Triadic Art Therapy

Triadic Art Therapy with Indigenous Foster Children and Foster Parents.

The treatment involves child and caregiver in joint art-making sessions with a focus on cultural connectedness.

Involves child and caregiver in joint art-making sessions with an art therapist who is attending to their cultural connectedness as a third element in their relationship.
Centers on the “relational values” of Indigenous culture.
Aims to strengthen the relationship between foster parents and foster children through culturally appropriate art therapy.
Integrates people from their community in the healing process, such as elders.
Is based on vast research about dyadic art therapy, attachment theory and its Indigenous parallel, which is connectedness in the broadest sense of the word, as it encompasses attachment to the community and the natural environment (Carriere & Richardson, 2009).

The art therapist leads the session with both the foster children and their foster parents.
The therapist assists the children in reducing trauma symptoms and supports them in their grieving process (Sun-Reid, 2012) while modeling the same for foster parents to be able to access.
The artworks that are created in art therapy are tangible and therefore may be an important means of communication between the child and caregiver (Proulx, 2003).
Triadic art therapy can help the foster parent understand the foster child’s behaviour.
The therapist supports and assists foster children in understanding the intentions of their foster parents.
Triadic art therapy leads foster children to build their communication skills, learn to express their needs to their foster parents, and help construct their capacity for self-autonomy.
Triadic art therapy aims to strengthen the triad’s connection, and the child’s creativity can be a tool to help them through difficulties (Shore, 2014).

REFERENCES

Carriere, J., & Richardson, C. (2009). From longing to belonging: Attachment theory, connectedness, and Indigenous children in Canada. In S. McKay, D. Fuchs, & I. Brown,(Eds.), Passion for action in child and family services: Voices from the prairies (pp. 49–67). Regina, SK: Canadian Plains Research Center.
Proulx, L. (2003). Strengthening emotional ties through parent-child dyad art therapy. London, UK: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Ltd.
Sun-Reid, H. (2012). Arthur’s journey: A case study of integrated therapy process.Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP).
Shore, A. (2014). Art Therapy, attachment, and the divided brain. Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 31(2), pp. 91–94, doi: 10.1080/07421656.2014.903827

Triadic Art Therapy with Indigenous Foster Families

The treatment involves child and caregiver in joint art-making sessions with a focus on cultural connectedness.

Involves child and caregiver in joint art-making sessions with an art therapist who is attending to their cultural connectedness as a third element in their relationship.
Centers on the “relational values” of Indigenous culture, specifically those embraced by local First Nations people in Manitoba.
Aims to strengthen the relationship between foster parents and foster children through culturally appropriate art therapy.
Integrates people from their community in the healing process, such as elders.
Is based on vast research about dyadic art therapy, attachment theory and its Indigenous parallel, which is connectedness in the broadest sense of the word, as it encompasses attachment to the community and the natural environment (Carriere & Richardson, 2009).

REFERENCE