From PATA's Prtesident:
Dear PATA members,*
* I am very excited to announce that Deborah Bunkley, MA will be
our President Elect! *
* I would like to share the PATA board's continued commitment to
its members. Due to the struggles that the American Art Therapy Association
(AATA) has experienced, PATA wanted to ensure that we were also meeting the
needs of our members. Before discussing PATA's plan, I will provide a brief
overview of the events in AATA. As many of you know, AATA has been going
through a period of organizational transition for the past two years, and a
number of AATA members have had concerns about the AATA board of directors
(BOD). In June 2008, Judith Rubin, HLM and past AATA president, offered to
coordinate a neutral and investigative Task Force. The mission of this Task
Force was to interview the stakeholders, summarize the findings, and make
recommendations to the BOD. The Task Force provided a thorough, thoughtful,
and well written report to the BOD and membership in June 2008. I emailed
this report to the PATA membership through our yahoo group. If you would
like to review the report and did not receive it or were unable to download
the attachment, please email me. *
*The PATA board values the trust, respect, and investment of our membership.
To fortify this relationship, the board has identified three areas to
improve. Firstly, we are dedicated to revising and following our bylaws and
chapter manual to better meet the needs of our organization. Our second
focus has been on providing improved programming with a focus on issues of
diversity, as spearheaded by Elva Anderson, M.P.S., A.T.R, Multicultural
committee chair and Sheryl Jaffe, M.A., Programming committee chair. This
year, we have offered two programs, and we will continue to offer additional
events. Thirdly, the board has agreed to improve our communications with
the membership. In the past newsletter, I shared that we have a PATA blog
to help with this effort. Diana Sabbados, M.A., ATR– BC, our Chapter
Delegate and Publications committee chair has also revised our printed
literature. We also hope to make our website more user-friendly and
current. *
*The PATA board is committed to building a strong connected art therapy
community. We invite your ideas, suggestions, and feedback. We also look
forward to your partnership. Most of all, we thank you for your past,
current, and future support. *
*In revitalizing the Washington, DC metro area art therapy community,*
*Amy Tatsumi, M.A., A.T.R. tatsumi.amy@gmail.com*
*Deborah Bunkley * *appointed PATA's * *President-Elect!* *We are pleased
to announce that Art therapist Deborah Bunkley has accepted appointment as
PATA's new president-elect, to continue the strong leadership of our current
president, Amy Tatsumi. * *Welcome, Deborah!*
*In 2005, after 30 years as a professional in the field of fashion design
and merchandising Deborah chose to pursue her long time desire to move into
the field of art therapy and become an art therapist. Upon getting her
undergraduate degree at Pratt Institute, Deborah began her career working in
New York's fashion district. In 1985, she decided to move to the DC area to
be closer to her family. Her last 12 years in the fashion industry was as
Director of Design and Development for Moving Comfort, a major women's
athletic wear manufacturer. It is this executive experience that Deborah
draws upon, to contribute to her new role at PATA. *
*Throughout her adult life, she pursued her interest in social service by
volunteering at various organizations, working with mentally and physically
handicapped teens. Since moving to Maryland, she has volunteered for the
Montgomery County Therapeutic & Recreation Department and D.C. Cares. To
prepare her for her studies in the field of art therapy, she spent a year
volunteering with CREATE Arts Center with their Studio Downstairs program. *
*Deborah recently graduated from the George Washington University Masters in
Art Therapy program and was the recipient of the Elizabeth Bapst Award for
second career students. She is currently working for the Adventist
Healthcare System at two of there facilities: Washington Adventist Hospital
and Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health. Deborah currently lives in Rockville,
Maryland and among other things enjoys spending time with her extended
family that live in the Maryland, D.C and Virginia area.*
* *
*Thank you Deborah, for choosing to help PATA to continue to thrive!*
*Would you like to volunteer? PATA needs your energy-contact Amy or Deborah
to learn more!*
* *
* *
The George Washington
University
*'s art therapy grogram has moved to the new graduate education center at 1925
Ballenger Ave., Alexandria, VA. Located in the Carlyle neighborhood near
the King Street Metro station. The 24,000-square-foot education center
features a computer lab, six counseling rooms, and an art studio with
original art. The center, designed by D.C.-based Core International, offers
art therapy, engineering and technology management, human resource
development, and law firm management, among other programs. The university
now has 50 students enrolled overall in the art therapy program. *
*An open house took place on Friday, October 10th. Many GW alumna and local
art therapists viewed the art show, classrooms, and offices. The actual
entrance to the new facility is on the southwest side a circle off of John
Carlyle St., just off Duke St. in Old Town. The new phone number is
703-299-4148. *
*Directions:*
*From I-395 North/South: East on Duke Street approximately 3 miles. Turn
right at the light on to John Carlyle Street and go to the other side of the
circle. (See Street Entrance below.)*
*From I-495: Exit 2B to Telegraph Road North. Turn right onto Duke Street
(Route 236 East). Turn right at the light on to John Carlyle Street and go
to the other side of the circle. (See Street Entrance below.)*
*From George Washington Parkway North/South: West*
*on Duke Street approximately 1/2 mile. Turn left at the light on to John
Carlyle Street and go to the other side of the circle. (See Street Entrance
below.)*
*Street entrance: GW's street entrance faces the circle and sits between
HSBC Bank and the Carlyle Club restaurant. Look for the blue GWU signs. Take
the elevator up to the 2nd floor.*
*Parking: There is 2-hour metered parking until 5 p.m. around the circle
and on adjacent streets, and a Colonial Parking garage under the building. *
* *
Governmental Affairs
As your Governmental Affairs committee (GAC) chair, I am moving forward to
meeting my goals of providing membership with licensure requirements for
tri-state area to be on the blog or printed by December 2008.
