Counselor: Depression, Week 4 PREVIEW

This is an art day – have felt pens or colored pencils and paper for students.

This is a three-step art prompt.  Students will draw a series of three pictures; one to represent a problem or challenge, one that represents an imagined image of what it would be like if that problem went away or was manageable and life was OK.  The third drawing is to identify one step the student could take toward making it OK.  The goals are to help students realize that coping is often a process of several steps, that taking a small step is the beginning of a sense of control, and that we can’t move toward resolution if we can’t imagine it, so just imagining it (picture two) is a helpful part of the process.

This week we’re going to do three quick sketches. There is no rubric here, it doesn’t matter what the picture looks like for anyone else, but is what you realize in the process of quickly sketching something as I suggest the topic. Don’t focus on it or overthink it. Just let yourself sketch quickly as I give you each idea. We’ll take about one minute per sketch. Let’s start.

Prompt for sketch 1:

For your first sketch, draw a picture about something that is really frustrating for you.  It can be any kind of problem you wish would go away.

Prompt for sketch 2:

Slide picture one to the left. Now, just let yourself imagine that your life could be in a place that would be really OK in regard to whatever you drew in picture one. It doesn’t have to be real, just imagined. What would it look like if that part of life were OK? You have a minute, so just a quick sketch.

Prompt for sketch 3:

Slide that picture to the right. Now, put a piece of paper in the middle, right in front of you. Sketch one thing you could do to take one step in that direction. Just a little, tiny step.

Will you share your third picture? Describe the issue you drew about and what your one step might be.

This week, keep thinking about taking steps forward, no matter how small.