Emotional paintings.

In conversation with Brian O’Connell
Feb 6 2007

Irish Times
(c) 2007, The Irish Times.

My Working Day

Gerardine Walsh, art therapist, often feels she is acting as a witness to what her clients express through their paintings I am employed with the Health Service Executive (HSE) in South Lee Mental Health Services, as part of a multidisciplinary team that comprises a large range of mental health professions including psychiatric nurses, social workers, psychologists, doctors and counsellors.
This team is community based, so ideally our goal is to prevent admission and provide support and treatment for people in their community and in their home.

I receive referrals from members of the team and this professional contact is not only vital, but it also supports me. My work day usually begins with a team meeting where we discuss patients, after which I prepare the art studio. Usually I then have appointments for one-on-one or group sessions.
The one-on-one session takes one hour while the group takes an hour and a half. I work with a broad spectrum of mental health issues ranging from mild to severe difficulties.

As an art therapist, the image holds meaning for the artist/patient on many levels, both conscious and unconscious. The beautiful thing for me is to sit and be present while people work in a group.
The atmosphere in the room is soft yet focused. If you imagine a child drawing and colouring, there is a bubble of soft concentration. This is what it is like in group art therapy, when patients engage with themselves, totally absorbed in the art-making process and the therapy creeps in all by itself.

The process is non-directive, patients are provided with a range of materials and the session begins with a meditation to ground and centre the group. Part of my job as an art therapist is to put people at ease so that they feel free to use the art materials in whatever way they wish to support where they are. I often see shifts in style or content in a patient’s work. This reflects the patient’s changing relationship with themselves. 
 
Some of my patients like to call this soul work. As I watch a patient work, I often get a sense that they are gently unwinding some trauma from the depths of their soul. My response to the patient is sometimes verbal, talking about their art, the feelings that have come up, their struggles and their own insights.

I support them through the three-pointed therapeutic relationship of the image, the patient and the therapist, to integrate their feelings and, over time, access their strengths. At other times my response is non-verbal – just noticing the movements or the flow of their work. I often feel I am acting as a witness to what the patient has expressed, yet so often images speak for us when words fail or are difficult to find.

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Art Therapy for all Those Affected by Cancer

NEWS | Art Therapy for all Those Affected by Cancer | CommunityNI.org | The portal for the Voluntary and Community Sector in Northern Ireland | Supported by NICVA

Art Therapy for all Those Affected by Cancer Art therapy encourages you to express yourself and communicate how you feel. Sometimes it is hard to find words to say how they feel and what they are thinking and Art Therapy can be another way to express things.

When I’m not Laughing, acrylic on card.

Clients externally express their internal feelings without words in art therapy When you or someone close to you has cancer it is normal to feel anxious, frightened and worried about the future. Everyone copes differently but most people wish to convey these new feelings they are experiencing. Sometimes it is good to express ourselves to someone who has helped others with these issues.

Ulster Cancer Foundation’s Art Therapist has been specially trained and is experienced in helping patients, families and care workers cope with cancer. In Art Therapy, people are encouraged to express what they cannot say with words through drawing, paintings, sculpture, collage or other art forms. The actual process of art can also alleviate emotional stress and anxiety and provide relief from painful or troubling feelings.

Art therapy is not about teaching art and it’s not necessary to be artistic in order to benefit from the process. Emphasis is on the creative exploration and not on the art product, so even making simple strokes on a page can lead to enlightening results for participants.

Art Therapy provides a way for people to come to terms with emotional conflicts, increase self awareness and express unspoken and often subconscious concerns about the illness and their lives. It can act as a distraction for participants, providing time for relaxation, managing stress and promoting clarity of thought, all of which assist in leading to a greater sense of well-being.

The sessions are entirely confidential and take place in a safe, non-judgmental environment. Ulster Cancer Foundation’s Art Therapy sessions are free of charge and run at Ulster Cancer Foundation, 40/44 Eglantine Avenue, Belfast as well as Macmillan Support and Information Centre at Belfast City Hospital.

If you would like further information or to register for a session, please contact Mari Flannery on Icon of a telephone 028 9066 3281 or Icon of a telephone 028 9068 0756. Mari K. Flannery, State Registered Art Therapist Mari K. Flannery obtained her MSc in Art Therapy at Queen’s University, interning in mental health, cancer care, with individuals possessing severe physical disabilities, hospital based settings and residential homes.

Throughout these placements and previous placement experience, she developed a considerable understanding of the art processes underpinned by a sound knowledge of the therapeutic practice.

Contained Chaos, mixed media.