The PATA Board made a motion to purchase the American Counseling
Association's 2008 Edition of Licensure Requirements for Professional
Counselors that includes contact info, scope of practice, portability among
other essential information for people pursuing of renewing professional
licensure.
In addition, I have been providing blog content on professional practice and
legislative information for our membership.
If you have any questions or interest in GAC work, please feel free to
contact me at megrobb@hotmail.com!!
Megan Robb, MA, ATR-BC, LPC
Report on PATA's Summer Film Screenings
By: Elva Anderson, MPS, ATR
PATA's Multi-cultural committee chair
As PATA's Multicultural committee chair and speaking as a
board member; it is our desire to bring more attention to the need of having
educational programming and events related to multi-cultural perspectives.
By doing so, hopefully this will help eliminate negative stereotypes by
presenting information through film and other types of artistic formats plus
to encourage appreciation and discussion of other cultures.
I want to first say, I am so thankful to be surrounded by a
wonderful supportive group of board members and PATA members. It is so
fulfilling to be amongst others who have passion and commitment for the work
that they do.
I love films and enjoy having the ability to view other people's viewpoints,
culture, lifestyles and languages through film. I researched a number of
films and came across two that would reflect the concerns that some art
therapist were dealing with. "A Girl like me" and "A Question of Color" were
the two films selected to be screened this past summer.
These two short films were pertaining to the mental and emotional health of
African American children dealing with the myths and stereotypes towards
cultural and racial issues. Also these films were able to inspire critical
thinking about the social effect of how the media have an impact on how
children of color view themselves. After the screening, the floor was open
and dialogue took place encouraging the audience to become aware that such
myths existed and how practioners can promote and provide positive self
concepts and how to assist in the empowerment of their clients who had sub
come to negative racial experiences.
As we know, children and youth are so easily influenced by attitudes and
opinions by their parents, caregivers and friends. As art therapists, I do
believe it is important as to how we display our educated perspectives and
viewpoints in our practices. By attending trainings, workshops and other
educational formats such as the film screenings, art therapists can become
enlightened and educated to myths that are associated with such topics, seek
to understand where they originated from, continue to educate themselves,
and most of all begin to take approaches to promote various cultures that
are represented within their practice and integrate a multicultural
perspective.
As practioners in today's world, we must find the courage to do whatever
changes that is necessary to see that our clients are being represented and
promoted in a fair and equal light. It is our desire to host another film
screening soon and to continue to inspire critical thinking and the creative
process.
In closing, I wish to especially thank Sheryl Jaffe and Amy Tatsumi for
their support and contribution and also the other board members for all the
assistance with the success of this program.
Jobs & Referrals
Hi everyone! Quick update from the Jobs and Referrals chair, Jennifer
Padden, M.A.. We are currently working on updating the existing--and very
outdated--referrals list for DC/VA/MD art therapists. If you are currently
an art therapist working in private practice full or part-time and would
like your name added and/or updated on the list, please email the following
information to me at jenny.padden@gmail.com: Name, credentials held, phone
number, email address, website (if applicable), rates, areas or populations
of focus or expertise (if applicable), location.
When this document is as up to date as possible, we will post on PATA's
wonderful blog, on the PATA website, etc. Please take 5 minutes to email me
your information, and the result could be more business for you!
Also, there is currently a full-time position open within Tracy's Kids art
therapy program. The program is looking for an art therapist to facilitate
the newly-expanded art therapy program at Children's National Medical
Center's Falls Church, VA satellite clinic. For more information or to
submit your resume, contact Tracy Councill, Program Director, at
tracyskids@preventcancer.org For more job listings, check out PATA blog:
http://potomacarttherapyassociation.blogspot.com
Announcing PATA Awards: Well Deserved Honors!
