FREE film screening of "The Cats of Mirikitani” at Busboys and Poets sponsored by PATA

You are invited to attend a FREE film screening of an amazing documentary,” The Cats of Mirikitani” at Busboys and Poets sponsored by the Potomac Art Therapy Association. You will see how art provides healing and brings about empowerment.
Please see attached for information and/or scroll down to see information below.
Do mark your calendars (3 dates to choose from) and take time out to support the documentary, Art Therapy / Arts in Healthcare, and meet others who are committed to making positive changes with the use of art and community building.
This film covers topics from PTSD, Homelessness, 911, Japanese culture, friendship and more- a must see film!!
For more information about the Potomac Art Therapy Association:
Visit website at: www.potomacartherapy.org or visit PATA’s blog at: www.potomacarttherapyassociation.blogspot.com

Thank you for your support and interest-
Happy New Year!!

Peace and light,
Elva Anderson
Potomac Art Therapy Association
Programming and Multicultural Chair
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Potomac Art Therapy Association (PATA)
Programming and Multicultural Committees will be sponsoring the screenings of:
The Cats of Mirikitani
"An intimate exploration of the healing power of community and art"
Busboys and Poets

January 2010" Film of the Month"
A Focus-In! Cinema for a Conscious Community Presentation

Screenings dates and locations:

Sunday, January, 10th @ 14th & V. Streets NW - Washington, DC

Sunday, January 17th @ 5th & K Streets NW – Washington, DC

Sunday, January 24th @ Shirlington, Virginia

8:00 pm to 10 pm

Screenings will be followed by a community discussion.

NOTE: On Sunday, January 10th guest speaker Linda Hattendorf, Producer/ Director
“The Cats of Mirikitani” This film is her directorial debut

Please RSVP to:
PATA’s Programming & Multicultural Chair, Elva Anderson at elvaanderson at hotmail.com
* PATA Programming provides a forum for ongoing exchange of information among local art therapists & community

From our friends in VATA:

Hello Members,

We hope that you are having a wonderful holiday season.
VATA will be meeting at the end of the year to celebrate and be together.
This is a pay-your-way dinner at one of Richmond's well established restaurants, located in the Fan.
Richmonders, join us! And if you are from out of town but are able to come in or are around for the holidays, join us!
If you are bringing a non-member, they are welcome, but please let them know to bring their annual dues.
Thanks,
VATA
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

PLEASE RSVP to this email adddress.

Date: Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Time: 6:30pm
Location: See below.
Davis & Main
www.davisandmain.com2501 West Main StreetRichmond, VA 23220(804) 353-6641
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JOB POSTING

The Department of Education State Operated Programs serving detention centers across the state of Virginia has added an art therapist position in which candidates have been difficult to find. Please assist the DOE in the search by posting this opening!
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Mary Ritchie, LPC-ATRArt TherapistChesapeake Juvenile Services Center

ART THERAPY OPENING
IN
MONTGOMERY COUNTY SCHOOLS
AT
NEW RIVER VALLEY DETENTION HOME



ART THERAPIST QUALIFICATIONS AND TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT

Qualifications:
· Master’s Degree in Art Therapy with a Professional Certification by the Art Therapy Association
· Experience working with at-risk students desired.

Terms of Employment:
· 11 month teaching contract
· Length of day and salary determined by Montgomery County Public School Division
· Apply with Montgomery County School Division, Christiansburg Virginia

Duties and Responsibilities

The Art Therapist will

1. Conduct classes using art as a basis to enhance and/or improve student competence in the basic learning skills, develop intellectual skills of rational thought and creativity, progress through achievement as well as develop a positive and realistic concept of self and others;
2. Demonstrate knowledge of course content for art therapy classes
3. Have daily lesson plans to include objectives, materials, classroom activities and written assessments;
4. Provide collaboration with education, detention and center staff in reference to student learning/behavior;
5. Maintain a high level of safety in the classroom at all times;
6. Participate in staff development opportunities to keep abreast of new developments in the area of art therapy;
7. Maintain records of student performance in order to evaluate student progress;
8. Adhere to rules, regulations and procedures consistent with VDOE, the local school division and the detention home.
9. Attend and participates in faculty meetings and other professional meetings called by the administration;
10. Perform other school duties and assignments as appointed.

The Cats of Mirikitani

Potomac Art Therapy Association (PATA)
Programming and Multicultural Committees will be presenting:

The Cats of Mirikitani
Winner of the Audience Award at FilmFestDC
"An intimate exploration of the healing power of community and art"

at
Busboys and Poets
January 2010" Film of the Month"
A Focus-In! Cinema for a Conscious Community Presentation locations:

Screenings dates and locations:

Sunday, January, 10th @ 14th & V. Streets NW - Washington, DC
Sunday, January 17th @ 5th & K Streets NW – Washington, DC
Sunday, January 24th @ Shirlington, Virginia

8:00 pm to 10 pm

Screenings will be followed by a discussion.

