People with disabilities have their own worlds that can only be entered through specific ways and means that many people do not master, and the arts are one of the most important entrances that navigate the worlds of this important group in society, which contributes to their rehabilitation, education and disclosure of their talents.

In order to learn about the role of art and its importance in the lives of people with special needs, the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) held an event entitled "The Role of Arts in Rehabilitating People with Disabilities", with the participation of experts and specialists from Qatar and several Arab countries.

During the event, the participants reviewed how the practice of arts by people with disabilities - especially those who tend to isolate themselves - contributes to overcoming the lack of self-confidence and feelings of inadequacy and inferiority.

They also stressed the importance of art in enabling people with disabilities to express their struggles and problems, and their feelings, without relying on verbal expression in a direct way.

Part of the audience in the event of the role of arts in the rehabilitation of people with disabilities in Katara (Al Jazeera)

The future of psychotherapy

During the event, a number of important axes were focused, including modern strategies in the education and training of people with disabilities, the use of arts as an aid, and its impact on their psychological aspects, in addition to the role of universities in preparing teachers to use arts in education, and the role of the family in teaching modern methods to their children. As well as personal experiences of people with disabilities in the arts.

University Professor of Psychology, Dr. Muhammad Al-Enezi believes that art therapy will have wide repercussions in the future of psychotherapy for people with disabilities, noting that this type of therapy was not a newborn, but began to work half a century ago and is still practiced in Western and Eastern environments. .

Al-Enezi says - in a statement to Al-Jazeera Net - that some believe that art therapy is limited to presenting some drawings or works of art and presenting them to the person with disabilities, which is reflected in psychological satisfaction, explaining that this belief is wrong.

He explains that art therapy is done by letting the disabled person get out what is inside him and what he carries himself by presenting him with a drawing or a stereo, for example. Through this work, he expresses what is inside him, given that he cannot express in a proper way.

Excerpts from the cultural symposium "The Role of the Arts in Rehabilitating Persons with Disabilities", organized by the Arab Club for Empowerment and Care of Persons with Disabilities in cooperation with #Katara, and under the supervision of the Doha International Center #Qatar #Promise2022 #Katara_Cultural_Destination #Katara_Cultural_Tourist_Destination# We are all_hand_in_hand_for_your_safety pic.twitter.com/ZB9w7B6

— Katara |

Katara (@kataraqatar) June 21, 2022

Arab societies

Al-Enezi points out that through the work provided by people with disabilities, specialists or psychotherapists can see their problems and know their internal conflicts in the subconscious.

Al-Enezi asserts that art therapy is much broader than just sitting with the disabled and offering them some drawings. The treatment is the success in changing the behaviors of the disabled and their ability to express themselves, self-confidence, and vent their anger, pointing out that many studies and research conducted on the disabled who have been exposed to this. The type of treatment, revealed the change in their psyche and the way they deal with life and venting their anger, and the development of the way they communicate with others, especially that the disabled suffers from a problem in the issue of adapting to others.

As for the ability of Arab societies to accept this type of unconventional treatment, the professor of psychology believes that these societies love art, and therefore will easily accept the method of art therapy provided that it is presented correctly by qualified specialists, and is not limited to a specific style such as drawing, for example, stressing that art There are many pictures, and it is not limited to drawing or engineering, but rather to the poem, the expressive word, the laughter, the jokes, etc., and when presented in an optimal manner, it will be accepted without hesitation.

For her part, the Director of the Doha International Center for People with Special Needs, Dr. Hala Al-Saeed, says that the training and rehabilitation of people with disabilities has become dependent on non-traditional methods far from stagnation, noting that art therapy and education are among these modern methods.

Hala Al-Saeed says that training and rehabilitation of people with disabilities has become dependent on non-traditional methods (Al-Jazeera)

talent discovery

Al-Saeed explained - in a statement to Al Jazeera Net - that through the arts, people with disabilities are trained on a set of skills, with the aim of bringing about a behavioral, cognitive or motor modification for them, or discovering talents and creative aspects and then developing them.

She points out that the rehabilitation of people with disabilities through art differs from one person to another, and according to the disability they suffer, noting that there are disabled people who are attracted to music, drawing or handicrafts (applied art), while others are attracted to acting and singing.

Al-Saeed pointed out that people with disabilities are trained in various types of arts, and according to their response to a specific type of art, the entrance to their education and rehabilitation is determined, and during the training, talents can be discovered and thus support and develop their talents.

Maryam Al Mulla presented her personal experience and how art contributed to overcoming the pain of disability (Al Jazeera)

The Director of the Doha International Center for People with Special Needs confirms that art is an auxiliary factor in the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, through which some behaviors are modified and some skills are acquired, stressing that art cannot treat people with motor disabilities, but it gives them some skills and cognitive aspects, in addition to providing them with aspects development, such as comprehension, comprehension, and comprehension.

During the event, Qatari artist Maryam Al Mulla, as a person with disabilities, presented her personal experience, and how art contributed to overcoming the pain of disability that she was suddenly exposed to and made her unable to move.

She pointed out that her artwork - represented in her plastic drawings to simulate authentic Qatari art, which she presented in several exhibitions - won the admiration of the public, which contributed to raising her morale a lot, raising the ceiling of her artistic ambitions and targeting global reach.