Creating Shared Worlds: Promoting Mutual Aid and Community-Building Through Expressive Intervention

ABSTRACT

Families that are affected by sexual abuse experience high levels of isolation within their existing communities. The four interventions the authors detail—the community sandtray, creating a sandtray story, creating a community/city, and the welcome to the new group activity—highlight ways to utilize expressive techniques to build community and promote mutual aid. By promoting mutual aid through the use of activity, the communication and establishment of common ground between age-varied families may be achieved. The use of metaphor and other expressive techniques allows for safety to be maintained while dealing with taboo topics. These newly created communities and shared worlds allow clients to reconnected to the world after experiences that test one’s ability to trust and share with others.

KEYWORDS:

• Art-based intervention
• community building
• cross-cultural practice
• expressive intervention
• family intervention
• group work
• resilience building
• sandtray
• sex abuse