Materials Needed Include:
Shadowbox, shoebox, or any box that has an inside and outside, paints, scrapbooking paper, stickers, mementos (to put within), or create artwork to go in.
Goals Are:
1. Identify and collect things or memories about deceased loved ones.
2. Say goodbye to the lost loved one and increase openness about loss.
Directives:
1. Have clients pick outbox they want to work with and decorate.
2. Prompt client that this box will be a way to remember things about lost loved ones.
3. Clients will want to first decorate the outside of the box in any way they desire. The therapist can provide paints, stickers, and scrapbooking paper.
4. Once outside is finished, the therapist will instruct to work inward. The box can show inner and outer differences and also be a place to put mementos.
5. This box can be a project that the client goes back to. They can bring things from home to put in the box or create things in a session that can be stored in the box.
6. Client might want to share memories about the loved ones, so therapists should take time to talk about the box when it is completed, but also when things are added to it. Encourage openness throughout the intervention.
7. Work with clients to process the grief from the lost loved one and give them a place they can honor that memory.
8. Instruct the client to clean the area before the session ends.
Adaptations & Safety: The box project may be a useful tool for clients to have a space for the memories of a loved one. A shoebox is a found object that can be turned into a memory box, but one can create the box as part of the process. A shadowbox may be implemented if available. The box could also be used to show the inner self or outer self in another art intervention. When clients are using paints and glues, be sure after use they are properly shut, and the therapist is watching when clients are cutting with scissors
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