Activities for those who resist therapy

One of the most common issues appearing in therapy, both in the therapist and the patient/ client is resistance. Resistance is a defense that appears to guard all other defense mechanisms. It manifests itself in denial, silence and lack of communication. Even if the person willingly undergoes through treatment, denial still finds its way in: when sensitive spots are approached, the person almost instinctivly resists the pain related with getting in touch with them. Still, there are also plenty of individuals who disregard treatment in general and do not desire to put effort into it.
So how can art therapy function in a person that does not wish to engage with art? 'I don't know' or 'I don't like that' or even 'I will not do that' are too commonly heard, especially when it comes to art therapy. In such cases there is no point in unnecessary pressure to the patient/ client. If one does not desire to engage in a certain activity, he/ she cannot be forced to do so, because this will lead to negative results, opposite from the desired ones.
What therapists can do though is to ask the person to engage in relatively easier activities that do not challenge much of the existing defenses, in order to ease the person and familiarize him/ her with therapy as a whole (the activities, the goal, the effort). Such activities could be the following:

• present the client with some paintings and ask him/ her to discuss the emotions raised in them. The paintings (popular or not) could be chosen so as to focus on a specific emotion, or to a certain range of them. In this manner, the person will be able to address and get in touch with the emotional state, but through a safe position, since he/ she wil not be refering to their own self. 
• ask the person to state some songs they like and that have a special meaning to them and listen them during therapy. This not only can increase the affective state thus open new roots to communication, but also allows the therapist to carefully observe the person and receive information about him/ her that will help along the way. 
• ask the person to create a collage with a specific theme. Present him/ her with magazines, and ask to cut and paste relevant images on a paper. The theme can target an aspect that needs to be worked on, and the procedure is easy, thus harder to say no to. Still it allows for meditation in the process.
• chose a passage from a book or a dialogue from a theatrical play and ask the patient to read it out loud in an emphatic manner so as to express the emotions of the text. In this way, the person can express a certain emotional state without personally engaging with it, plus it allows the therapist to detect the level of proper emotional expression, the range of emotions presented, and the amount of identification with them. 
• ask the person to create a craft (the level of difficulty and the subject depend on the level of functionality) and keep it as a marker of a certain event, such as the beggining of treatment. Crafts are easy to make yet most do not engage with them. This could lead to increased self- esteem (after creating something nice) and more engagement to the therapy, while the process allows for inner meditation and thinking. 
• ask the person to seat in silence and listen to specifically chosen music. In the meantime, observe his/ her emotions, and in the end, ask the client to share their thoughts, as much of them as they want.
• ask the client to listen to a classical composition and write a short story during that. 
• provide the client with a list of artworks (paintings,sculptures,graffic designs) picturing a variety of themes and emotional states and ask him/her to chose the ones he/she likes and elaborate on that. In this manner the person will reveal aspects of the personality and to begin connecting with the therapist.
• provide the person with colouring pages-either with a theme (such as flowers) or with patterns (such asmandalas) and ask him/ her to draw it with colours of preference- even ask to give meanings to colours. In this way the person can express emotions and traits while improve fine motor skills ( important when pathology is present), and meditate while experience a decrease in agitation.

There are plenty of activities that can fight against the client's resistance, all of which focus on getting accustomed with art therapy, yet are not to demanding.

Literature: N. Tsergas, 2014. Therapeutic Approaches Through Art. Athens, Topos; J. Armstrong, A. de Botton, 2013. Art as Therapy, Athens, Pataki; J. Creek, L. Lougher, 2008. Occupational Therapy and Mental Health, Athens, BHTA Medical Publications MEPEI; M. Pourkos, 2015. Lived Experience and Arts- Based Qualitative Psychotherapy, Athens, Agra; I. Yalom, 2009. Inpatient Group Psychotherapy, Athens, Arga; A. Galanoudaki- Rapti, C. Kosmidou- Hardy, 1996. Counseling: Theory and Pratice, With Exercises for the Development of Self- Knowledge and Counseling Skills, Athens, Asimakis.