In the art educational therapy (AET) research project introduced in this lecture, coursework is integrated into art therapy with the aim of facilitating emotional well-being and coursework learning. Theories and methods concerning “writing-images” are reviewed in the lecture. The concept “writing-images” refers to drawn images of alphabetical letters and numbers, which form part of the methods of art educational therapy.
During a specific developmental phase, many children draw letter shapes before they develop knowledge about phonetics and symbols that make up the letters of the alphabet. This period is called the “writing-images stage”. The lecture presents ways to work with “writing-images” with the goal of restoring, strengthening and preserving the educational foundation that was formed during the writing-images stage. At the same time, emotional expression through art making is observed through the prism of art therapy. In the lecture, an emphasis is placed on the importance of paying attention to children’s writing-images. The practical aspects of writing-images with regard to therapy and education are also discussed. It is important that participants have acquired some familiarity with art therapy, for example by attending lecture(s) and/or foundation course(s) on art therapy.
