The Alliance against “Anxiety” – Acknowledging skills and knowledge for those who are suffering from anxiety by using art in narrative practice by Rebecca Wong
This video presents ways of using art and narrative practice for children and youth who are facing ‘Anxiety’. Through art exercises young people have a chance to externalize and re-author their anxiety stories. Rebecca (commonly known as Caca) collected young people’s insider knowledge, deconstructed social discourses through the use of outsider witnesses; created collective documentation; and convened definitional ceremonies. Peers and Parents were then invited to join an Alliance. Caca would like to acknowledge the participants who agreed to share their stories in this presentation.
Rebecca Wong is currently working as a counsellor in a social service agency in Hong Kong. She mainly works with children and youth who are experiencing mental health issues and developmental crises as well as their parents. As a practitioner, she has enthusiasm for developing narrative ideas in community work.
Caca can be contacted at cacawong33@gmail.com
This is great. I am a psychologist but work with art and music therapists, whose founding approach tends to be psychoanalytic. Lovely to have narrative questions to share with them to add to their creative approach
thank you!
Lovely inspiring and creative use of art/song and other techniques married with narrative practices when workign with young people. Thank you has given me inspiration and ideas.
Thank you CaCa, this was just what I needed to see today as I head into the office to work against kids anxiety.
You did an amazing job facilitating the process so that these children could give a voice to their wisdom. What a gift
and a great reminder for parents to step off the train of achievement and success. Take Care! Suzanne
This was a fabulous presentation of working with children. I am always so impressed by the knowledge children have and the importance for them to stand up against their demons that have been empowered by the pressures of opinions around them. Narrative therapy is such a wonderful vehicle to assist in finding and strengthening those internal personal skills. Thank you Rebecca … your sharing of this is valuable to me to continue to use this method in my classroom. And I will be sharing your this with others and encourage them to watch it.
Flora (Ontario, Canada)
PS. Listening to a parent comment about hearing her child’s story for the first time brought me to tears … tears of joy because now this mom knows her child better allowing an opportunity for a better relationship to develop between them. WOW! What a blessing you are to those who you work with and thank you for sharing!
Hi Flora,
Thank you for your message.
I agree that the children have a lot of knowledge to face the challenges. I felt touching on the mother’s feedback too. Their sharing in the definitional ceremony could help their parents getting to know their children more.
In my working place, we always receive the phone call from parents and telling the problematic story about their children. As you describe, Narrative therapy is wonderful vehicle which can bring us to another storyline. In the alternative storyline, it is full of wisdom, knowledge and skills from the person.
Let’s keep going on in this journey of Narrative therapy.
Keep in touch!
Warmly,
CaCa (Rebecca)