Psychological and Social Support Program for Children
The increasing incidences of social and political violence in Palestine calls for the establishment of psychological support programs to support those affected, especially children. Children are particularly vulnerable in the face of psychological crises, and therefore working with them requires special attention and care. Wings of Hope for trauma felt it necessary to create psychosocial support programs for children’s groups that align with the policy of the organization in alleviating the psychological and social problems that these children suffer from as a result of these difficult circumstances.
The target group of these social support groups are children with trauma related symptoms ranging in age from 10 to 13 years old. The goals of this program are to educate children about their trauma related symptoms, to provide them with positive coping strategies to help them deal with their symptoms, to educate their parents about trauma related symptoms in their children, to provide the parents with positive parenting styles to help deal with these symptoms, to work with children through group sessions aimed at psychological and emotional expression and the improvement of their social behavior, and to help children develop personal skills by tackling various topics related to this age group.
Some of the interventions used to achieve the objectives of the program include: educational awareness sessions on psycho-trauma and its symptoms for children and parents, group activities of a therapeutic nature such as imagination and relaxation exercises, role-playing, and the use of art and music as a form of expression, and awareness sessions related to topics including time management, healthy communication skills, confidence building, adolescence, etc.
Expressive Sandwork
Expressive Sandwork is a non-verbal method of psychosocial care for children in cases where individual psychotherapy is not available. Facilitators of this methodology have been trained and supervised by accredited trainers at the International Association of Expressive Sandwork (IAES).
This method of treatment was developed by Margaret Lowenfeld and Dora Kalff, and is based on C.G. Jung’s theory of the conscious and unconscious, which states that the psyche possesses the natural inclination to self-heal when appropriate conditions are available. This technique aids children in discovering self-regulation and using their own creative potential. It is specifically designed for emergencies, disasters, and long-term intervention in vulnerable communities.
In his theory, Jung focused on symbolism as a mechanism of self-realization stating that much of what the individual does can be directed to a symbolic level that helps them achieve the highest level of self-differentiation through images, words, dreams, music, and art. In these sessions, sand and various miniatures are used as an outlet that reflects the child’s inner world.
The same social worker works with the same child in a closed group for the 12 sessions in a safe and free environment. This allows the child to experience creative play with an adult who observes and records the events of the session.
Wings of Hope for trauma, in cooperation with International Association for Expressive Sandwork (IAES), hold expressive sandwork groups for children ages six to eleven years. Two groups are held per year, each group consists of ten sessions, with one meeting per week for one hour. The goals of the program are to provide psychosocial care for children, to give children the opportunity to express repressed feelings and experiences that are often difficult to communicate in words, and to help activate the child’s self-system by stimulating their own creative potential.