A Seoul Court provides children in divorced families with art psychotherapy

Statistics Korea says that 48.4 percent of couples divorced in 2015 were raising under-aged children. These young kids in divorced families are exposed to their parents break-up before they are mentally mature. As a consequence, they are faced with severe mental stress. “Children raised in shattering relationships blame themselves or experience fear, anger, and depression, even when their parents did not get divorced yet,” counselor Kim Hyun-min said. “In many cases, these kids often run away or attempt suicide.”

To this end, the Western branch of Seoul District Court introduced an art psychotherapy program to children exposed to family break-up after their parents filed for consensual divorce. When asked about the reasons for introducing such program, Chief Judge Lee Tae-jong said, “For under-aged children exposed to not only trial separation but also consensual divorce, their welfare is a value that should never be dismissed, One of the crucial responsibilities of the Court is to provide legal safety nets for these children.”

The court is currently running a counseling program on the second floor of its building where there is a separate room with art supplies and counselling provided by therapists. “Analyzing various behavioral patterns of children from divorced families during the art psychotherapies can provide evidence to recover separated relationships,” the court said.

The court also plans to open more communion programs, which encourage participation from both parents and children. The purpose is to ease mental anxiety of families suffering from post-traumatic pains after the separation.

“As direct victims of divorce, their despair from separations will eventually weigh heavily on the entire society as well,” Chief Judge Lee said. “While divorce cannot be stopped physically, it is now time for the court to discuss ways to minimize the collateral damages legally.”

Dong-Yeon Jung call@donga.com