Case Study - Crabwalkers

Crabwalkers is part of the Minack’s outreach programming. It is a therapeutic arts group supporting West Penwith primary age children (5-11 years), and their families who have been affected by trauma and loss. Other issues in the group include panic and anxiety, body image, parental divorce, dysautonomia and more.

In 2023 we started our regular Thursday sessions and moved venues three times. Aware of how critical consistency is for the Crabwalkers, we developed a roster of Summer Sessions ‘23 including a beach trip, cooking day, sports day and more which kept the group connected into the new school year. In 2023 we forged a great rapport with local places such as the Penzance Library in St John’s Hall where we regularly facilitate library visits. We encourage the Crabwalkers to get library cards and find books, refine what they like, read, tell stories and have a local place away from home where they feel comfortable. Last year’s goal was to get the Crabwalkers comfortable to be away from their parents/guardians, as some of them would not participate in any activities due to their experiences and high anxiety levels during the Covid pandemic. We worked with 7 children and their families over 2023. Now that they have bonded as a group, 2024 looks to be a great adventure. So far, we have already been to the library, the Newlyn Gallery and the theatre.

Our Thursday home base is the Exchange’s Engine room. The Crabwalkers absolutely love being in the gallery, discovering the different artist materials available, getting to know the people around the Exchange and getting to be so close to the art exhibits. We regularly visit the ever-changing exhibition space which consistently exposes them to new ideas and styles of art. We make sure to approach art with silliness and fun, dressing up as famous artists and critics and visiting the gallery in character (wigs and moustaches included!).

Life can be very serious for some of the Crabwalkers and play has been a huge part of building connections and trust which helps them to let their guard down in the sessions.

By engaging in activities which require imagination, problem-solving and working together, the Crabwalkers have been building the foundations of friendship every Thursday afternoon. To start, we take a breath together or shake out the day, building a slow connection to their breath and body. We play games, we sing, we act, we experiment with singing bowls and flow toys, instruments and all sorts of crafts including making Christmas baubles, decorating Montol masks to learn about Penzance historical customs or making art and Easter bonnets with unusual and recycled materials. Another key part of the sessions is preparing food together. We then sit around the table and share our news of the week. The Crabwalkers know that we don’t require good news or big news, but we are very encouraged that they share challenges they are facing; big and small they are another marker of growing trust.

The activities we offer encourage the development of their sense of self. For example: Each Crabwalker has a personalised notepad which serves as diary, sketchpad etc. They know their notepads are private and stay locked at the gallery, giving them another safe outlet to record feelings, draw, write a diary entry etc. If ever they need to step out of activities, their notepads are a tool to help them regulate and express their feelings.

We ask which internal qualities they possess and incorporate those words into art work (I am kind, brave, sensitive etc) then ask the group what qualities they see in each other. It has been a slow journey over a year to move away from external skills e.g. “I am good at...” to internal qualities “I am...”, but an important one. We do this because when children have a more developed sense of who they are and tools which they know and trust, they will be able to handle external stressors of school and life more easily.

Crabwalkers is a small group with a max capacity of 6. This is due to the nature of the group which is comprised of highly sensitive children who have more complex needs than average. Some of them are working through life-changing events and we cannot give the level of individual focus needed for more than 6. Having a small group allows us to keep secure reports on how each Crabwalker is doing week to week. Change itself is difficult for some of our Crabwalkers due to their adverse experiences, meaning we must give attention to how we develop the group, in particular when and how we introduce new people.

We know the importance of the work we do and that it needs to reach more children as we often receive referrals from schools and parents. However, we would need another group or current members to graduate before accepting others in.

This group fosters meaningful relationships with local children and their families. We are already seeing meaningful changes in how they interact with the world around them which will affect how these young people view themselves as they grow up and how they interact with their local community when they feel involved in it and supported by their local theatre and other community members. Current Crabwalkers include children related to Minack staff members, children who participate in Minack programmes such as Rising Stars and children in the West Penwith area who are vulnerable to falling through the cracks. Some of them are involved in SEND, CAMHS etc. We believe in making intergenerational connections by involving their parents and guardians, even siblings who are often affected by the same trauma, and talking bravely and boldly, particularly around grief and pain.

As a case study, we would like to tell you about a particular child, Child A, who joined in January 2023 at 8 years old referred with body image issues and a severe lack of confidence. Her parents are divorced, life has changed a lot for her within a short time and she finds school a difficult environment to be in. She is very bright, hyper-aware of her surroundings and experiences sensory overloads, particularly around getting dressed and dissociation in moments of stress.

In the first session she brought her best friend as her condition of attending. In following sessions, flying solo, she didn’t say a word and was unable to make eye contact with us or other children, a main reason her parents thought the group would be beneficial. Initially she was physically holding onto her mother before she left but was too terrified to speak and say what she needed in front of us. From consistent check-ins, to finding a shared language and using techniques such as keeping private session reports weekly, we are able to track her progress and communicate with her parents individually both in person and remotely between sessions, ensuring that we stay connected as her support system. This has allowed us to build a good relationship with both parents individually, another part of this group’s community core.

Breakthroughs with Child A started around playing with food, another big feature of Crabwalkers: encouraging them to experiment with their food in a way they may not be able to in other spaces. This seemed to take her attention off her body image with regard to food by replacing it with fun and friends. Over the summer she and her parent lost a close person to suicide. Not only did the loss of the person hit her hard but she also witnessed her parent’s loss and grief. She then had to move out of her current home as a result of their passing, another upheaval in a series. Unsurprisingly, Child A once again had a hard time leaving parents and speaking at all in the month following. This time, she opened up to us about processing the situation, her worries about her parents and more. Both parents have confirmed that this is a new phenomenon, not a natural pattern for her to open up outside the family.

Her growth in confidence has been noted by her teachers, parents and at Rising Stars, for which she auditioned at the end of 2023 and took part in a performance in February. Crabwalkers took a trip to see her, something that a year ago would have been unimaginable for the girl who hid behind her friend, struggled to speak and make eye contact.

Now she regularly leads games and can happily leave her parents. She is still a highly sensitive child, but she has a new space away from school and her parents, who are also affected by the trauma she has undergone, where she can come and talk about things she needs to. We have seen her explore parts of herself in a space where she knows it is OK to be brave, vulnerable and silly. Equally, she knows that if she shows up sad, angry or anything else that day, that is OK too.

“Crabwalkers has helped my daughter during a time when she has been dealing with many difficult things at once. Her self esteem and confidence have been improved significantly and she has been happier and felt safer in the world. Imogen is incredibly skilled at working with my daughter and the group of young people. She has become one of the few people that my daughter can call a trusted adult. The best thing about Crabwalkers is that all of this incredible work with the children is carried out through play and with bags of enthusiasm and fun. It has been absolutely life-changing over the last couple of years for my daughter, and we are so grateful to be a part of this very special group.” Parent feedback