I recently read an article (Harding, 2018) about the use of what is traditionally considered a child's toy—building bricks—to reduce stress and improve resilience. This caught my interest as I have been using similar strategies for a few years in teaching. We have several Lego kits at the University and these can be used in many different ways to allow students to reflect and to express their feelings in a safe way.
For example, students used Lego to reflect on how they felt starting the Midwifery programme. We had previously discussed this and the students were honest, highlighting a natural apprehension and nervousness at returning to study and working in clinical practice. They were then asked to make something that represented their feelings, and the results were quite remarkable. Some students used the dark colours to represent their feelings about the first placement; one created a ‘bridge’ that they were scared to cross, representing practice; and another placed themselves in a separate physical area to peers as they started the course a few days late. All said that they hadn't really thought in advance what they might make. The models helped me to appreciate the depth of students' feelings, and we were then able to explore this and put in place more supportive networks. The students didn't have to explain their models and many chose not to; however, they did say that they felt it was quite a cathartic experience.
I have also used the same strategy when obtaining feedback from the caseloading module. The results again reflected the amount of pressure that students felt in providing continuity of care and ensuring women had the best possible birth experience. It also helped to highlight students' work-life balance and the challenges faced during Midwifery training. Some students then used Lego with their own children to encourage them to express their emotions and combine learning and family time.
Of course, time is sometimes limited and students don't always feel they can talk about what they have done well or the great experiences they have had. Creating a visual structure allows everyone to have a ‘voice’ and provides an alternative way of sharing feelings. Students can also complete a progressive project, such as a photo journal of artwork. Looking back to see the developments, and considering how they dealt with the challenges along the way, can be quite liberating and uplifting.
Art therapies are not just for students and there is a growing number of adults building models as a leisure activity, reporting that it is much more relaxing than playing computer games, which can be fast and aggressive. Harding (2018) also highlighted the case of a man who used Lego for post traumatic stress disorder and postnatal depression after early pregnancy losses. He felt that he had to support his wife and had no outlet for his own feelings. He found that Lego calmed him and allowed a break from his thoughts.
Another article (Cheung, 2016) reported the experiences of a man who found himself burnt out at work. By building models from kits he found he completely relaxed and focused on something other than work. Even David Beckham has been reported to use Lego to reduce anxiety (The Telegraph, 2014). The midwifery profession has reported high levels of stress and increased numbers of midwives leaving, so perhaps Lego is something to consider?
I went on to consider why such techniques might work better than other forms of mindfulness. Art is often used as therapy and increasingly so in healthcare; however, only a handful of students may feel artistic enough to paint pictures and might not want to share these. Building bricks use the same principles, but no skills are required and models can be changed easily without a feeling of failure or wasted time. Anybody can create a model.
Not everyone likes guided mindfulness, which may feel scripted and prescriptive when worked through in someone else's time frame. Creating a model is done at the individual's pace and perhaps without feeling self consciousness. Personally, I don't like sitting in a room being asked to relax parts of my body. I have, however, taken several day classes in art therapy, which worked well for me. Creating something, painting and seeing my thoughts come to life mean I am unable to think about outside stressors and I always end with a sense of calm.
I'm not suggesting that Lego and model building is for everyone, but games and art therapy could be a way to help build resilience, prevent burn out and allow for a different way of reflecting.