samoregulacije u suočavanju sa stresom, doživljaj sebe te odnose s drugima. Traumatsko iskustvo je snažno urezano u djetetovo pamćenje za razliku od svakodnevnih iskustava i dugo nakon traumatskog događaja, djeca se bore sa prisilnim mislima, emocijama i vizualnim predodžbama traumatskog iskustva. Traumatski događaj (kao i niz traumatskih događaja u kratko vrijeme) može biti vrlo intenzivan tako da osobni mehanizmi suočavanja nisu dovoljno jaki da ga mogu prevladati. To može izazvati dugoročne ozbiljne posljedice (reakcije) na području tjelesnog i mentalnog zdravlja i dovesti do teškoća na području psihosocijalnog funkcioniranja. Likovna terapija definira se kao terapijska primjena likovnog izraza, vizualnih medija i kreativnog procesa u kojoj se klijentova reakcija na kreirano ili percipirano likovno djelo razmatra kao refleksiju kvalitete osobnog razvoja sposobnosti, osobnosti, interesa te sadržaja zabrinutosti i konfliktnih reakcija. Likovno izražavanje može pomoći djeci da duboko potisnute probleme izraze neverbalno, linijom, bojom ili oblikom. Na taj način, djeca i mladi mogu pristupiti emocijama i iskustvima koja su im spoznajno teško shvatljiva, a likovno izražavanje predstavlja način da to iskustvo izbace iz sebe i time smanje osjećaj nemoći i usamljenosti. U tom smislu je definiran cilj ovog rada koji se odnosio na istraživanje utjecaja i načina primjene likovne terapije kod djece i mladih s traumatskim iskustvom. Pregled rezultata istraživanja u ovom problemskom području pokazao je značajan doprinos likovne terapije na poboljšanje mentalnog zdravlja i psihosocijalnog funkcioniranja kod djece i mladih s traumatskim iskustvom. Univerzalni jezik likovnog izražavanja pokazao se kao sredstvo pomoću kojega su djeca i mladi izrazili tugu, bol, ali i nadu u budućnost. Iako istraživanja ukazuju na pozitivan učinak primjene likovne terapije u području traumatskog iskustva kod djece i mladih, ističe se potreba za daljnjim istraživanjima sa svrhom novih spoznaja i uvida kao i upoznavanja šire zajednice o mogućnostima primjene i učinkovitosti likovne terapije u ovom problemskom području.Traumatic events affect biological and psychological processes that hinder development and form patterns for life in adulthood and affect an individual's ability to self-regulate stress, self-experience and relationships with others. The traumatic experience is strongly imprinted in the child’s memory as opposed to everyday experiences and long after the traumatic event, children struggle with compulsive thoughts, emotions, and visual images of the traumatic experience. A traumatic event (as well as a series of traumatic events in a short time) can be very intense so that coping mechanisms are not strong enough to overcome it. This can cause long-term serious consequences (reactions) in the area of physical and mental health and lead to difficulties in the area of psychosocial functioning. Art therapy is defined as the therapeutic application of art expression, visual media and creative process in which the client's reaction to a created or perceived work of art is considered as a reflection of the quality of personal development of abilities, personality, interests and content of concerns and conflict reactions. Artistic expression can help children express deeply repressed problems nonverbally, in line, color, or shape. In that way, children and adolescents can access emotions and experiences that are difficult for them to understand, and artistic expression is a way to get that experience out of themselves and to reduce the feeling of helplessness and loneliness. Therefore, it defined the aim of this review, which refers to the impact of art therapy and its method of application in children and adolescents with traumatic experience. An overview of the results of the studies in this problem area has shown a significant contribution of art therapy to improve mental health and psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents with traumatic experience. The universal language of artistic expression proved to be a way by which children and adolescents express sadness, pain and also hope for the future. Although research indicates a positive effect of art therapy in the field of traumatic experience in children and adolescents, there is a need for further research to gain new insights and inform the wider community about the possibilities and effectiveness of art therapy in this problem area