Wishing You a Wonderful Season of Celebration and a Happy, Healthy New Year!

On behalf of Art Therapy Without Borders, Inc., (a US 501(c )(3) organization), we would like to thank you for your continuous support and hope that you consider ATWB as you make your year-end charitable contributions! During the past year, approximately 10,000 professionals and students from around the world have participated in our social media platforms on LinkedIn and Facebook or followed our Twitter via ATWB partners, Art Therapy Alliance and International Art Therapy Organization. We are proud to facilitate forums for art therapists to connect with each other, share information, exchange art work, discuss issues important to professional practice, and promote their services, workshops and publications— all for free, something no other art therapy organization provides. We also have been humbled by the appreciation and gratitude so many of you have expressed. It is truly an honor and privilege for Art Therapy Without Borders, Inc. to be recognized as an international voice for the field of art therapy.

As you plan your year-end giving during this time, we hope you will make a charitable, tax-deductible donation to Art Therapy Without Borders, Inc. In 2012, we plan to expand our mission to include a comprehensive international disaster relief database of professional art therapists around the world, new international art exchanges, hiring of support staff to help with basic operations and other initiatives to strengthen our networking capabilities. But in order to do so, we need your help. So we ask you to consider a donation of $10, $25, or more in order to help us build a stronger collective, global voice to promote the work of art therapists and encourage the public to recognize the power of art to transform lives.

Remember, even a donation of only $10 [US dollars; our donation system accepts international currency too!] will help us to make do much more in 2012.

Thank you in advance for your support. From all of us at Art Therapy Without Borders Inc., we wish you a wonderful season of celebration and a happy, healthy new year!

Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPAT, LPCC, President

Gretchen Miller, MA, ATR-BC, Secretary

Don Cutcher, MA, ATR-BC, LCAT, Treasurer

Art Therapy Without Borders, Inc., is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit incorporation organized exclusively for charitable, educational, and networking purposes to promote, develop, and support international art therapy initiatives and the work of art therapists worldwide.  ATWB was founded to meet the need for an organization dedicated to a global art therapy community and the use of art in service to others in need through art therapy, art in healthcare, and art for social transformation. ATWB is qualified to accept tax deductible donations, transfers or gifts under Section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the US IRS code.

ATWB Advisory Council Spotlight on Jennifer Navarro, MA, ATR-BC, LMHC

During 2011,  Art Therapy Without Borders will be featuring members from the Advisory Council as an opportunity to learn more about their work and some of the art therapy initiatives they are involved in that speak to this community’s vision. September’s spotlight includes Jennifer Navarro:

Jennifer Navarro, MA, ATR-BC, LMHC has been adjunct faculty in the Lesley University Expressive Therapies Program for 8 years.  She is an artist, art therapist and blogger.  Her blog, Altered Art Therapist, focuses on  maintaining a personal commitment to art  making.  Jennifer specializes in using altered  books in supervision and recently presented nationally in the US on the topic. She currently works with adults in an inpatient psychiatric setting and for the past 15 years has worked with children, adults and elders in a variety of settings. She runs a vocational arts program that gives clients the skills to create and sell marketable art items. She is passionate about helping people understand and develop their creative abilities. Jennifer maintains a private practice in the Boston, Massachusetts area specializing in supervision.

 

Tell readers a little about yourself and what your interests are in art therapy: I am an art therapist living and working in Boston, MA. I am adjunct faculty at my alma mater Lesley University. My undergraduate degree is a Bachelor of Fine Arts and my graduate degree is a Master of Arts specializing in Art Therapy. I am an active member, along with my partner, of the Unitarian Universalist church, which has a strong emphasis on social justice issues. I work with an adult population at a state hospital in the Rehabilitation Department of the psychiatric units. Within art therapy, my interests are vocational arts, altered books, training the next generation of art therapists and best practices with underserved populations.

