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Description
In educational institutions children with behaviour and emotional difficulties interfere with educational process because of their unacceptable, aggressive, fighting behaviour. Children`s behaviour and emotional difficulties are best revealed at elementary school. It is important to recognize the difficulties of children`s behaviour and emotions during this period and to provide timely assistance.
The aim of the project: to provide therapeutic services to children with behavioural and emotional difficulties to help them adapt more easily to the social environment.
During the project we plan to provide group dance-motion and psychodrama therapy services. These would be additional services to the assistance provided by school specialists to these children with and to their parents.
This project offers therapeutic activities aimed to strengthen children’s relationship with themselves and others. Selected movement, role play oriented group therapies based on the needs of this age group (self-awareness, relationship with age mates, safety), are full of physical activity, development of coordination and self-esteem. Psychodrama classes will enhance the inner harmony of children, help them to adapt to different situations, stimulate and organize children`s mental and physical activity, balance their emotional state and provide the opportunity to know themselves better. Dance-motion therapy will increase awareness, self-esteem, reveal interactions of thoughts, feelings and actions, communication opportunities. A deeper self-awareness of children through therapeutic activities will make it easier for children to adapt to the school`s social environment by supporting the child and family together with the team of the educational institution. Children suffering from behaviour and emotional difficulties, successfully adapted to the school social environment, will be able to: fulfil the tasks for their age, develop interpersonal relationships.
Summary of project results
Project “Therapeutic Assistance to Children with Behaviour and Emotional Difficulties and Problems”. Children`s behaviour and emotional difficulties are best revealed at elementary school, i.e. for children aged 7-11. It is important to recognize the difficulties of children`s behaviour and emotions during this period and to provide timely assistance. The aim of the project: to provide therapeutic services to children with behavioral and emotional difficulties to help them adapt more easily to the social environment. Target group: children of 7-11 years old (60 persons) with behaviour and emotional difficulties from the City of Marijampolė.
During the project we provide group dance-motion and psychodrama therapy services. This project offers therapeutic activities aimed to strengthen children’s relationship with themselves and others and to discover their individuality. The aim of the project has been partially achieved. The task of “organizing psychotherapy and dance-motion sessions for children with behaioral and emotional difficulties” has been achieved in part because the results have been achieved in part, but change has been fully achieved.
The planned result was to provide services to 60 children, to provide 2 new therapeutic services, to conduct 75 psychodrama and 75 dance-motion therapy sessions. However, due to the smaller number of children involved in the activities (48 children participated, 24 children in each therapy), less was spent, i. y. after 60 both types of therapeutic sessions. The planned target change was achieved in full and with a smaller number of project participants. It was planned that 30 % or9 children would improve their behavior at the end of each treatment and 50 % or 15 children would attend all 15 treatment sessions. Summarizing the questionnaires completed by the parents, it can be seen that psychodrama had an effect on 8 children (33 %) and dance-motion therapy on 9 children (37 %). After the psychodrama therapy sessions, parents aseessed that children‘s behavior had changed in 5 areas: being able to focus on one object for longer; easier to understand and follow multi-step instructions; less distracted and forgotten; less talk, interrupt others, listen; more easily manages their feelings and emotions, adapts to social situations. After the dance-motion therapy sessions, the parents assessed that the children‘s behavior had changed in 8 areas: longer focus on one object; less inadvertent movement; easier to follow instructions; work less impulsively; les stalk and interrupt others; less frequently breaking the rules of conduct and order; it is easier to manage their feelings and emotions, to adapt to social situations and to understand the moods and feelings of those around them more easily. Consequently, the planned change in therapies has been achieved. Due to the impact of the pandemic, no child reached 100 % attendance. Attendance was rated as good with no more than 4 missed sessions. In both therapies, 16 children missed 1 to 4 sessions.
The implemented project in Marijampole was innovative, because no one provided such services in this region, the residents did not have information about the therapies used.