Building bridges with institutionalized orphans in Ukraine: An art therapy pilot study

Abstract

This pilot study used the art therapy Bridge Drawing assessment to measure if institutionalized orphans in Ukraine, isolated from society and without a secure parental attachment base, have the capacity to visualize and draw their future life, goals, and hopes. For this cross-sectional quantitative research, the Bridge Drawing directive was modified by means of including a path to encourage psychological and image response. Participants (N=258) from 32 Ukrainian orphanages between the ages of 8 and 20 completed the Bridge Drawing while attending a life skills camp in Ukraine. Less than half (44%) of the orphans drew a path in the right quadrant of the paper leading towards a future life. Not surprisingly, 86% of future comments were written by adolescent orphans who at the time of the study were psychologically preparing for their departure from orphanage to society. The results of this study confirm that institutionalized orphans have the ability to find meaning in life and are goal-oriented however, only a small proportion.