What do you believe are important considerations or emerging issues for the international art therapy community to pay attention to? In preparing for teaching a course on Art Therapy for Adults with Mental Illness, I am reminded again and again of how we have misunderstood and mistreated people with mental illness over the years. I hope that we never forget the days of locking away, lobotomizing, chemically restraining and confining to deplorable conditions those with mental illness. Unfortunately, some of these practices continue in all parts of the world and I think it is our obligation as clinicians and humans to speak out against these and other more subtle violations of human rights and dignities. Working in a state hospital brings me face to face with the history of mistreatment of the mentally ill, but it also brings me an opportunity to bring hope and make a positive difference. While studying the history of the treatment of mental illness, I have learned that there have been many movements along the way to improve practices as far back as the 1800s. What is old is new again as we constantly strive as clinicians and art therapists to play a role in continuously maintaining our awareness of human rights and dignity for those with mental illness around the world.

What are some special art therapy projects you are working on in 2011? I am thrilled to be a part of 6 Degrees of Creativity! I am honored to be included in this group of art therapists as we prepare to unleash our series of art therapy workshops.  My contribution will be on the art and craft of beeswax collage and some tips on living a more artful and art filled life.  Last December, I started my blog Altered Art Therapist.  My initial hope was that writing a blog would help me keep a personal commitment to myself to make art on a regular basis, as that is something I believe is important for all art therapists. The blog has blossomed and I have had a great response to it. I find that maintaining my commitment to my blog keeps my creative juices flowing and helps me honor my “creativity commitment.” I am also bound and determined to get a book published! It has been cooking on a back burner for two years now and it is my goal to make significant progress on it in 2012. Stay tuned!

How can people contact you or find out more about your work?  My blog, Altered Art Therapist, can be found at http://jennavarro.wordpress.com and you can reach me via email at jennavarro@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

ATWB Advisory Council Spotlight on Elizabeth Beck, MA, ATR

During 2011,  Art Therapy Without Borders will be featuring members from the Advisory Council as an opportunity to learn more about their work and some of the art therapy initiatives they are involved in that speak to this community’s vision. August’s spotlight includes Elizabeth Beck:

Originally from Montreal, Canada, Elizabeth Beck, MA, ATR currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Liz is a leading blogger on the subject of art therapy, where she connects art therapists to news and trends by discussing subjects including, but not limited to, new technology, ethics, research, trauma, developmental disabilities and new media. Liz is also responsible for managing and editing article content focusing on different issues and topics related to art therapy as Features Editor for FUSION.

Tell readers a little about yourself and what your interests are in art therapy: I initially became interested in art therapy following my own experience using art making as a way of psychologically managing the effects of Crohn’s disease. I was diagnosed almost 20 years ago, but it was 10 years ago that I turned to art making as a way of coping with a complication that could only be repaired surgically. I waited over 6 months, sometimes inpatient, for a space to open in the operating room. Bored, scared and anxious, I began producing mixed media paintings visually representing what was happening to my body and then sewing stitches over the wounded areas as a way of imagining its repair.  So, art making in the face of a difficult life situation came naturally to me, and it felt right to help others discover this as well. I graduated from Drexel, formally known as Hanhemann, in 2007 with an MA in Creative Arts in Therapy: Specialization Art Therapy. During my practicums I gained experience working with children, families and adults, including a one year internship with men and women suffering from eating disorders. After graduation I concentrated on working with a different population—adults dually diagnosed with a developmental disability and an Axis I disorder. I also started my blog in 2007 (it was a big year for me!), which I still maintain. I try to focus on contemporary art therapy issues including news, research, ethics and technology. In 2009, I began editing for the Features Section of FUSION, where I’ve had the pleasure of working with Gretchen and Cathy to put together a great read for art therapists. And, most recently, I’ve launched Liz Beck Designs, where I offer web design, website usability, ethics and technology consultations for art therapists.