PATA Scholarship Chair, Heidi Bardot, MA, ATR–BC
PATA Awards and Scholarships are an important way of honoring your
colleagues for their innovations, navigating complex struggles that they
experience with patients and organizations, advancing the field, and the
exceptional work. We are proud to announce the winners of our three awards:
the Nancy Schoebel Award for students, the PATA Professional Award, and the
Distinguished Service Award! Start thinking about who you want to nominate
for next year. Don't let another year pass without acknowledging how
exceptional your colleagues really are!
PATA Professional Service Award
Presented for Commitment to Education, Supervision, Continuing Education and
Professional Development
This award is presented annually to a Registered and Board Certified Art
Therapist demonstrating commitment to the education of art therapy students,
supervision of art therapy graduates, and/or promotion of the art therapy
field through continuing education and/or professional development. We are
delighted to announce Tracy Councill is this year's winner.
· Tracy Councill, MA, ATR-BC, continuously strives to expand art therapy
programs, student learning, and knowledge in the field of art therapy. She
has consistently taken GW interns at Georgetown Medical Center in both the
Tracy's Kids and Adult programs. With the expansion of her program Tracy's
Kids, she has added five additional jobs for art therapists and training
sites for GW students. She lectures nationally and internationally and has
written extensively on the topic of Medical Art Therapy, Self Care for
Caregivers, Pediatric Care, Family Care, and Palliative Care with Nurses.
She is in a unique position with her connection to Georgetown Hospital,
Tracy's Kids, and George Washington University Art Therapy Program. She has
expanded areas of art therapy through her new programming in various
hospital and care centers and educated the public nationally and
internationally about art therapy in the field of medical care. Tracy
Councill is an exceptional clinician, teacher, speaker, writer, business
woman, and art therapist of the highest integrity, professional excellence,
and personal humility.
PATA Distinguished Service Award
Presented for Recognition of Outstanding Service to PATA in fulfilling its
Mission
This award is presented annually to a member of PATA demonstrating
outstanding service in fulfilling its mission. PATA Distinguished Service
Award's 2008 recipient is Elva Anderson.
· Elva Anderson, MPS, ATR, the PATA Multicultural Committee Board Chair, has
brought attention to multicultural issues for PATA members and non-members
alike. With this focus, she has raised awareness and competency of local art
therapists. Elva's position in PATA is only one way that she gives back to
the DC community. She has also been at Children's National Medical Center
for nearly six years as a Health Educator and Art Therapist. Recently, Elva
co-created a project "Stop the Violence!" She continues to not only enrich
PATA but also the community youth and families through her work.
The Nancy Schoebel Scholarship Award
presented to Students for Excellence in Writing
Nancy Shoebel (1952-1990) was a founding member of the Potomac Art Therapy
Association. She strived for excellence in every aspect of her work. Nancy
was active in legislative affairs, NCATA, and other committees for PATA and
AATA. The scholarship committee awarded two students this year the Schoebel
award, as this award was not given out last year. Our 2008 winners are
Kimberly Ottinger and Rachel C. Schreibman.
· Kimberly Ottinger--2nd year student, The George Washington University
Kimberly's winning paper, A Case Study and the Integrative Method, used Cohen
and Cox's (1995) Integrative Method, an intensive procedure designed for
specialists and non-specialists for designating meaning to art produced in
therapy:
Cohen and Cox (1995) intend this method to be a multileveled approach, as it
examines all the possible aspects of the image and their meanings
simultaneously. While all of these aspects can hold meaning independently,
none are all-encompassing. Therefore, it is important that the viewer
understand the meaning on all levels to see a clear picture of the overall
meaning. The three levels that are examined in the Integrative Method are
the process, structure and content levels. This paper will explore the
meaning of a specific client's artwork as investigated through the
Integrative Method.
In this excerpt of Kim's paper, she describes what she learned after
re-creating a client's artwork:
After recreating the artwork in the same style as the artist, I was able to
feel with all of my senses the process of creation. Much like the
Integrative Method of examining the image, I believe a similarly
multileveled approach could be applied to the process of creating the image.
The process level of the Integrative Method did involve looking objectively
at the artist's process and vocalizations, but it is still subjective. What
I interpreted subjectively was not the same as the observations I made while
actually recreating the process of producing the artwork. I never would have
thought about the nostalgia evoked from the taste of biting the popsicle
sticks and that maybe having an effect on the choice of tools in her work.
It was also not obvious how much effort she was putting into the artwork, it
simply looked as if she was in a hurry. It is not even obvious that my own
experience recreating the art process was anywhere close to the same as what
J experienced when she was creating her artwork. It is important then for
art therapists to be listening carefully to the artist's experience of the
process and meaning and not assuming meaning on our own. Recreating the
artwork was an interesting process that allowed me to see into the artist's
process.
Reference:
Cohen, B.M. & Cox, C.T. (1995). The integrative method. In Telling without
talking: Art as a window into the world of multiple personality (pp. 1-13).
