ART THERAPY: HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND ADDRESS EMOTIONS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLASSROOM

The purpose of this document is to address a topic that is not typically covered in the classroom: emotional education. Art therapy serves as a fundamental tool for this purpose. Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses the visual arts as a means of restoring or improving mental health and emotional and social well-being. To this end, it focuses on self-awareness and social relationships, thereby promoting the expression of emotions and improving social interactions. Throughout this paper, we will discuss the type of emotional education that should be addressed in elementary school classrooms and its importance for students' development and growth. We will also discuss art therapy, highlighting all the possibilities it offers and a series of activities that can be carried out in the classroom to identify problems among students, address classroom violence, help improve social relationships, and teach students how to express their emotions through visual and fine arts education.