Examples taken from Art Therapy practice
In search of a picture that does an appeal on her Miss W. scrolls through the photo album on the iPad. She gets caught by three pictures because she thinks together they are telling a great story. Thereupon I show her the App Pic Collage and explain how she can realize her idea. It turns out that the use of the touchscreen is very difficult for her because she can’t coordinate her hand well enough. So she asks me to do it for her. I begin to cut the photos exactly following her instructions and put them into a composition according to her wishes. She is very proud that her idea brought up such a harmonious result and she asks me to print the picture several times so she can give it to her friends.
Miss G. has already worked with the iPad several times. She’s sad today because she has to move to a hospice within the next few days and is afraid of having to deal with a new environment again. She also doesn’t like the thought of having to deal with complete strangers again. Thus having confidence is a topic she thinks about a lot lately. I suggest that we paint together on the iPad today in the hope this could serve as a positive example of an encounter with someone she can trust. Each of us gets one side of the screen and we alternate in adding something to our side of the screen until we connect both sides in the end of the exercise. Miss G. likes the alternate painting and is curious about the emerging picture. While we are painting she continues to talk about her concerns but also the possibilities she sees in her stay at the hospice. Afterwards I print the picture as a farewell gift for her.
Miss H. and I are chatting while we both are kneading a piece of clay because she felt the urge to do something with her hands. We both don’t pay attention to the clay because it’s supposed to get warm and soft first. Suddenly Miss H. discovers the face of a monkey within her piece of clay which amuses her. She works out more details and is happy about this ‘accidental product’. She spontaneously associates about the three apes: hear nothing-see nothing- say nothing. I suggest to work this idea out on the iPad. Initially I take a picture of the monkey face, then we together edit the photo in Pic Collage and she chooses a colored background. Miss H. draws the attributes glasses/hand/earphone with the App SketchTime and adds the title “What a charade”. It makes her smirk because having cancer really sometimes makes her feel like being part of a charade. I print the collage in postcard size several times because she wants to give it to her relatives.