Art and Movement at the Service of Children Who Are Victims of School Bullying

The pain medicine consultation at Necker Enfants Malades Hospital sees very regularly and more and more frequently children and adolescents referred for unexplained chronic pain (abdominal pain, headache, limb pain) often associated with sleep disorders, eating disorders and behavioral disorders.

Sometimes, these disorders are so important that they invade the daily life of the child and lead to school absenteeism that can go as far as dropping out of school.

It is by dint of a specific listening, of patience, of taking into account the word of the child in consultation, that often, bonds are woven and the young patients confide on the past or present school bullying.

The pain medicine consultation at Necker Enfants Malades Hospital will offer these patients the opportunity to participate in two workshop sessions:

• st workshop: The art of movement - 10 sessions (1 hour per session) The first thing children/teenagers will discover is the importance of breathing. They will be able to reclaim it and then experiment with it in pairs, with others, in different conditions.

This work, accompanied by an experienced teacher, will consist of connecting/reconnecting to one's body through situations involving the physique and the small and large muscle groups, gently, at each person's pace.

Young people will learn to be in movement (martial arts / dance) and to have the right posture with regard to different situations. Thus, they will experience this connection to themselves, to the other, to others, in conditions of cooperation or conditions known as opposition.

• nd workshop: creative art - 8 sessions (from 1 to 2 hours per session) The street-art sessions will take place in two stages. The first is the preparation phase (3 sessions) during which the participants will choose the theme and patterns.

The second stage will be the realisation phase of the mural on a wall of the Necker hospital.

This creative art will allow children and adolescents to experiment together, create, help each other, talk to each other to be able to move forward again.

These street-art sessions (art that attracts, fascinates, and is an integral part of contemporary art), could make it possible to convey ideas, values, emotions and ultimately to convey strong messages.

The creation in team will help children and adolescents to develop many social skills, such as patience, empathy, communication, respect for others, compromise, cohesion and tolerance. It will also help them develop trust in themselves and in each other.

The objectives of the study are to assess the benefits of the workshops offered to children and adolescents on self-esteem and on the feeling of pain and the impact of pain on daily behavior.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients referred to a chronic pain consultation at the Necker hospital with identification of school absenteeism or dropping out and having been the victim of school harassment
• Non-opposition of the holders of parental authority and of the child / adolescent
• Mobility to participate in workshops
• Patients fluent in French

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with proven psychiatric history, unwilling to work in a group
• Patients with reduced mobility