The art created is something the participants can control. Expressing emotions through the materials can be freeing, especially when things seem chaotic. Prior to moving to Northern Ireland, Mari trained in the psychology, studio arts and non-verbal communication at New York University, earning a Bachelor of Science. Thereafter, she qualified as a Creative Art Therapist within The New School University, carrying out her art therapy placement at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

She is currently working for Ulster Cancer Foundation and at the Macmillan Support and Information Centre. Mari K. Flannery is a registered member of The Health Professions Council, The British Association of Art Therapist, The American Art Therapy Association, The Northern Ireland Group for Art as Therapy and The International Networking Group of Art Therapist. She has had articles printed in international art therapy publications and holds a strong psychotherapeutic understanding of the importance of boundaries, respect and confidentiality.

Source of article HERE

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What is different about working with difference?

ARC Conference

ARC CONFERENCE ‘What is different about working with difference?’ 27 April 2007 10am – 4pm

Venue: Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London (opposite Euston Station)

The Art Therapy Race and Culture sub group of the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) is holding a conference that aims to:

* Promote and foster inclusion within the art therapy profession.

* Explore different theoretical approaches for working with difference. Keynote speakers from diverse theoretical and cultural backgrounds will address how their particular theoretical approach makes a difference in working with difference.

Keynote speakers include: Camila Batmanghelidjh and Professor Di Waller Workshop leaders include: Marian Liebmann, Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq and Deirdre McConnell Through this conference we plan to

* Develop a theoretical and practical toolbox of approaches which art therapists will be able to use in their work settings.

* Influence the ways in which art therapy and equalities are addressed and taught in art therapy training institutions.

* Have a positive impact on practice and the development of the profession.

Download application form >>

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Group Analytic Art Therapy (book review)

Book Fills Gap in Art Therapy Literature – OhmyNews International

Book Fills Gap in Art Therapy Literature
Providing both insight and encouragement

Ambrose Musiyiwa (amusiyiwa)
Article
Published on 2006-05-20 15:10 (KST)

Group Analytic Art Therapy

By Gerry McNeilly

Jessica Kingsley Publishers

240 pages
GBP £18.99. US$24.95

Gerry McNeilly’s “Group Analytic Art Therapy” fills a gap in group art therapy literature on both sides of the Atlantic.

It highlights the deficiencies in group art therapy literature, and the sparseness of research in art therapy, in the United Kingdom.

The book reinforces the need for art therapy theoreticians and professionals to continue researching aspects of their profession and writing about their efforts.

It encourages them to reflect on their practice and to share those reflections with the wider community of professionals working in therapeutic enterprises.

McNeilly observes: “There is only one art therapy journal in the U.K., ‘Inscape,’ and this has published little on group art therapy … I’m aware of only two books that address groups specifically from a psychotherapy perspective: ‘Group Interactive Therapy’ (Waller 1993) and ‘Art Psychotherapy Groups’ (Skaife and Huet 1998), which covers a wide range of clinical settings from a number of British art therapists.”  Continued….

Introduction to the profession of art therapy (UK)

Introduction to the profession of art therapy

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROFESSION OF ART THERAPYSaturday 1st July 2006 10 am to 5.00 pm

BAAT Offices, 24-27 White Lion Street, London N1 9PD

Convenors: Val Huet and Janet de Heger
Fee: £100 including refreshments and lunch

Are you looking for a new career that involves creativity and personal growth? Whether you are starting to shape your professional path or want to change an established work career, this workshop will help you to find out if the profession of Art Therapy may suit your needs.

We will introduce the professional context of Art Therapy and its development. We will explain the basic concepts of Art Therapy and present and present a case study of a group of clients with drug and alcohol addiction. We will also give an overview of the various pathways available to train in Art Therapy and there will a 'surgery' time at the end of the day to meet individually with one of the convenors to discuss your personal needs.

Continued here: http://www.baat.org/event014.html

Grant for charity’s art therapy

Cambs Times – Grant for charity’s art therapy

Grant for charity’s art therapy
24 March 2006

WEB EDITORIAL – webdesk@herts24.co.uk

THE Fenland Project of Peterborough and Fenland MIND, the charity for people suffering from mental illness, has just received a grant of £4,400 from Lloyds TSB for its MindArt and Therapy Project.

The money will be used to provide weekly complementary therapy and art sessions for service users all on one day. The benefits of these activities could make all the difference to assist in recovery. Sandra Cutts, manager of the Fenland Project, said: “I’m so pleased that our clients will be given the opportunity to have a creative outlet in order to release stresses and provide a framework for positivity.

Complementary therapies are designed to bring a sense of wellbeing and relaxation and any social interaction helps to gain confidence’. Roger Symonds, project organiser, said: ‘We will be looking to recruit someone to oversee the delivery of the project on Fridays. They will oversee the tutors and support the people taking part. Anyone interested in volunteering with us, or taking part in the classes or even being part of our team should call the office on 01354 658058.’ The sessions, to be held initially in March and led by artists and therapists, are due to start sometime after April.