What do you believe are important considerations or emerging issues for the international art therapy community to pay attention to?  The internet has offered numerous ways for art therapists from around the globe to interact, share ideas and market themselves and their practices. Web 2.0, the social internet, has made all this possible. But with it comes new and sometimes unforeseen ethical issues and responsibilities. Credentialing bodies across all professions, not only art therapy, struggle to keep up with the rapidly changing virtual landscape, and in most cases are failing to guide their members adequately. So, it’s up to each one of us to carefully consider the implications of our virtual interactions and vocalize our opinions in order to shape the collective ethical art therapy consciousness.  In addition, learning about the possibilities virtual spaces have to offer and how to integrate new technologies within art therapy practice will be an important part ofbeing an art therapist in years to come. Although this may seem intimidating to many art therapists, technology is rapidly becoming less expensive, more intuitive to work with and more realistic in terms of human computer interaction. I believe that in years to come it won’t feel difficult or out of the ordinary to use new technologies within art therapy practice, and this will open up new possibilities across the globe.

What are some special art therapy projects you are working on in 2011?  I recently gave a webinar discussing the basics of having an online presence as an art therapist and tips on staying ethical as we interact on the web. I’m planning to give more art therapy and technology talks in the future.

How can people contact you or find out more about your work?  I love interacting with other art therapists and giving advise to those thinking about pursuing a career in art therapy! You can contact me through my blog, website, the Liz Beck Designs facebook page, twitter and LinkedIn.

ATWB Advisory Council Spotlight on Fiona Chang, REAT, RSW, M. Soc. Sc.

During 2011,  Art Therapy Without Borders will be featuring members from the Advisory Council as an opportunity to learn more about their work and some of the art therapy initiatives they are involved in that speak to this community’s vision.  July’s spotlight includes Fiona Chang:

A Registered Expressive Arts Therapist, Registered Social Worker and Trainer, Fiona Chang, REAT, RSW, M. Soc. Sc. has more than 17 years of experience integrating multimodal expressive arts processes in counseling and group therapy throughout a variety of settings in Hong Kong. Fiona is the Vice-chairperson of the “Art in Hospital” and honorary advisor of several patient self-help organizations. She is also an Honorary Lecturer of the Department of Social Work and Social Administration and Honorary Clinical Associate of the Centre on Behavioural Health of the University of Hong Kong. Fiona serves as a Regional Coordinator and a member of the International Committee of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA), a member of the Advisory Council of Art Therapy Without Borders (ATWB) and a member of the Southwestern College Board of Advisors. She also conducts lectures and workshops at several universities and NGOs, locally and internationally.

Tell readers a little about yourself and what your interests are in art therapy:  Since I was a little girl, I loved to use art, singing, lyrics and dramatic play to express myself.  I have deeply experienced the healing potential of the arts in my own personal growth and journey.  I am very grateful to be an expressive arts therapist because I can do what I am really passionate about in both my personal and professional paths.

I studied a Person-centered Expressive Arts Approach with Dr. Natalie Rogers and Dr. Christine Evans at Saybrook University in the US and have integrated multimodal expressive arts processes in counseling and group therapy for nearly 18 years in a variety of settings, including but not limited to working with people with health challenges, deprived women, parents and children with special needs, ex-drug addicts and in palliative care.  As a mother, I have made use of home-based arts for child development and parent-daughter communication.  As a woman, I have used the arts to contain and express my true feelings in an artistic way.  I always find a new sense of self from the creative exploratory process. Such profound transformation can strengthen the Person-centered quality of my true being and bring me to a solid ground in clinical practice with positive regard, empathic understanding and congruence.

I am very interested in the blending of Chinese metaphors, art, culture, philosophy and rituals in the Western model of expressive arts therapy to actualize the self-healing potentials of each individual. For example,  the “Yin-Yang Mandala” is a wonderful invitation to explore the harmony between feminine and masculine or light and shadow of our inner world. “Xinjie” 心結 is a meaningful metaphor to the knots in our heart. We can use colorful strings to make symbolic knots to represent our difficulties, inhibitions, attachment and unresolved business in life. In the creative healing process, we can discover how to release, accept and learn from each knot.

