Doodle: Doodle aimlessly. See McLagen (2013), when discussing its development history, mentioned the importance of this marginalized painting method and the connection between graffiti and art therapy.

squiggle game

“Game promotes growth and is good for health; game is conducive to the formation of group relationships; game is a form of communication in mental therapy” (1980: 48).

In the introduction part of the book (Therapeutic consulutations in child psychiatry), Winnicott (1971: 10) explored the use of “game graffiti”, he wrote: dogmatic interpretation will only leave children with two choices: or accept My words should be treated as authoritative speech; either refuse to accept my explanation, refuse me, and refuse the entire treatment plan. I think and hope that the children undergoing treatment can feel that they have the right not to accept what I say or the way I act.

Games and art therapy:

Winnicott believes that the ability to play plays a key role in the treatment process because:

An individual, whether it is a child or an adult, can be creative and able to use his complete personality through games and only through playing games, and only when the individual gains this creativity can he discover himself (Winnicott, 1980: 63) )

In art therapy, patients often express or evoke certain emotions or feelings through metaphorical paintings. For example, a lonely tree may indicate a feeling of loneliness and despair, and an erupting volcano may indicate a kind of anger.

*

Reflective statement:

This book introduces art therapy. Art therapy is defined as “applying image drawing to treatment”. Its value lies in that the brain is completely immersed in art (and fingers are also busy in it). Art patients often release repressed creations in their hearts. “Strength”, the views in the book affirm my thesis on creativity and self, and help my project better achieve the case that I want to help Chinese high school students establish a distinctive personal image, and liberate them from the busy and single student life. And it provides me with good ways, such as playing games and graffiti. “An individual, whether a child or an adult, can be creative and able to use his complete personality through games and only through games. The phrase “the individual can only discover the self when he gains this kind of creativity” is of great significance to me.

At the same time, the book also proposes some attitudes towards participants. The other party can definitely deny or have the right not to accept what I say or my way of doing things. This is a key clue for this activity to develop students’ creativity. In the next step, I will use some of the theories in the book as the evidence of my intervention.