New York: W.W. Norton.
· Rachel C. Schreibman--2nd year student, The George Washington University
Rachel's winning paper addressed how art therapy can effectively tap into
mind/body healing through
cognitive-behavioral treatment, psychoneuroimmunology, brain plasticity,
psychosocial genomics, and medical humanism. Her paper was titled Mind/Body:
Art Therapy and Chronic Illness and an excerpt follows:
According to Rubin (2001), "art is concrete and visual, in addition to its
value in uncovering unconscious imagery and discovering unconscious
fantasies and impulses" (p. 25). Therefore, art therapy is particularly
effective in regard to healing trauma from chronic illness and its
treatments because it taps into material that might not be reached verbally
and can then be subjected to psychotherapy and reconstructed in a clearer,
more peaceful and hopefully positive way. Rossi (2005a) suggests that the
mind-body healing occurs when these new positive reconstructions are
replayed offline and integrated. An art therapist considering this aspects
of brain plasticity might focus on having the client recall and reconstruct
a traumatic part of illness through imagery….
The Western allopathic medical model of treating chronically ill patients is
riddled with CAT scans, blood tests, biopsies, surgeries, medicinal
treatments and other diagnosis-and-treatment dominated elements. Chronically
ill patients are abandoned by doctors psychologically to fend for themselves
during a time in which they are vulnerable to despair, depression, anxiety,
fatigue and other negative thoughts, affects and mood disorders.
Furthermore, research supports the notion that the state of psychological
well being can hinder or progress disease in these patients. Art therapy
offers a unique type of psychological support that utilizes aspects of
mind/body such as cognitive-behavioral treatment, psychoneuroimmunology,
brain plasticity, psychosocial genomics, and medical humanism, to
essentially help heal people living with chronic illness.
References:
Rossi, E. L. (2005a). The ideodynamic action hypothesis of therapeutic
suggestion: Creative replay in the psychosocial genomics of therapeutic
hypnosis. European Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 6, 2 – 12.
Rubin, J. (2001). Discovery, Insight, and Art Therapy. In Rubin, J. A.
(Ed.), Approaches to Art Therapy Theory and Technique (pp. 15 - 27). New
York, NY: Brunner
Public Information Report & Update:
Informational Brochures Available to the Membership
Diana L. Sabados, ATR-BC
We recently introduced our new PATA Informational Brochures. We hope to be
able to include both versions on PATA's website soon for you to download
and print free of charge! The first "About PATA: Information & Membership"
contains information, benefits, and instructions for becoming a member of
PATA. This brochure would be useful to provide to students and other
prospective members in the art therapy and mental health community. The
second, "About Art Therapy: An Informational Overview" contains general
information about art therapy and the requirements for becoming an art
therapist. This brochure would be useful to provide prospective employers
and the public information about our field.
Are there additional resources that would be helpful to you in educating the
public about who art therapists are and what art therapists do? We are
considering the development of additional resources, such as an FAQ sheet
specific to the DC/MD/VA area, and informational brochures about art therapy
in specific settings, such as schools, hospitals, correctional facilities,
and elder care. If you are interesting in authoring, or contributing to the
development of any of these resources, please get in touch with Diana
Sabados artemisdls@yahoo.com.
Did You Know?
The American Art Therapy Association has a News and Updates page on their
redesigned website www.arttherapy.org. You can access that page to learn
about art therapy and the treatment of trauma
http://www.arttherapy.org/news.asp?P=83, art therapy and abused children
http://www.arttherapy.org/news.asp?P=80, art therapy and older adults
http://www.arttherapy.org/news.asp?P=79, as well as many other press
releases and professional relations reports.
Fresh ideas for your art therapy studio!
from Gioia Chilton, MA, ATR-BC
Here are a few fresh suggestions to keep you and your clients inspired:
· Working on identity? Make a "Hand" shaped book. Trace own hand or use a
template; attach hands together with brads into a book.
· Need rejuvenation? Create a ticket to a vacation, passports; and write a
letter back home from your imaginary vacation.
· Create Magic Wands-and make a wish...we all need more magic!
· Make an Environment for a toy animal in a shrine or shadow box.
· Make simple no-sew tied fleece Dream pillows, and tuck tiny scrolls with
an intention or wish written on them into the pillows before stuffing.
· Draw or sculpt from clay a dragon, gargoyle, or monster and then make him
a nice castle to guard.
· Dye paper towels with ink or liquid watercolors, then tear and place on
parchment paper and collage together with runny glue —when dry, peal away
from background.
· Go outside and notice the quality of the light-then arrange rocks,
leaves, or sticks in patterns that please you a la Goldsworthy.
· Work in pairs: Go on a "Dangerous journey", each person draws a path and a
hazard, then swap papers, and the other person then draws a solution.
· Draw about what you are grateful for today.
