ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the decolonizing effects of applying Edith Kramer’s methods to a puppet-making group in a large day treatment mental health facility in Manhattan. We learn that the most hardened, angry borderline personality disordered patient can become a warm, generous group member, if allowed to work with small, animated representations of human characters over a period of time, because, as neuroscience research shows, humans respond to these diminutive characters with positive brain chemistry. Part of the decolonizing effects of the art as therapy approach is that it focuses on building inner strengths and resilience rather than adapting to the possible harmful cultural norms.
