Working with the ‘Glasgow Effect’ in Art Therapy through a Whole-School Approach

Abstract

The realities of poverty and deprivation extend across the globe, often to an extent that creates despair in communities, where the tension and violence amongst its individuals are palpable and the emotional suffering is passed down from generation to generation.  This is the reality of a community in Glasgow, a major industrial city in the west of Scotland. Thus, in this paper I will describe a whole-school art therapy service, presenting three art therapy vignettes that illustrate how this model addressed the complex needs of the children, and how art therapy supported them to express and understand their experiences and developed a sense of integration. The art therapy work is contextualised through reference to the children’s community throughout the paper using the voice and experience of the art therapist.

Key words

poverty, community conflict, gangs and violence, whole-school approach, children and art therapy