What do you believe are important considerations or emerging issues for the international art therapy community to pay attention to?  With the convenience and rapid development of social media, people from different corners of the world can be connected without borders and become promptly closer to one another.  The Internet has become a fascinating platform for us to share our work in the art therapy field. The creative force from each individual can become a universal energy in bringing the true essence of arts to this world. Especially in some countries, art therapy is a new comer to the human service field. Having an international exchange and support platform is really helpful for promoting the worldwide development of art therapy. To furnish this exchange with human touch and ethical sensitivity, we can infuse humanity, mindfulness and creativity in the online platform.

Healing is possible in many communities when people who are passionate about sharing the gifts of expression through the arts are supported to follow the true calling from their heart. Different communities have their unique way of using art as healing, counseling and therapy, and as a result the art therapy field will become more dynamic and challenging in this decade.  With an international community walking the path of the changing world, it is vital to build up an open global family as a nurturing ground to embrace different blooming approaches, values and cultures of art therapy in this world. I do believe in the universal power of the arts to heal. Through a fruitful international exchange, we can learn from each other, respect each other, nurture cultural sensitivity and advocate for the true empowerment through the arts.

What are some special art therapy projects you are working on in 2011?  With the support of Dr. Natalie Rogers, Dr. Christine Evans, Professor Jack Weller, Ms. Anin Utigaard, Dr. Sandra Tsang and Professor Cecilia Chan, I recently rolled out a Three-year Training Program in Expressive Arts Therapy – The Person-Centered Approach at the Centre on Behavioral Health of the University of Hong Kong.  We just conducted two briefing sessions with more than 100 participants. We also got many enquiries from Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Macau and Mainland China. This is the first ever local program to train budding expressive arts facilitators, educators and therapists in Hong Kong. Our team members are excited and honored to be contributing to this development. For more details, please go to this program link.

In addition,  it is valuable to put our experience in words to share and consolidate our clinical practice.   I am now writing several English and Chinese book chapters on the application of expressive arts therapy in Hong Kong. Titles include “Awakening the Creative Resources of Cancer Patients”, “Using Expressive Arts to Advance Group Development” (善用人本表達藝術治療促進小組成長 in Chinese), “Integrating Person-centred Expressive Arts with Chinese Metaphors” and “Regaining Feminity from Breast Cancer with Expressive Arts”.  My dream is to write my own Chinese book on Expressive Arts Therapy in 2012.

I love my clinical practice and will continue to use the arts with people from all walks of life. This year, I have been invited to go to India and Sichuan to promote the healing arts and provide training to mental health professionals in some deprived areas. We are planning to work with the local people to spread and plant the seeds of arts in their homeland.

How can people contact you or find out more about your work?  I am inspired by the affection, beauty, creativity, delight, expression and freedom of arts in a person-centered approach.  I hope more people can use the arts to generate energy for growth with congruence, love, faith and creativity. You can find me at www.personcenteredexpressivearts.com or reach me at fionafoo@sw.hku.hk.

ATWB Advisory Council Spotlight on Caroline Maby

During 2011, Art Therapy Without Borders will be featuring members from the Advisory Council as an opportunity to learn more about their work and some of the art therapy initiatives they are involved in that speak to this community’s vision.  June’s spotlight includes Caroline Maby:

Artist and Art Therapist, Caroline Maby is the founding Director of Couleurs du Coeur,  a French non-profit organization that promotes humanistic philosophy and global collaboration through the use of  art therapy. Its primary mission is bring psychological care to victims of  PTSD, and more recently,  to children in Haiti.  Caroline works in France with various populations, including adults suffering from psychosis and bipolar disorders, violent adolescents and with people who are victims of exclusion.

