1. Art Therapy with Individuals
who are Deafblind
Emily Walters AThR

2. Outline
• Deafblind
• Art therapy
• Art therapy with individuals who are Deafblind
• Accessibility
• Theory and Examples
• Art Making
• Reflection

3. Background

4. Deafblind
• Living with a combination of both hearing and vision impairment
• These impairments exist in varying degrees for each individual
• Dual sensory impairment multiplies impact
• Psychological affect and practical implications for accessibility
• Identity

5. Art Therapy
• Art making is fundamentally therapeutic
• Art therapy happens within a safe therapeutic relationship
• Therapist uses their understanding of art and counselling
• Client can express themselves and explore meaning
• The emphasis is on the creative process

6. Person Centred
• Strengths - this is what I feel, this is what I can do
• Identity – this is who I am
• Relationship – this is how I am with others

7. Art Therapists
• Therapists are highly trained professionals
• In Australia only registered art therapists should claim they are
proving art therapy
• This is similar in many countries
• Anyone can find art therapeutic

8. Art Therapy with Individuals
who are Deafblind

9. Focus
• Different for each individual
• Therapeutic processing of the full spectrum of human emotion and
experience
• The more specific experiences of living with deafblindness

10. Accessibility
• Art therapy is an accessible form of counselling for people who are
Deafblind
• It utilises a visual, symbolic language, the focus is less on the spoken
word than traditional therapy
• The client is left with a physical art piece that can be used as a
reminder of the experience

11. Accessibility
• Witnessing and presence
• Connection with people in an emotional way
• In touch with disconnected sensations
• Safe challenges

12. Accessibility - Visual
• Visual art, like traditional painting can be adjusted
• Other methods of art making can be highly tactile, such as clay and
sculpture

13. Accessibility - Communication
• Time
• Haptics
• Working with interpreters

14. Theory and Examples

15. Expressive Therapies Continuum
• Three levels, two sides
• Cognitive to Symbolic
• Perceptual to Affective
• Kinaesthetic to Sensory
• Expanding ability to move all across this continuum creatively may help us
to improve our wellbeing

16. Expressive Therapies Continuum Examples
• Tendencies and blocks
• Cognitive to Symbolic
• Perceptual to Affective
• Kinaesthetic to Sensory

17. Fluid to Resistive
• Art materials exist on a scale of fluid to resistive
• Examples of fluid materials are paints and wet clay
• Fluid materials can help us to have experiences of letting go
• Examples of resistive materials are pencils and wire
• Resistive materials help us have experiences of control

18. Fluid to Resistive Examples
• Art materials exist on a scale of fluid to resistive
• Sense of control and letting go

19. Window of Tolerance
• Hypoarousal occurs when we have insufficient stimulus to engage
meaningfully with the world around us eg. boredom
• Hyperarousal occurs when stimulus is more that we can cope with eg.
stress
• Both of these states are a normal part of life but can feel difficult
• We can increase our ability to cope with both by using art therapy

20. Window of Tolerance Examples
• Hypoarousal - low
• Hyperarousal - high
• Isolation or feeling overwhelmed

21. Art Making

22. Art making
• 10 minutes of art making
• Remember it is about the process
• Explore, feel, sense
• You may like to close your eyes and to complete this in silence

23. While Art Making
• This is who I am
• This is what I feel
• This is what I can do

24. Reflection
• 5 minutes discussion
• What did you explore?
• What did you feel?
• What did you sense?

25. More information
• Email me at Emily.walters@ableaustralia.org.au
• Creative Arts Network of Deafblind International
• Australia, New Zealand, and Asia Creative Arts Therapies Association

26. References
• Australia, New Zealand, and Asia Creative Arts Therapies Association
https://www.anzacata.org
• Expressive Therapy Continuum – Lisa Hinz
• Handbook of Art Therapy – Cathy Malchiodi