Background: Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate (CLP) children are clearly distinguishable from other children due to obvious oral or facial defects. CLP children tend to be dissatisfied with their appearance, have low levels of self-esteem, and hold distorted perceptions about their own face when compared to groups who have undergone less visible surgeries. Family art therapy should be introduced to this group of children to have them gain self-reliance and positive perceptions about themselves.

Objective: To interpret the meaning of pieces of artwork created by CLP and craniofacial deformed children via collaboration with their families in the form of family art therapy.

Procedures: A qualitative method was used to interpret the meaning of pieces of artwork created freely by CLP and craniofacial deformed children. Parents were allowed to assist the children doing the drawing. The children were from five families and participated in drawing pictures on A2 pieces of paper with chalk colors. Family Art Therapy involved parent-child collaboration in the creation of artwork prior to interpreting its meaning via a clinical psychology process.

Results: The CLP children and their families were able to freely create their artwork through family art therapy. There was suitable development among the CLP children exposed to this type of treatment, and the children realized that an imperfect physical appearance does not need to be a barrier to living a normal life.

Conclusion:   Positive self-acceptance was associated with less visible surgical scars among the CLP patients.