Tell readers a little about yourself and what your interests are in art therapy: As far as I can remember, I have always been painting. As an artist, I dreamed of being a guide who could facilitate creation and encourage introspection.  Digitalism and interactivity was my first path. I developed Mind Art,  an interactive art concept with painting which became an innovative creation tool in the therapeutic environment.  Mind art is a digital experience which allows the individual to interpret the paintings in an intuitive and immediate way, according to her/his own sensibility. I first used the interactive installation in art  centers, then with people suffering from severe mental illness in psychiatric hospitals. These residencies provided my first contact with psychiatry and revealed my desire to become an Art Therapist. After years spent in institutions and residential treatment centers, I am now working in private practice with adults, adolescents and kids.  My practice is called Art Therapie Evolutive, inspired by the humanistic psychology of Maslow, Rogers, and Assagioli, symbolic analysm and the transformation of these drawings. I recently founded the humanitarian association Couleurs du Coeur (Colors of the Heart) which promotes the art-therapy in a united and humanist way. As organizer of the teams invested in Couleurs du Coeur’s international missions, I intervene regularly in Haïti and France with children suffering from PTSD and psycho-social troubles. I am just coming back from a 3 week training session in Port-au-Prince that was given to Haitian psychologists, caregivers, nurses, and teachers.

What do you believe are important considerations or emerging issues for the international art therapy community to pay attention to?   The aim of the Couleurs du Coeur was conceived by taking into great account the ethno-cultural aspects of the foreign culture we would meet. Haitian culture, beliefs like voodoo, and their symbolic color system is far different from ours. For example, pink might express sweetness to Caucasian people. Among Haitians, it is brown, the color of the skin. If we project our Western theories, this does not work and above all, is not respectful. I recommend this article published from MediaGlobal for more information about this work. Another consideration I would like to stress is the need to exchange our international practices in a free and open-minded way. Richness comes from differences. Exchanges with American and Canadian art therapists as well as my humanitarian work in Haiti as an art therapy trainer definitely helped develop my practice.

What are some special art therapy projects you are working on in 2011? As the President of Couleurs du Coeur, I wish to  establish a long term Art Therapy Training Program in Haïti. I am working hard to find partnership and places to settle the project. I am also working from France with a bright psychologist and Art Therapist in Kenya, Sikuku Martin, to conceive a global art therapy training program in Kenya.  Couleurs du Coeur is  ready to honor any demand of art therapy workshops in emergency situations or specialized art therapy training programs throughout the world.  Our experience in Haiti  has been precious. I also wish to develop my private practice in Brittany, France through organizing specialized workshops. I am especially interested in childhood trauma, women’s issues (breast cancer, domestic violence, self realization, etc.) and transpersonal approaches.

How can people contact you or find out more about your work? Do not hesitate to contact me by e-mail: caroline@couleursducoeur.org or this portal: www.myartbecomesyours.com (stands for my name «m a b y»). This site also provides access to the websites of Couleurs du Coeur, my studio for private practice and the interactive art experience Mind Art .

ATWB Advisory Council Spotlight on Gloria Simoneaux, MA, REAT, EXA

During 2011, Art Therapy Without Borders will be featuring members from the Advisory Council as an opportunity to learn more about their work and some of the art therapy initiatives they are involved in that speak to this community’s vision.  May’s spotlight includes Gloria Simoneaux:

Gloria Simoneaux, MA, REAT, EXA, is the founding director of Harambee Arts,  a program in sub-Saharan Africa. Gloria taught Expressive Arts to counselors in Nairobi as a Fulbright scholar, affiliated with the Kenya Association of Professional Counselors. She is the Founder of DrawBridge: An Arts Program for Homeless Children, has worked with pediatric oncology patients in San Francisco hospitals and is currently a consultant with Save the Children.

