Last month I took the Global Arts Outreach Project to the Philippines to work with Nurture the Children Foundation to deliver an Exploration with Textures Program. Some of the children at the foundation have special needs and are suffering trauma from child trafficking.

The creative arts can effectively help in the healing process of trauma or PTSD. Children suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder may suffer from various symptoms such as anxiety, panics, depression, flashbacks, nightmares and intrusive thoughts. Traumatic stress manifests differently for each individual; and there are many behaviors that a trauma victim will instinctively use in order to adapt.  Victims may internalize or externalize their feelings, avoidance or numbing could also be a symptom, or hyper arousal and the failure to concentrate. For trauma to be processed it takes effort for the brain because the traumatized mind is often in fight or flight mode, especially in the lower regions, which is the area where survival instincts originate. Exploring textures within creative activities can calm the lower regions of the brain, helping to release tension.

The trauma of trafficking, for a child, creates an instinctive mistrust in the motives of others, and the child will also often be afraid of new sensations. Exploring textures is a way to accustom children slowly and carefully to new sensations. This type of exploration also aids in releasing symptoms of mistrust and instability, helping them to subtly build healthy relationships through the sharing of materials and group encouragement. Through touching materials and becoming tactile, they can begin to play and become curious again, eventually fully engaging with the materials in a safe and stable environment.

Once fully engaged in the creative process, the child can begin to safely make contact with their emotions which is particularly useful for children who can not express their trauma verbally, expressing internal states that they can not access through words. Creative exploration raises awareness of these mental states whilst building a sense of safety and trust as self-assurance gradually grows through the process of sharing and expressing their thoughts and feelings.

The process of making art mimics the early experience of a parent or caregiver’s reciprocal mirroring of the child. This mirroring is part of the important process of developing a positive sense of self. In the act of artistic creation, the experience of being mirrored, is repeated, restoring and developing this sense of self whilst offering emotional satisfaction through control over materials, and through decision making within personal creative exploration.

During this program the children also made some collages. From an educational perspective collage is an important foundation art activity for children. Fine motor skills are developed through cutting, or drawing or painting on textured surfaces. Young children gain confidence in their use of materials as they fit the parts into the whole, decide where to place materials within their composition and what to include in the work, developing skills they will also later use for writing and mathematics. They also learn important hand-eye coordination. This hand-eye coordination is, from an educational perspective, essential for forming letters and spacing words in writing.

Examples of the children’s work.

Many thanks to the amazing children and staff at Nurture the Children Foundation, Philippines, for your kindness and support.