The Voice of CCNU In order to provide warm education and enable students to convey kindness and connect their hearts through art therapy, cultural inheritance and emotional interaction, on the evening of April 18th, the 24th "I Want to Hold an Umbrella for You" psychological group counseling activity of Happy Night School was successfully held in the Flow Space of the one-stop student community (East 18). This event was led by Yu Xuan, a national Second-level psychological counselor and a counselor from the School of Life Sciences. A total of 15 members from various colleges participated.
The event kicked off with the art therapy guidance of Teacher Yu Xuan. Participants first engaged in free creation on pure white oil-paper umbrellas. Some sketched sunflowers growing towards the sun, some diffused a soothing gradient of sunset glow, and some hid small planets at the top of the umbrellas. When painting, one can hear the voice within oneself. Participants said when flower patterns fell on the umbrella surface, "It's like sealing the touching moments of growth in the umbrella."
The subsequent interactive session of "Holding an umbrella for Others" brought the atmosphere to a climax. Participants passed on their works in groups in a loop. Each person added new elements to the surface of others' umbrellas: some added a bright moon to their companions' starry sky umbrellas, some filled them with thriving vines, and others added scattered small flowers to them. This fusion of strokes that connect hearts makes each paper umbrella carry multiple kinds of kindness.
At the Story Drift sharing session, participants formed groups with classmates who shared the same elements on the umbrella, sharing their creative experiences and feelings with each other. Then, holding their works, they told all the participants the emotional narrative behind this paper umbrella. A paper umbrella painted with grass and the ocean evokes resonance - happiness is all four seasons. Another umbrella featuring a landscape of mountains and waters carries the moment of enjoying the sunrise at Lingbo Gate with friends.
Finally, Teacher Yu Xuan asked the participants to hold an umbrella for themselves, allowing their hearts to connect with the elements on the umbrella and thereby revealing their current feelings and guiding their future direction. At the end of the event, the participants said, "Through this activity, I felt that art is both a microscope and a telescope of the soul." This art therapy journey not only enables participants to relieve stress, promote emotional release and self-awareness through artistic creation, but also echoes the mental health construction concept of "Aesthetic education Nourishing the Heart" of the "Happy Night School" series of activities, allowing participants to experience the emotional cycle of "giving and receiving", and sowing the seeds of warmth in the campus.
Source: School of Life Sciences
Translator: Guo Yuqing
Date: May 1, 2025