Tell readers a little about yourself and what your interests are in art therapy. I’ve worked with children using art since I was a 13 year old volunteer in a hospital in Brooklyn. My path has always been clear to me driven by my passionate love for children and my belief in art as a tool for healing. In 1980 I received a grant to work with pediatric oncology patients in two San Francisco bay area hospitals, using the arts for expression and healing. After eight years I needed a break from the overwhelming grief that surrounded me. In 1989, family homelessness was emerging as a big problem in America, with few safety nets. At that time, The Hamilton Family Center was the only emergency shelter in SF. I called the director and explained my interest in setting up a therapeutic arts program for homeless children. Within ten minutes, I was hired on the phone. Three months after that I was awarded a three-year grant to continue the work.  As the homeless problem grew, so did the numbers of shelters and transitional housing sites in SF. The new shelters also needed psycho-social support programs for the children, and so DrawBridge; An Arts Program for Homeless Children was born. Other staff joined the team and soon we were creating art with children in six shelters in three counties. After 20 years we were in seven counties; more than 25 shelters. I left DrawBridge in 2007 and it is still thriving. In 2008 I went to Nairobi, Kenya for a year and a half  as a Fulbright scholar to teach art therapy to psychologists and counselors throughout the country. Harambee Arts is the small non-profit organization that I started, also in 2007. We have three strong on-going community arts projects in Nairobi: 1- A support group for HIV+ women prisoners. 2- Arts programs for children with autism and Down’s syndrome and 3- Arts and leadership training for children in the slums of Kibera (Africa’s largest slum). Currently, I am a consultant for Save the Children (HEART Project), teaching trainers, and providing on-going support, in Nepal, Malawi and Haiti. I also oversee the Harambee Arts Project, directed by a young man from Rwanda.

What do you believe are important considerations or emerging issues for the international art therapy community to pay attention to? As art therapy becomes more accepted as an intervention world-wide, the issue that is foremost in my mind is acknowledging cultural differences. It is critical that people interested in sharing their skills internationally, learn to do so sensitively, without imposing our western ideas and standards.  I was recently asked to design and teach a course at CIIS (California Institute for Integral Studies) on Expressive Arts Internationally and how to work and teach in other cultures. It’s been a big challenge for me to be flexible and patient while working in cultures that are entirely different to the one I am accustomed to. I am still learning and practicing.

What are some special art therapy projects you are working on for/in 2011?  I’ve been a consultant with Save the Children since 2009 and I’m currently working on projects in Nepal, Malawi and Haiti. My burning interest at the moment is working with survivors of sexual trafficking and slavery. I had an opportunity to lead a training recently in Nepal for a miraculous group of 25 women survivors who have formed an organization called Shakti Samuha. After working with them, I became a bit obsessed and wanted to drop everything else to work side by side with the survivors. I’m trying to raise money to go back and do in depth therapy with the women and extensive training in expressive arts. I also worked (in Nepal) for the first time with hearing impaired children and I am excited to continue that work, as well. I’ll be making my first trip to Haiti soon and I’ve been preparing for the very different cultural experience (most of my experience has been in Africa and Asia). I have been told that children in Haiti are not recognized as human until after they join the workforce. 

4. How can people contact you or find out more about your work? My email address is: gloria@harambeearts.org and my website is www.hamrambeearts.org. I welcome communication from anyone who wants to find out more.

ATWB International Postcard Art Exchange Wraps Up

We’ve been busy receiving, reading, scanning, and posting postcards that have been arriving in our mailboxes since last week’s deadline for our International Postcard Art Exchange.  Participants signed up last fall and since then there’s been a postcard art frenzy from art therapists and art therapy students around the world!

Over 250 postcards were received by ATWB from 23 countries throughout the last six months.  It was great to see this collaborative project helping to provide connection and community about art therapy worldwide.

Visit the ATWB website to check out our slideshow featuring the postcards we received.  Postcards, blog postings, and comments about the project are also available to view on our Facebook page as well.  Thank you to everyone who participated!

If you are interested in future art collaborations happening within our communities, remember to stay connected to receive new announcements and updates!

