Permission To Play: Expressive Arts Therapy for Team Building and Communication

Abstract

Permission To Play examines the use of Expressive Arts Therapy exercises as a method of staff development and team building, as well as facilitating interpersonal communication styles in a work environment. The project was conducted at a staff development retreat for the non-, Friends of Recovery:Delaware & Otsego Counties (FOR-DO). Staff from four branch locations participated in a two-hour workshop designed to provide education and an interactive experience to connect to build confidence around interpersonal communication. The presentation focused on five workplace communication styles, modeled after Gary Chapman’s The Five Love Languages. Staff members identified their preferred way to receive appreciation in the workplace The group then participated in an activity in which they made “Communication Creatures” using an art therapy technique that involves all participants in a fast paced, drawing activity. Once their Communication Creature was created, each person presented it to their peers. Utilizing an Expressive Arts Therapy technique of personification, staff were able to introduce their creature with their preferred communication style, as well as a name for their creature. This supported a playful and safe environment to discuss communication preferences in a way that invited laughter and broke down hierarchical formality. An additional art therapy exercise focused on communication and team building through storytelling and drawing. The staff was divided into small groups and were each given the same story to create a poster showing what the story was about. Each group was given a different communication challenge that made the group drawing more difficult. After debriefing about the project, team members shared that communication challenges and strengths that came up in the project mirrored those that came up in their day-to-day work. The group then brainstormed how to shift the challenges. Using Expressive Arts Therapy techniques within a staff development environment is an innovative approach for colleagues to address communication issues in a playful, creative way. This workshop can be duplicated and customized to offer a new approach to staff development within any organization or department.