By: Lorelis Ploche, MA (Art Therapy), RCMHI
Parenting a child with anxiety or ADHD symptoms comes with its own set of challenges and concerns. Finding effective and engaging therapeutic activities that not only address these issues but also foster creativity and self-expression is crucial. Art therapy has long been recognized as a powerful tool for addressing various mental health challenges. . One such therapeutic approach that has shown promising results is the Art Puzzle Directive, which can be especially beneficial for individuals with ADHD and anxiety. This innovative and interactive technique offers a unique way for children to process their feelings and improve their emotional well-being. This multistep process not only fosters creativity but also enhances cognitive and executive functioning skills.
The Art Puzzle Directive Explained
Imagine combining the calming effects of art with the problem-solving nature of a puzzle. The Art Puzzle Directive involves having your child create a unique artwork, then cutting it into small pieces and, finally, reassembling it like a puzzle. This process is more than just a craft activity; it’s a powerful therapeutic tool that helps children with anxiety and ADHD in several meaningful ways.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Creating the Artwork: The art therapy session begins by providing the child with art supplies such as paper, crayons, markers, or paint. The art therapist encourages them to draw or paint something related to a current issue or topic, or anything that comes to mind—there are no rules here, just pure creative expression. The act of creating the artwork itself is calming and allows children to channel their emotions onto the paper.
- Disassembling the Artwork: Once the artwork is complete, the child is instructed to carefully cut it into smaller pieces. The pieces can be as large or small as they like, turning the image into a custom puzzle. For younger children, the pieces should be bigger (making it easier to reassemble). This step symbolizes breaking down complex emotions into more manageable parts, making it easier for children to understand and address their feelings.
- Reassembling the Puzzle: The final step involves the child putting the pieces back together, much like solving a jigsaw puzzle. This can be done on a separate piece of paper using glue. As they reassemble their artwork, they practice focus, patience, and problem-solving. It’s a metaphorical process of bringing fragmented thoughts and emotions back together into a cohesive whole.
The Art Puzzle Directive is easily modified to meet a variety of clinical needs and presenting problems. To illustrate this point, let’s explore using the exact same art directive with two clients with different therapy needs: Zach and Allison.
Meet Zach: Navigating ADHD
Zach is a vibrant 4-year-old boy diagnosed with ADHD. His high energy levels and distractibility often make it challenging for him to focus on tasks, control impulsivity, and meet the expectations of his learning environment. Often rambunctious and ‘on the go,’ Zach struggled to complete simple tasks and tended to get distracted and off-task in his preschool. Because he was eager to have more playtime, he rushed through any seated work and often made careless errors. His parents identified his strengths as including his imagination and creativity, noting that he loved to be outside and enjoyed playing with cars. And Zach also loved superheroes!
In art therapy sessions, Zach was often messy, disorganized, and certainly would leave the space in disarray (if allowed). When presented with the Art Puzzle Directive, Zach and his therapist chose to draw a picture of a superhero because he identified with the strength and positive actions superheroes had! He wanted to be just like them.
The Art Puzzle Directive is a multifaceted therapeutic activity that addresses key symptoms of ADHD by promoting the development of executive functioning skills, self-monitoring, and planning abilities. Through this engaging and creative process, Zach is learning to become more engaged, practicing his planning and organizational skills, and learning to manage his emotions while finding alternate solutions to unexpected situations.
In the session, Zach was actively engaged and interactive in the process. Yet, he was also working on key deficits often exhibited in individuals with ADHD: executive functioning skills, self-monitoring abilities, and planning skills.
Executive functioning involves cognitive processes crucial for controlling behavior and achieving goals, often underdeveloped in children with ADHD. The Art Puzzle Directive aids these skills by having Zach plan and organize his materials, initiate tasks without procrastination, and enhance his working memory as he was challenged to recall the original image while reassembling the puzzle pieces.
Zach was also able to strengthen self-monitoring skills when he reflected on his emotional state and artistic process. He benefited from immediate feedback through the visual and tangible nature of the puzzle, which in turn helped him become more aware of his actions and their effects on others.
