A Gestalt approach to working with children: Oaklander method
NB the following is a composite account, based on several years of delivering an Easter intensive, arts–based workshop in London, UK. All names used are fictional.
“Can you cut the clay into lumps, Khalid- about a kilo per person- this much? And can someone distribute boards, tools and water? We’re sixteen plus me …”
There’s a buzz in the group, an international crowd comprising counsellors, psychotherapists psychologists, education and health staff, seated on beanbags around a tarpaulin. Many have read Dr. Violet Oaklander’s seminal book Windows to our Children; all have enrolled for a taste of this work in practice: much of this workshop is underpinned by Violet’s approach.
As the week progresses all will become familiar with using the arts through a series of projective exercises and experiences. Earlier today, to orientate us to the work, members talked in pairs, sharing a childhood photo before introducing their partners to the group. Some are in the process of career change; others are experienced therapists. Maria joined the course to explore her own relationship with creativity. “I didn’t get much chance to play as a child.” She says, sadly, “We came from a poor family – there weren’t many toys.”
Most are seeking practical ideas to aid their work with troubled children, including youngsters presenting with anger difficulties. All have some degree of acquaintance with Gestalt, Attachment and developmental theories.
These groups usually bond quickly, becoming a supportive learning community where participants may chose to risk working at their ‘growing edge’ in confidence. There is a basic format: we consider development, assessment, and treatment issues; later we discuss ways of forming a working alliance with children and their families. Participants get to explore at first hand a number of arts modalities including sand -tray, puppetry, music making, creative writing and painting. These modalities offer ‘experience near’ activities that children can relate to. They also lend themselves to working phenomenologically in dialogue. As participants become familiar with using materials, they discover how powerfully the arts can communicate emotion.
Arts -based Gestalt therapy owes much to the pioneering influence of Lore Perls. Within the field of child therapy Violet Oaklander ‘s playful, projective arts approach is held in similar esteem. Incorporating an arts based style helps children develop awareness, inner strength and clarity of purpose. It enhances their contact skills and boosts self–confidence, enhancing resilience.
Let us return now to the group. As members dip their fingers into soft clay and spread it around we pool our knowledge about this naturally occurring substance found in the ground. Clay has great plasticity; it is sensual, feels soft to touch. I comment that this versatile medium offers a unique means for safely exploring creative and destructive impulses, as we will later discover. Most are familiar with clay’s everyday uses- in making bricks and roof tiles, pots and porcelain, for medicinal purposes, as face packs. As I invite the group to begin shaping their clay pieces into spheres a hush descends. The atmosphere is engaged- there is curiosity in the room and in me too.
Members continue getting to know their clay, smoothing it, pounding it, and placing it on elbows, cheeks, and foreheads. ‘Its been a long time since I used this stuff’ muses Alice; ruefully- are we making coil pots?’ Laughter follows as some recall memories of school arts projects. Here, I point out, we are using clay simply as a means of self-expression, not for making great art. I introduce a warm up sequence that Violet taught me in 2000 during one of her summer intensives. I encourage people to undertake the sequence where possible with eyes closed, so that we focus on our sense of touch. Whenever people have an urge to ‘peek’ I suggest they take a picture in their ‘mind’s eye’, as though with a digital camera, and then compare their imagination of how the clay looks with the actuality.
Each person rolls his or her clay into a ball – the shape we will revisit between each mini exercise. The group explores in turn patting, slapping, pinching and punching the clay, later boring through it and ripping it apart. A mixture of awe and merriment- arises – how did my knuckles make that shape? Why does the clay feel hotter when I press into it? Memories of being pinched in class elicit groans and giggles. The final exercise involves the group standing in a circle. On a count of three, we hurl our clay down onto the boards with an almighty thump, letting our sound out as we do so. Amid the jubilation I invite the group to stop and focus on present awareness. Some report tingly sensations in their arms, others a stretching of their throat; most describe a sense of release.
We repeat the throwing exercise with others counting us in using different languages. ‘I feel the whole group supported me with my NO!’ says Aram during the debrief, eyes shining. Some share different responses, of feeling wobbly after throwing, unnerved by the volume of sound generated. We discuss how exuberant expression, enthralling for some, can equally be frightening for others who associate high-octane responses with danger or abuse. This provides grist to the mill for later exploration in therapy or supervision: if we are to facilitate children’s emotional expression safely and effectively we must be able to process and manage our own experiencing.
The atmosphere feels meditative as members working alone in silence continue shaping their clay. Later, working in client- therapist dyads they investigate the meaning of each person’s structure, examining it from different angles. The client is invited to dialogue as her piece, later to ‘become’ it. A concluding sense -making component searches for meaning: ‘ does sailing off alone, as you portray here with your clay boat – hold any resonance for you in your life?’
During the discussion that follows Luciana wonders about differences between aggressive energy, anger and violence. In many Western societies anger receives ‘a bad press’; as Violet has often observed; it is probably ‘the most misunderstood’ of the emotions (Oaklander, personal conversation 2014). In the UK today popular culture remains fascinated by violence; the notorious video game Grand Theft Auto appeals to an increasingly younger cohort as children join the Internet savvy generations. The sensationalist parts of our media industry moreover suggest, erroneously, that aggression leads inevitably to violence: such assertions sell newspapers. Here in the group the search is for more nuanced thinking e.g. about how aggressive energy may contribute positively to developing what psychologist Kurt Lewin called the Lifespace.
Later, after members share personal experiences of releasing and withholding strong emotions, the day concludes with a practical demonstration. Using our sensory awareness as our guide we explore and reflect on a variety of ways that may help children to experience, express and contain their emotions safely and appropriately to meet the field conditions they find themselves in.
Thank you for reading this. Counsellors, therapists and pastoral care staff (also senior trainees) working in health, education and other settings are welcome to apply to join my Working with Children (residential) workshop. This takes place 17–21 July 2017 at The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire, England. The Abbey is a twelfth-century retreat centre with three acres of grounds, situated about an hour from London by car or train (Didcot station). There is accommodation onsite in single/ double rooms; full vegetarian catering. 36 hours CPD.
For flyer/bookings, please email me at jon@gacp.co.uk.