ATWB Advisory Council Spotlight on Rebekah Chilcote, MA, ATR, PC

During 2011, Art Therapy Without Borders will be featuring members from the Advisory Council as an opportunity to learn more about their work and some of the art therapy initiatives they are involved in that speak to this community’s vision.  April’s spotlight includes Rebekah Chilcote, MA, ATR, PC:

Registered Art Therapist, Professional Counselor, and Fulbright Scholar Rebekah Chilcote, MA, ATR, PC has worked with child survivors of the Sri Lanka tsunami, children in Africa orphaned by AIDS and Palestine youth impacted by violence and war in the West Bank. Rebekah also currently serves as an Assistant Program Coordinator for the International Child Art Foundation’s Haiti Healing Arts Team and  works with the African Heart Art project.

Tell readers a little about yourself and what your interests are in art therapy: I am passionate about international art therapy and helping traumatized children world-wide.  I grew up in Africa as a missionary kid and as a twelve-year-old, spent every waking moment at an orphanage in Zimbabwe where I helped care for forty-five infants and toddlers, including baby Aaron who died of AIDS. This experience changed my life forever and I later returned to Zimbabwe as a Fulbright scholar to carry out a study on the use of art with children orphaned by AIDS. The materials were basic; the art tasks simple; the results profound. Children who had watched their family members die of AIDS had no chance to express their grief and pain. Their emotional needs, left unaddressed, were overwhelming.  Through drawing and painting the orphans opened their hearts to me, pouring out stories of trauma, but also hope. This was my first experience with the power of art therapy and I have since completed a master’s degree with the hopes of moving back to Africa to establish long-term art therapy programs there. In recent years, I have continued my passion of traveling the world, providing art therapy for traumatized children on four continents. I have lived and worked with child tsunami survivors in Sri Lanka, street kids in Ethiopia, homeless children in Cleveland, genocide survivors in Rwanda and most recently children traumatized by war in the West Bank, Palestine. People often ask me, ‘how can you stand the suffering?’ To me, it is the greatest honor of my life to walk beside those in desperate need. It is my holy ground.

What do you believe are important considerations or emerging issues for the international art therapy community to pay attention to?  I believe that addressing cross-cultural issues is of the utmost importance when discussing international art therapy today. The need to offer healing to those in need, while, at the same time maintaining cultural sensitivity and awareness is critical.  I believe it is important to avoid imposing western standards or methodology without understanding the culture you are in. Some questions I ask myself when arriving in a new country for the first time are: “What are the needs of the people here and how can I work along-side them to bring healing?” How do they express grief culturally?” “What healing mechanisms are already in place within the culture, such as art expression, dance, or tribal rituals?”

I strongly emphasize working hand in hand with the local people as this impacts program success in the short-term and sustainability of the program in the long run.  It is always my primary aim to enter into a new culture with gentleness, sensitivity and openness, offering my skills, but not imposing them. As more and more art therapists begin to explore and travel our world, the need for this understanding is great.

What are some special art therapy projects you are working on in 2011?  My efforts right now are focused on supervising the children’s program at a residential homeless shelter in inner-city Cleveland. I find the work both challenging and exhilarating; the children some of the most remarkable I have known.

I am spending a lot of time writing and am working on preparing a book for publication which will include children’s drawings, paintings, art therapy sessions and personal stories from around the world. In addition, I am writing grant proposals and applying for funding to establish an ongoing art therapy/ grief center on the continent of Africa (hopefully in Zimbabwe). With over one million children orphaned by AIDS in the country of Zimbabwe alone, the need for art therapy and grief work is great. I am hoping to connect with partners, both locally and globally to join me in this venture.

How can people contact you or find out more about your work?  Feel free to email me at rebekahchilcote@gmail.com or connect with me on Facebook.

FUSION Volume 3, No. 1- e-Zine for Planet Art Therapy

FUSION Volume 3, Number 1, an e-zine for Planet Art Therapy  and inspired by members and initiatives of Art Therapy Without Borders, Inc., The Art Therapy Alliance and International Art Therapy Organization [IATO] is now out!  FUSION is dedicated to a new energy, excitement, and blend of ideas, cultures, and people for a sustainable future in art therapy.

