About arts therapy school projects

We offer specialist Arts Therapy sessions to smaller groups of identified children in schools who may struggle with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Arts Therapy is widely recognized as a helpful form of psychological therapy to children who may struggle to express their thoughts and feelings with words.

With the further aim of widening the network of support for each child, we also offer de-brief and process groups for teachers to set up continuity within the therapeutic interventions where teachers can learn the language of the arts therapies and become active agents in the continuing support of the children. Additional outcomes of these sessions are to offer emotional support to teachers to cope with work stress arising from high volumes of workload, scarce resources and the emotional impact of working with vulnerable children.

Vlottenburg Primary School

Background

Old Macdonald performance

Audience community members

Ek is nie wie jy dink ek is nie performance

Audience community members

Recently, two primary schools merged to form Vlottenburg Primary School. Staff and children are adjusting to the changes in the new year and are faced with limited resources. A Drama Therapy intervention was commissioned by Distell to support staff and children with the transition and in coping with change.

Aims

With this project, we are looking at the ritual modality of Drama Therapy to support the process of change and transition with staff. Our aim is for staff to have a safe space where they can reflect on and make sense of their experiences.

We are also running smaller groups for identified children who are struggling in particular to cope with their school life at the moment and who are facing additional difficulties such as foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).