Art therapy workshop held for refugee children

To make mental health an integral part of our society, an internationally acclaimed artist, Samina Jamshed has initiated a worldwide series of workshops on peace and art through healing circles and art therapy workshops.

Her passion for art therapy and her desire to help people in need has led her to volunteer for such mission across Pakistan and even abroad.

Her recent healing circle for refugee children focused on issues such as health, education, protection, and basic needs of a children.

During her recent workshop, she began her session with the children by building a rapport which was an ice breaker as children took no time to jell with her. The workshop consisted of a total of 30 refugee children aged 5 to 12 years, who were forced to leave their homes and their countries and were now hoping to have a new beginning in Pakistan.

Samina said that she likes to revisit from time to time so that the healing process takes place slowly and one wound is stitched at a time.

The healing circle consisted of a story narration with voice effects in the background which children enjoyed thoroughly. This story led these children to a dialogue session in which children created stories in groups venting out their fears, phobias, and deprivations, making it easy for Samina to reach out to them on an individual level.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2023.