An Innovative Dyadic Art Therapy Working Model for Families with Multiple and Complex Needs

Returning Home is a pilot therapy project that runs throughout the final year of the out-of-home day-care facility at Ahava Child & Youth Village with children who are expected to fully return home. The last year is a confined time-frame that is being used as a window of opportunity to connect with, enhance and empower these children and their families in preparation for their return home.

The purpose of this pilot project is to promote positive parenting practices, strengthen connections and enhance emotional support to the families whose children are in the daycare boarding service, are in their final year and are expected to return home to stay at the end of that year. This working model gives a voice and space for an emotional dialogue between children and their families in care services, using a variety of art media.

A large percentage of the children in AHAVA Village are the first or second generation of migrants to Israel from countries around the world. These are low-functioning families with complex needs who, in addition to facing daily challenges, may also be confronted by cultural, lingual and emotional issues. Needless to say, all these factors endanger the parent-child relationship and the free flow of emotional expression. The article reviews existing dyadic models (Ben Aharon et al., 2001; Gavron, 2013; Manzano et al., 1999).

Keywords: art therapy; dyad; emotional need; emotional growth; mentalization; reflective practice