Our teens in the Inspirations for Youth and Families drug addiction program are getting ready to celebrate Easter with a twist! During one of our recent art therapy sessions our teens were tasked with decorating Easter eggs. The teens took this seemingly typical task and created an interesting spin on the assignment by creating fun personalities and back stories for each egg they made.
Why this exercise is important?
For teens especially those suffering from addiction it is important for them to have a form of self expression. Our drug addiction program art therapy sessions challenge our teen clients to express their emotions through different mediums such as painting, sketching, and even simple crafts.
These activities show our teens they can find productive means to say what they feel or what is on their mind. This particular Easter activity was created so our teens can share what they see in the world. Each egg shows a representation of one’s self, who they strive to be or how they think the world sees them.
Through this Easter egg activity our therapists can gain an insight to each client’s personality and what they were thinking when they created it. Most teens abuse drugs as a form of coping and escaping their own internal problems.
Art allows them to escape the reality and put forth their emotions in a positive way. We encourage all parents to sit and create some type of art together no matter the age.
What you’ll need:
1 cup of water
Container of paint
Assortment of ribbons, googley eyes, and stickers
1. Using the supplies above decorate the egg to your heart’s content. Adding supplies that can help become features for their back story/personalities.
2. Write up an assessment of your egg on the construction paper. Make sure to include tips about their personalities, descriptions and back stories on how they came to be.
3. Share your egg with everyone! Whether its friends or families you did this with or on social media!
Check out these awesome eggs: