Art therapy is a unique supportive environment for living through crises. It doesn’t matter what exactly you do, it is important that everything you touch changes shape, becomes different from what it was before, so that a piece of yourself remained in it. Ray Bradbury When talking through and discussing a problem becomes quite difficult and burdensome, it is possible to turn to art therapy as a gentle and careful method of working with the soul. About how to help a person in a very sensitive period of grief: How to help during grief First of all, by creating a safe space for the expression of emotions and feelings through drawing and associative artistic images. The benefit for someone who is in crisis is that: that a person can take the position of an observer and look at the situation from the outside. Look at your fear, your pain, guilt or problem. Entirely. By creating an image on paper. Here I am and there is my problem. The situation or feeling is separated from the inner self and begins to exist separately, as it were, in the form of an image. And this is therapeutic, because you can build a relationship with the image, change it as you want. Conduct a dialogue. For example, such a simple technique as drawing your portrait will help you understand yourself in a new way. You create your image and self-discovery occurs in the process. Parts of the personality that were previously rejected or not noticed appear in the drawing. There is a new awareness of one’s needs and feelings, of oneself, of the new and previously unknown. Rethinking your actions can boost your self-confidence. By observing yourself in the drawing, you experience emotions that help you understand mental processes in a stressful situation. After all, any drawing is an expression of your life experience. When the situation is very traumatic, you can first express the emotions of hatred, anxiety, fear, sadness by drawing at a fast pace. Doodles and everything that comes to mind. You can read about how to live stress ecologically here: How to live stress through the body This is how a painful experience is put on paper and it ceases to be a part of you. For example, draw your fear in any form. Then you can change it, complete it, redraw it. At the same time, you can tell fear in the drawing in free form any of your thoughts. Your self-portrait reflects your perception of other people, the world around you, expressed in the drawing. When you look at the drawing, what do you feel, sense? What images come to you? What new things have you learned about yourself ?Such creative expression of one's feelings causes internal liberation from negative states. Helps you relax and look at the situation from a different angle. Become an expert in your life by analyzing your personal associations associated with artistic images. The drawing contains a deep personal meaning. Take your time. Stay with the drawn image. Here is a resource state, very important in a stressful situation. Assign it to yourself! My TG channel All social networks and instant messengers on the B17 website in my account Masters community page © Olga Afanasenko, analytical psychologist https://vk.com/olha_afanasenko