Finally, Zach gained practice in planning – which involves setting goals, developing steps to achieve them, and anticipating obstacles. By introducing an unexpected step in the creative process (cutting up the artwork), Zach learns to adapt and remain flexible. This ability to adjust to changes is crucial for managing ADHD. The Art Puzzle Directive hones these skills as children set objectives for their artwork, strategize how to cut and reassemble it, and evaluate their progress, teaching them to plan and adjust their strategies effectively.
Meet Allison: Overcoming Anxiety
Allison is an 8-year-old girl who struggles with anxiety and self-consciousness. Her worries get so big that they turn into overwhelming stress, making it hard for her to enjoy the simple, everyday things. It’s tough for her to stay in the moment because she’s always worried about something. This anxiety creates a social barrier, too, making it hard for her to connect with other kids and join group activities. She often doubts herself and avoids new situations because they just feel too scary. Allison’s parents see her pulling away and missing out on experiences that should be fun. They reported that she is complaining more often of headaches, stomachaches, or just ‘not feeling good.’ They are especially concerned that her avoidance will hold her back and make her unhappy. They feel helpless sometimes, not sure how to best support her.
The Art Puzzle Directive for Anxiety
During art therapy sessions, Allison was often focused on doing things “right” – which to her meant that her art pieces were perfect. She was highly judgmental of her own work and often made negative comments about her work in comparison with others. She was rarely satisfied with the final products and, while she usually was very focused during the art-making parts of the session, she was more focused on the outcome. Positive comments or reassurance from the art therapist rarely provided any comfort.
Using the Art Puzzle Directive to address anxiety for a child such as Allison can significantly aid in managing key symptoms like overwhelming worries and fears, difficulty with emotional expression, and restlessness and concentration issues. An anxious child often experiences persistent worries about everyday situations, leading to physical symptoms like headaches, stomachaches, and disrupted sleep patterns.
The Art Puzzle Directive allows Allison to practice mindfulness strategies as she focuses on being in the present moment, while also externalizing these worries by expressing them through art, giving her a sense of control. As she cuts and reassembles the pieces, Allison symbolically breaks down her anxieties into manageable parts, which helps reduce their impact on her well-being. Additionally, focusing on creating and solving the puzzle promotes mindfulness, helping Allison stay present and alleviating anxious thoughts about the future or past.
Moreover, anxiety can make it hard for children to focus and stay still, leading to restlessness and difficulties with concentration. Engaging in the Art Puzzle Directive offers a structured and calming activity that requires focus and attention. The step-by-step process helps Allison practice sustained attention and patience, soothing her restlessness. Completing the puzzle provides a sense of accomplishment, boosting her self-esteem and confidence in managing anxiety.
Children with anxiety often struggle to articulate their feelings, leading to internalized stress and confusion. The Art Puzzle Directive provides a non-verbal way for Allison to express her emotions through visual art. The process of creating and reconstructing her artwork helps her understand and communicate her feelings better, fostering improved emotional awareness and communication. This approach also encourages problem-solving, as breaking down her artwork into pieces and reassembling it allows Allison to tackle problems methodically. This mirrors real-life challenges, helping her develop practical coping strategies.
Through this creative activity, Allison can develop better coping mechanisms, gain emotional insights, and find a sense of calm and control in her daily life. She also explored how the puzzle could be put back together in numerous ways that created several unique collages. Allison’s therapist explored several options, discussed Allison’s perceptions of each one, and before gluing the pieces into place, ultimately choosing the one that best represented confidence (even though the finished product appeared a bit disorganized).
Conclusion
The Art Therapy Puzzle Directive is a versatile and impactful tool for individuals with ADHD and anxiety. Zach and Allison each worked on their own therapeutic goals. For Zach, it enhanced his flexibility, executive functioning, and planning abilities. For Allison, it promoted mindfulness, emotional insight, and a greater understanding of ‘good enough.’ Through the creative process, both clients are learning to navigate their challenges and develop skills that improve their overall well-being.
