The Emotional Umbrella project created an art therapy toolkit to be used for combating stress, building resilience and improving creativity.

Some of the topics included in the Emotional Umbrella toolkit are:

• Presentation of Art therapy 
• Guidelines for preparation and implementation of art therapy workshops
• More than 30 artistic activities that can be included in the workshop

The motivation for the Emotional Umbrella project came from a common sense of unease that partners shared during our discussions of world affairs and social trends. It was obvious that the constant stream of seemingly unending crises that started with the so-called migrant crisis in 2015 has created an atmosphere of uncertainty and stress in all of us. This feeling of unease was further amplified and spread due to the sensationalism and »fake news« component of our media landscape. It is safe to say that we were not the only ones feeling it.

Crisis situations, global or personal, are opportunities to improve our creativity and strengthen our resilience. During the COVID-19 lockdown people faced a higher number of restrictions but they also became more creative. Factors that impacted the increase of creativity were: mood (good mood increases creativity while bad mood decreases it), more free time and openness to new experiences. The more they engaged in creative activity during COVID-19, the more their mood and creativity improved. Data shows that people expressed their creativity mostly through everyday creative activities like cooking, dancing and gardening. Why not add art therapy to the list?

The type of Art Therapy featured in the Emotional Umbrella project takes advantage of the fact that every human being has an innate ability to express their inner world through artistic expression and to make new meaning from it through interpretation. Artistic skill is not a prerequisite for participation – the focus is on the individual and the creative process.

The process of healing and building resilience is initiated by using imagination and creativity to express thoughts and emotions visually. The creative process is free of limitations due to a lack of artistic skill, rational thought or memory. 

Because of its characteristics, art therapy is very well suited for adult education, especially non-formal lifelong learning. The activity is especially suitable for adults who have trouble expressing themselves, be it due to poor verbal or writing skills or linguistic or emotional barriers. It allows everybody to speak a universal language of art, regardless of their artistic skill level.

Emotional Umbrella art therapy toolkit is available as an open educational resource also in English and can be downloaded here.

Ivan Močnik has 10 years of experience working in adult education sector, primarily with vulnerable groups. He is an author of multiple national and international projects on the topic of social integration and strengthening of basic skills.

Ivan Močnik (ivan.disora@gmail.com)

Marijana Simonič has 15 years of experience with project management and implementation. She worked as manager for many EU projects. She is skilled in all aspects of project work and she understands the needs of adults regarding education, social integration etc. 

Društvo DISORA 

DISORA (Association for Education and Social Development) is a non-profit NGO from Maribor, Slovenia. Organization was established in 2018 with the aim to contribute to a positive change and better integration of vulnerable groups through programs and activities in the areas of lifelong learning, culture, sports, social development, active citizenship and various skills for the unemployed, the youths, migrants, seniors and others.