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School counsellors possess the skill/s requisite for being creative and finding new and innovative methods to support learners’ social and emotional development and well-being. Art integration, the practice of incorporating visual art, drama, dance, and music into core academic areas, can also be an effective way for school counsellors to support learners’ social abilities, emotional connections, and creative expression in core curriculum, small-group, and individual environments.

Although all of the mentioned lessons and assistive strategies can be put to use interchangeably, they are most supported in the medium/s discussed below as a result of the level of engagement, learners’ emotive reflection (especially in crisis), and their willingness to share private feelings.

Core Curriculum Lesson Advantages and Related Activities

Learners can hone their social skills through various creative ways. Among which cooperation and communication are a teacher’s favourite social and emotional (SEL) skills that can be linked with arts. When learners have a scope to create, they feel more participated in the process. This, oftentimes, causes disagreements, emotional halts, and frustrations for their enthusiasm with the task they are working on.

Observing the struggle in reality allows teachers with counselling skills to have conversations on cooperation and communication with the learners, thus helping them with approaches to be more effective at cooperating and communicating with their peers.

At times, learners are in need of assistance with taking deep breaths, empathetic listening, compromising, or cooperating. It's a prospect for development as assisting learners with these skills allows them to complete tasks while learning about their communication and cooperation strengths. It helps in relation building with teachers.

Educators also use arts integration in math and science content areas which can also be done for school counselling, especially with collaborative science or math projects. On the other hand, it has been found that social studies and English Language Arts (ELA) are the easiest content areas to connect to SEL and arts integration as there are more standards that can cover and focus on human characteristics like empathy, kindness, perseverance, and resilience, as well as cooperative skills. Teachers need to have fun, be creative, and think of ways to use visual arts, drama, dance, and music in their lessons.

Activities

Feelings and songs: Evaluate song lyrics by reading them to learners, allowing them to hear the instrumental version, and then listen to the version with just words. During each listening session, have learners write/draw or explain their feeling. After they’ve finished doing it, have them reflect and share how various parts of the song made them feel and how that impacted their expressions.

Music cooperation and science: Have learners create a song together by using palm pipes and figuring out how to use them. Once they realize that each palm pipe gives out a different tune, they can practice various songs. After they’ve practiced a few times, ask them to work together and create their own song and perform it for the class. Learners are sure to love this lesson.

Benefits of Small Group/s and Activities

Insight: When learners create something, especially with visual art, teachers with school counselling techniques gain insight into them that they may not have gotten by playing a game or just talking. A teacher may learn more about learners’ feelings or social and personal interactions based on what they have created.

Creative freedom: With so much stress on values and standardized testing, at times it’s fun to just be able to make something without any kind of expectations.

Fluid conversation: It’s easier to have open conversations while engaging in creative expression; either together or alongside. Learners are normally more open to express their experiences and feelings while engaging in the creative process.

Activities

Self-portrait/self-awareness: Ask learners to create a self-portrait of their past, present, and future selves; reflecting on repentances and accomplishments in their past, how they are doing now, and goals and dreams for the coming days. Learners can share their work with the group.

Feelings puzzle: Use a puzzle template (or any blank wooden puzzle), cut out the pieces individually and pass them to each member of the group until all of them have been distributed. Ask them to draw their current feelings on their piece(s) of the puzzle. Create the puzzle together once all learners have finished their art.

Individual Benefits and Activities

Emotional regulation: Art is a beneficial way to process emotions of anger, frustration, or sadness. Often, young individuals scuffle with expressing or even understanding their emotions. Art can aid them in exploring themselves.

Sharing vulnerabilities: Learners afraid to share their fears or self-doubts vocally can use art to share private thoughts or feelings without disclosing them verbally. This allows for a gradual frankness and helps learners to feel comfortable.

Processing trauma: Trauma is often difficult for children to process or understand any of their emotions. Art allows them to navigate through grief or anger and process it within their own comfort space.  

Activities

Moulding clay: Occasionally learners aren’t ready to share their feelings of grief. Using clay or play-dough is a way for learners to process their feelings of sorrow, sadness, and sometimes anger without having the need to talk.

Paper toss: It’s vital for children to be relieved of their anger, but the school environment isn’t always an apt place to let out extreme emotions. This is why teachers need to allow learners to express anger in a safe space. For each of the things that makes them angry, have them draw it on a piece of paper. Once they’re done with it, let them crush the paper up and throw it all over the room. It’s quite liberating for them.

Final thoughts

A lot can be learnt through expressions of creativity. Be it through visualization, or dramatization, teachers with a diploma in school counselling can help learners understand more about themselves and others. Art activities are a fun way for children to not only get creative, but also to learn about new perceptions and create positive relationships with others.