I had the opportunity to attend a symposium recently which was a nice change of pace. Besides the plethora of sponsors and free posters, there was an interesting seminar about different art therapy techniques. A lot of my sessions usually involve some sort of creative activity, since children are more apt and at ease to express themselves through play and art rather than through structured conversation. However, I learned a new intervention and decided to put it to use. The instructions are simply: 'Draw a person in the rain'. Here are a few examples. 
Some have protection to keep them from getting wet. 'he's all dry and his umbrella is his favorite colors' ~age 6
For this child, the rain is a severe lightning storm that is causing seriously bodily injury. The child has a history of known physical and sexual abuse. 'He's crying out but they left him outside and no one is coming to help'.~ age 7
The most memorable part of my week was trying to convince a petrified six-year old that monsters aren't real, especially the ones in the movies. He happens to be a very inquisitive six year old. This was our conversation midway through the session:
What about the terminator? Is that real?
No.
And the blood?
Fake.
And the wires in his arms?
Not real.
And what about Chucky?
He's not real either.
And his knife, does it really cut?
Nope. Well, maybe. But it doesn't really cut the people in the movie.
How do you know?
I just do.
You just do?
Yes.
Oh. Well, what about the guy with the hockey mask?
You've seen that?
No, but I've seen the commercials. He's not real either?
No, he's made up. He can't hurt you.
Are you sure?
Yes.
What about his knife?
Fake.
And the dead people, are they really dead?
No, they're playing make believe.
The questions continued in rapid fire succession.
After the lengthy discussion (more like Q & A session) I was a bit exhausted, but he seemed satisfied with the answers given. I guess we'll see how many nights he can go to sleep without needing the lights on.
