Sophie Young & Mackenzie Wilkins

Guilford College Group Proposal (Fall 2021)

Group Title: Crafts & Community

Target Population: First and second-year students

Group Purpose/Rationale: The purpose of this group is to provide first and second year
students with a safe and nonjudgmental space to discuss their transition to college and current
life stressors, while engaging in arts and crafts with a community of others.

Group Structure: This will be a closed group that will meet once a week for five weeks,
beginning in mid-October. Ideally, this group would be held in an outdoor space by the
Counseling Center. Session duration will range from 60 to 90 minutes depending on the group’s
needs. The group must have at least three members in order to begin, but no more than 12. Each
week, students will receive supplies provided by the Counseling Center and will be given a
prompt to inform their artwork. Students will be able to share what they have chosen to make
and why with the group. After students have completed their craft, the group as a whole will
debrief. Sessions will conclude with a relaxation or grounding skill.

● Week 1: Begin with ice breaker craft, each group member is given a sheet of paper and
will have 1 minute to draw while a group member introduces themself and reasons for
joining the group. Paper’s will be passed around in round robin style (Group Round
Robin drawing) with each group member drawing on every paper. This will continue
until everyone has introduced themselves. Leaders will explain group purpose and lead
group members in an activity to establish group norms. Group members will complete
Paper Bag Self Portrait. Portraits will be shared with the group. Close with a breathing
exercise.

● Week 2: Begin with a check-in. Introduce Blackout poetry activity: Each member will
choose a book or magazine and create a poem by blacking out parts of the text. This
activity is meant to represent ways that we might edit ourselves in everyday life.
Questions for group members to consider are What has to be removed/edited/concealed
before bringing yourself into this world? Who gets to make these edits? Group members
will get 20 minutes to create. Members will share what they made and their thoughts on
discussion questions. Close with mindfulness activity.

● Week 3: Begin with a check-in. Introduce Inkblot activity: Each member will choose an
inkblot provided by the group leaders. These are meant to represent the uncertainty and
lack of control that many people experienced during the pandemic. Members can choose
 to make artwork that represents how they felt, and still feel, regarding the pandemic.
Another prompt can be “draw what you see in the inkblot”. Group members will get 20
minutes to create. Members will share what they made, what it represents, and how it felt
to make this piece. Close with progressive muscle relaxation.

● Week 4:Begin with a check-in. Introduce Hand Tracing Activity: Trace both hands on a
piece of paper. On one hand, draw/color/write what you want to hold on to. On the other
hand, draw what you want to let go of. Group members will get 20 minutes to create.
Then, each member will share what they chose to put in each hand, why they chose these
things, and any emotions that came up during this activity. Close with a guided imagery
mindfulness practice.

● Week 5: Begin with a check-in. Introduce Final Group Drawing Activity: One member
will start with a marked piece of paper and will have 1 minute to draw on it. Then,
another member will have 1 minute to expand on the drawing. Continue until everyone
has had 2-3 opportunities to contribute to the drawing. Compare this group drawing to
week one’s drawing. Invite members to share how this group experience has been and
what takeaways they have.

Supporting Research

Boldt, R. W. & Paul, S. (2011). Building a creative-arts therapy group at a university counseling
center. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 25(1), 39-52.
https://doi.org/10.1080/87568225.2011.532472
● This article discussed the benefits for creative arts therapy groups for university students
● Art therapy groups provide an activity to focus on in addition to the conversation for
students that might need an additional focus
● Facilitators of this type of group need to be open to using art materials to artistically
express themselves to model for group members
● The ideal structure of a group is a check-in, artistic prompt, and a wrap up
● Artistic prompts provide groups members with a way to explore different thoughts and
concepts, these prompts can evolve throughout the life of a group or change from session
to session
● Effective group facilitators must work to find a balance between sharing their personality
and normalizing making art with appropriate facilitator behavior/boundaries
● The article also encourages the creation of portfolios for group members to collect their
work and create another method to reflect on the group
● Implications for our group: This article provided a starting point for how we might
structure our groups and provides some insight for the role a group facilitator might play
Sandmire, D. A., Gorham, S. R., Rankin, N. E. & Grimm, D. R. (2012). The influence of art
making on anxiety: A pilot study. Journal of American Art Therapy Association, 29(2), 68-73.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2012.683748
● This study was conducted to view the psychological effects that art-making had on the
anxiety levels of Undergraduate students.
● Study: N = 57 first year students. Participants were randomly assigned to an art-making
group or a control group. The groups occurred one week prior to final examinations -- a
time when the students were presumably experiencing academic pressure/stress.
● Art making activities included painting or coloring mandalas, free-form painting, collage
making, still life drawing, or clay modeling, and lasted for 30 minutes..
● Findings: The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered before and after
participation. Survey scores decreased significantly in the art-making group. No
difference was found in the control group. Additionally, anxiety scores lessened from
pre-activity to post-activity in the art-making group. These findings suggest that even a
brief period of making art can significantly reduce a person’s state of anxiety.
● Implications: These findings inform our intentions for our group in that it shows that a
30-minute period of making art has been shown to reduce anxiety in college students.
Since our group will begin around midterm season, it can be helpful for us to share this
study’s findings with group members or ask if they noticed a shift in their stress levels at
the end of a group session.

Sonnone, A. & Rochford, J. S. (2020). Wellness at universities: A group art therapy approach.
Journal of College Counseling, 23, 168-179. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocc.12157
● This article discussed the benefit of art therapy groups at University Counseling centers
● Therapy groups provide an effective method for clinicians to see more students and to
address the different issues that contribute to concerns brought to therapy
● The study stresses the importance of considering group space, member selection, and
group structure when putting together an art therapy group. It is important to consider a
space that is conducive to both creativity and safe group conversation. This type of group
can be really beneficial for students that enjoy art, have a wide range of presenting
concerns, and might struggle to connect with others and express themselves verbally.
● Some benefits of Art Groups include
○ Provide a space for self expression and disclosure
○ Social connection
○ Reduced anxiety in social settings
○ Development of new insight
● Implications for our group: This article demonstrates the benefits of art therapy groups
with college students. It also emphasizes the importance of pre-planning group activities
and structure. Planning ahead will help us have an idea of the crafts we’ll lead and
materials we might need. It also allows thought about questions that can accompany the
craft that is planned for the day. It’s also important to continually assess how the group is
progressing and make adjustments as needed