Doodles for Life: Using Emotional Intelligence and Art Therapy Principles for Health Promotion Lessons in Schools

The book Doodles for Life offers a practical educational approach that involves creating Emotional Intelligence-integrated lessons using interdisciplinary teaching methods. Grounded in Art therapy principles, this method fosters cooperation between educators and school psychologists. While traditional integrated lessons focus on academic subjects, this approach adds creativity to address mental health, education, and socialization in a single framework, enhancing students’ learning experiences and promoting holistic well-being. The approach gains particular significance in unexpected disasters that impact schools, cities, or entire countries, such as earthquakes, mass violence, or even war.When Russia initiated a war against Ukraine, authors began pondering how to assist the millions of children turned into refugees by the conflict—children who lost their homes, friends, or even one of their parents. It is widely recognized that art therapy is a universally effective tool for helping children who have endured various forms of psycho-trauma. Yet, while psychiatrists and psychologists cite individual case studies in their popular books, they often omit methodological steps. As an artist, Øistein has been teaching children for decades, intuitively nurturing their curiosity and creativity using the very principles that appear to be outlined in art therapy. After a brief conversation in one of the world’s oldest café in Venice, Darius and Oistein mutually agreed to devise a methodology and visually present it so that anyone, whether a psychologist, art therapist, psychiatrist, or teacher, could easily adopt and employ it for health promotion purposes.Finally, the realization dawned on us that our efforts hold the potential to benefit not only the children of war refugees or migrants but a wider audience. Our work proves applicable to anyone seeking to alleviate the ever-increasing levels of anxiety or depression among teenagers. Additionally, the broadest horizon unfolds as our methodology offers the means to cultivate Emotional Intelligence within any school or classroom across the globe. Feel free to adopt it and integrate it into practice.In the unfortunate event that your country faces a disaster, be it an earthquake, landslide, or the like, affecting a multitude of people, we firmly believe our methodology can aid children in managing and enduring the collective psycho-trauma they endure.H.E.S. embodies Mental Health Promotion, Education, and Socialization. Read more