This issue features some of the exciting news, activities, and global work from art therapists worldwide to bring change and transformation to people’s lives and communities everyday. Learn about how art therapists are assisting with disaster recovery efforts in Japan, an update on ATWB’s International Postcard Art Exchange, Advisory Council interviews, our features section about art therapy & autism, and more!

Check out the video below to see a preview of this issue and download your free PDF copy here: http://www.atwb.org/FUSIONVol3No1.pdf

Feel free to share FUSION with your colleagues, students, classmates, and others who are interested in the world of art therapy and can benefit from receiving this free resource!

ATWB Advisory Council Spotlight on Paul Lee Thiam Seng, MA

During 2011, Art Therapy Without Borders will be featuring members from the Advisory Council as an opportunity to learn more about their work and some of the art therapy initiatives they are involved in that speak to this community’s vision.  March’s spotlight includes Paul Lee Thiam Seng, MA:

(Paul) Lee Thiam Seng, MA is a Singapore born artist, art therapist, and consultant. Paul is the Founder of UniqArts and Technologies, currently in private practice and running workshops for institutions, group and individuals. Paul has experience with providing art therapy to individuals and groups with special needs, in the medical setting, and schools throughout Singapore. Paul is passionate about art therapy for enhancing wellness and health, as well as for positivity and happiness. He initiated the Positive+Happiness Art Therapy professional group on LinkedIn and implements this focus for corporate retreat programs, schools and institutions.

Tell readers a little about yourself and what your interests are in art therapy: Art is my passion. I am promoting a notion that prevention is better than cure. In addition, I believe in positive psychology as well and therefore, it is my interest to focus the use of art therapy to facilitate positive thinking and life styles.  To me, it is far more useful to build inner resources rather than trying to open psychological wounds without healing. When a person is in trouble or encountering life crisis, he or she will probably be in need of these internal resources to cope with this crisis and to become stronger after the crisis. Without this pool of mental strength, some people might suffer from mental breakdown and illnesses.  In addition, I am integrating art therapy into creativity training and corporate human resources development. By using art therapy to unleash creative talents of individuals and groups, it seems possible to heighten the unconscious level of human potential to improve quality of work and life.  My interest in art therapy also includes the capacity to develop inner creativity to its full potential because art connects to our creative intuition. Since art therapy provides a tangible product of creative self; the capacity for post therapy, reflection, change, transformation and growth is enormous.

What do you believe are important considerations or emerging issues for the international art therapy community to pay attention to? To me, the international art therapy community will flourish further with a recognized standard education system that covers an agreed fundamental in art therapy training. Currently, it seems to me there are different versions of art therapy in foundation and beliefs. Furthermore, this seems to be diversified into other sub categories (expressive art therapy, sand therapy, play therapy, music therapy, interactive drawing therapy, photo therapy, etc.). It is therefore confusing to the public and lacks cohesiveness among the art therapy profession. It is probably one of the reasons why art therapy can not be well defined as a profession independently.

Another aspect for the international art therapy community that might be useful includes more clinical research to collect evidence about how art therapy works. It seems to me that there are many art therapy works written in a case studies format.  In addition, also having clinical research with an international review board and a team with other health care professionals could be useful. This research could then be shared within the  profession or even to the public  to help increase understanding about how art therapy works.

What are some special art therapy projects you are working on in 2011? I am exploring funding and opportunities to do clinical art therapy research for cancer patients. There is strong evidence to suggest the potential of psychological healing through creative art therapy.  Further research will need a prolonged period of study, institutional funding, and scientific analysis. I am hoping such research to be carried out to aid women with breast cancer in their healing and recovery journey. Potentially, it could help define the scientific healing in art therapy for patients as a form of prevention and recovery from battling from their cancer disease.

How can people contact you or find out more about your work? I can be contacted by email: paulleets@gmail.com or at 65-63441670. My web site is http://www.uniqarts.com.sg.