In my master’s thesis, I write about the use of expressive and creative means in school counseling from the perspective of social workers employed in elementary school counseling
services. I focus on the ways in which social workers incorporate expressive-creative means into their work, how these means support them in working with students, what challenges and limitations they face in doing so, what changes they observe in students, and how competent they feel in using them.
In the theoretical section, I first present the role and specifics of school counseling work and the contribution of social work. I then define expressive-creative means and their significance in counseling work with children and adolescents in a primary school setting.
I obtained the results of the conducted research through semi-structured interviews with eleven social workers employed in counseling services at elementary schools across various regions of Slovenia. The results showed that all participants already incorporate expressive-creative
means into their daily work, most often in combination with conversation. Among the most frequently used are art materials, cards, and sensory means. Expressive-creative means provide social workers with significant support in establishing communication, building a trusting
relationship, and encouraging self-expression among students who are unable to put their experiences into words. They observe changes in students in the emotional-behavioral and
cognitive domains, as well as increased motivation to participate and improvements in relationships and communication. The interviewees identified a lack of time and materials, financial constraints, and uncertainty regarding their own competencies as the most common
obstacles. Most participants rate themselves as partially competent and would like additional practical training. The results also revealed insufficient systemic support in the area of expressive and creative resources, which prevents their more frequent and systematic use in school counseling services.
|