Therapeutic Children’s Mural

Author(s)

Natalie Brooks, University of Rhode IslandFollow

Advisor

Wrobel, Andrew [faculty advisor]

Advisor

Quina, Kat [faculty advisor]

Date

5-2008

Keywords

color; mood; mural; art; psychology; children; developmental disabilities; autism; therapy

Abstract

Painting on small canvases has been a hobby of mine since I was a child. My personal passion for tactile art has always made art therapy an aspect of psychology that has piqued my interest. However, I have left it unexplored during my undergraduate college career as a psychology major.

I did research on art therapy and discovered that one of the major ideas in the area was that the use of creative activities can promote the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being. I also discovered that art can be seen as a self-esteem builder; the children will always see the mural in their home and feel proud that they completed a project on such a large scale. I also researched therapeutic murals and found that the use of imagery and color can affect the way a person feels. A mural seemed like the perfect project to take on and combine my compassion for children and interest in art therapy.

The mural I help direct is in one of the residential homes at Bradley Hospital. As discussed with the program director the residents, eight children with various developmental disabilities will be creating and constructing the mural. I observed the therapeutic components of both the creation of the mural and the final product