The Study Of Art Therapy On Promoting Mentally Disabled Children’s Interpersonal Competence

Art therapy,with guidance from professional personnel, is the methodand course to diagnose,doctor or recover in the common art activities withpatient. It takes the basis of people constructing and developingthemselves,contributes to regulate emotional conflict,relieves stress andanxiety,ascends self-consciousness and developes the skills of society.Duoto the difference of comprehension, In general, Art therapy is divided intothe narrow art therapy and the generalized one by the academiccommunity.The narrow therapy is mainly used in western terms,referringto the media treatment activities which take the tool of the visual arts,suchas painting, sculpture and so on.But the generalized therapy includes allthe art forms of therapy activities:the music, painting, sculpture,psychological drama, dance, literature, movies, etc.Art therapy is emergedin Europe and America.Today it develop into a crossed applicationcourse.It is based on the theory about psychology, art, sociology,philosophy etc,and purpose to promote harmony between physical andmental,help man express feeling freely and naturally and release thesuppressed negative emotions in the psychological field of the artactivities.Meanwhile, improving people perceived ability to combine monimprove ourselves, promote the growth of self-personality.Art activities natural is the effective ways to express themselves.Introducing art activities into psychotherapy artistic creation not only strengthen the communication between the therapist and visitors,improvethe effect of diagnosis and treatment,but improve the the visitor’s creativityand mental power of independent growth,develop their health andpotential.So,with the emergence of Art therapy，it receives welcome andrecognition and developes into a specialized and practical industrialtreatment.The effect is especially notable in the psychology of mentallydisabled children and behaviour modification, rehabilitation.At present,domestic Art therapy is mainly applied to clinical medicaland psychological clinics.It is very weak for the research and application ofthe special group, which is less in the communication promotion of thementally disabled children.However,the children are in the corrected anddeveloped period.The problems of the cognitive development,socialadaptation,and psychological health need to correct.Interpersonalcompetence is a important factor which affect the cognitivedevelopment,especially social adaptation and psychological healthindirectly.The study is based on the relative theories and achievementswhich the school refers to home and abroad.It takes the art therapy into thetreatment in improving the mentally disabled children interpersonalcompetence, explores art therapy the utility and practical method inprompting the mentally disabled children social adaptation,andpsychological health ect in the manner of combining group counseling withconsultation.This paper mainly includes four parts.This first part introduced thewhat is a "the mentally disabled children",his features and the defect ofinterpersonal competence.The second part investigates the definition therapy of the art therapy, mechanism and the advantages which art therapyassends mentally disabled children interpersonal skills.Part three focuseson the feasibility that the art therapy can promote mentally disabledchildren interpersonal competence.The last mainly discussed applicationexperience of art therapy and advantage of mentally disabled childrentaking art therapy.