Example five

A young girl who has recently been taken into care is referred for dyadic art therapy with her new foster carers. Any contact with her birth family seems to trigger aggression and distress.

The child struggles at the beginning to use art materials. She seems quite rigid with what she makes, worried about what she is supposed to be doing. She struggles with expressing opinions and deciding what to do.

Gradually her art making becomes more messy. She begins mixing paints and putting the carers names on to the bit of paper.

She repeats this: mixing paint and writing the carers’ names and her own name. Then she gradually starts putting her birth family’s names on the paper as well.

She manages to put her birth family’s names and her foster carers’ names and her own name on the same bit of paper. This feels like a significant achievement.

The girl had previously not really been able to put any of her feelings into words, but the therapist reflects that the art-making process has been more eloquent. The carers are there to witness this process for themselves.