From the author: This exercise expands the scope of application of art therapy. All methods of psychotherapy have their own scope of application. I believe, however, that art therapy has a somewhat broader scope than modalities based on verbal communication. When a person is not yet able (a small child), when he is no longer able (dementia) or has never been able (cognitive impairment) to express his emotions and feelings in words, he can draw, scribble, print, throw them out on a sheet of paper. This framework can be expanded somewhat. I will talk about the donor drawing method. It is applicable in the case of physical weakness of a bedridden patient or paresis of the arms, and is aimed primarily at activating a person’s internal resources. As a rule, such patients are fixated on negative thoughts about the future, experience anxiety and fear for their health, and are depressed by their complete dependence on others. Rotating in this circle of negativity, they are difficult to contact. The exercise can help them feel the other, his care, gain the experience of consciously getting out of the vicious circle of destructive experiences, experience pleasure and joy here and now. The exercise consists of the patient describing the picture he would like in as much detail as possible, in the smallest detail draw, and the therapist draws this picture for him, being in constant contact with the patient, feeling and sensing what he would like to express. In my experience, most often people ask to draw a place in which they felt good: their parents’ house, where it was warm, a memorable romantic landscape where a person was happy. This is an imaginative exercise. Describing this place, a person ends up there and remembers an already forgotten feeling of peace, happiness, and joy. For a while he forgets about his difficult thoughts and pain. You may ask, what happens next when he is left alone? Surely all the negativity will come back? Yes, but a person will gain the experience of transitioning to a resource state and, after some training, can repeat it himself. The picture drawn by the therapist as a “good” transitional object will remain with him. Looking at it, the patient again travels through time and can find himself in a joyful state. Learning to consciously manage your affects, placing yourself from time to time in a resource space for relaxation, will not hurt any person. During our studies, we tried many exercises on ourselves, including this one. From my own feelings I can say that it is so pleasant when someone is focused only on you, hears you, feels you, does for you and at your request exactly what you want. This has a very positive effect on self-esteem. This experience was very valuable for me. So, the exercise has several therapeutic aspects: Development of creative imagination Development of emotional intelligence, the ability to manage your emotional state, activate resources Experiencing the experience when another person is tuned in to you, does for you exactly what you ask (agree , this is a great rarity in our life!) Pain relief, both mental and physical (many told me that they forgot about pain while doing the exercise). This exercise can also be applied in the family circle for your loved ones: a grandson draws for a bedridden grandmother , mother for a baby weakened after the flu. Even two completely healthy loving people can draw for each other and get a kick. Good luck with the application! If the article was useful to you, please click on the button here ↓