On Sunday, January 10th guest speaker Linda Hattendorf, Producer/ Director
“The Cats of Mirikitani” is her directorial debut
Please RSVP to:
Programming Chair, Elva Anderson at elvaanderson@hotmail.com

PATA Programming provides a forum for ongoing exchange of information
among local art therapists & the community

Altered Books-Exploring Creativity and Identifying Strengths

Altered Books-Exploring Creativity and Identifying Strengths
Gioia Chilton, MA, ATR-BC and Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC
Saturday, January 16, 2010 10:00 AM-3:00 PM $45

(4.5 CEC's available $15 administrative fee*)
Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts
1632 U Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202 483 8600

“All healing can be perceived as a creative transformation of one thing into something else.
Healing and art are a single process.” Shawn McNiff

Come explore the world of altered books, an art form where old books are recycled into new works of art. In altering a book, we might draw or paint on the pages or cover of the book (gasp!), or add magazine images, stamps, or stickers. Using mixed media collage--books can be adorned with fabric, leather, beads, wire or found objects. Techniques such as cutting out niches, making pockets and doors, transfers, texture building can be used. Inspiration may strike when the artist finds a word, letter, or image that becomes an interesting background or focal point that generates a personal artistic response.

Altering books provide a symbolically rich means of exploring reflection and transformation, especially when we make art intentionally for healing and to engage in growth and change. Creative endeavors often increase a sense of engagement, of being in the “Here and Now,” which in turn increases positive emotions—expansiveness, acceptance, and hope. We will use our altered books to record and capture some of these positive emotions as we identify our strengths and participate in a positively life-altering day!

Objectives 1) Attendees will be able to list three ways that altering books can be used to explore therapeutic concerns.

Objectives 2) Attendees will be able to list three strategies for using creative endeavors for increasing positive emotions.

Snacks will be provided. Lunch is available from healthy, reasonably priced restaurants in the neighborhood.

Contact Smith Farm Center
To register or for more information call 202-483-8600 or visit
www.SmithFarm.com heal@smithfarm.com
1632 U Street NW | Washington DC | 20009
Metro accessible | Red & Green Lines | FREE Parking available

NBCC Provider #6327
*Smith Farm is an NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider an may offer NBCC approved clock hours for events and programs that meet NBCC requirements. Events and programs for which NBCC approved clock hours will be awarded are identified in the Smith Farm calendar. Smith Farm is solely responsible for all aspects of the program.

GWU Columbian School of Arts and Sciences Features the Art Therapy Program!

The Healing Power of Art Is Focus of Expanded Art Therapy M.A. Program

Dec 07 2009

Painting, drawing, and sculpting as means to express what may be verbally inexpressible are at the heart of the increasingly popular field of art therapy. At GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the healing power of art is fully realized through an Art Therapy Program that boasts modern new studio spaces, a counseling center for hands-on immersion in therapeutic techniques, and an expanded 61-credit curriculum to facilitate professional licensure upon graduation. In sum, the graduate program—which was one of the first in the nation—adds up to an unparalleled learning opportunity for prospective art therapists.

“Our graduate program is, at its core, clinically-based art therapy in which students are trained to be professional clinicians, working with a range of diagnoses, ages, and diversities,” said Professor Heidi Bardot, MA ’99, the program’s director and a registered, board-certified art therapist whose past work includes helping hospice patients and their families deal with grief and loss. “Within this training, there is a strong emphasis on the artist identity, making a bright, airy workspace and gallery—in which students, faculty, and clients can express themselves artistically—an integral component of the work we do.”

The program’s new location at the Alexandria Graduate Education Center includes state-of the-art classrooms with "smart boards" and other multimedia equipment, an open art studio space for student and faculty collaboration, an extensive art therapy library and a gallery for student and juried exhibits. The facility is also home to the GW Art Therapy Center, where students work with clients under the direct supervision of licensed mental health professionals.

A Profession Born on the Battlefield

The outbreak of World War II marked the beginning of a profession first practiced in hospitals to treat soldiers dealing with “shell shock,” now clinically termed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Since then, practitioners have espoused the benefits of art therapy as an outlet for expression of feeling. Concurrently, evidence-based art therapy research focusing on the neurological implications of art-making to address trauma and loss, depression, and anxiety—as well as the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for cancer survivors—has become the trend and means to validate the profession. In 2007, art therapy was named one of the top 10 “hot” jobs by CareerBuilder.com, bearing out the need for such services during times of war and economic uncertainty.

The University’s Art Therapy Program, one of the first to be accredited by the American Art Therapy Association, was established in 1971 based on the teachings by the founders of art therapy—Edith Kramer, Hanna Yaxa Kwiatkowska, Bernard Levy and Elinor Ulman. All of the program’s current faculty are registered, board certified art therapists who bring with them professional expertise and the latest in clinical practice and research. Two new faculty members were added this year to mentor students on developing proposals to conduct original research from different paradigms as well as write grant proposals to implement program-related research.

Facilitating Professional Licensure

Thanks to the M.A. program’s recent expansion from 49 credits to 61, students now graduate prepared to seek professional licensure in counseling and art therapy. The traditional master’s program has been combined with additional coursework in trauma training—a huge growth area in the art therapy field to integrate the latest research on neurobiology and trauma treatment with expressive, art based approaches. Also offered are international opportunities, clinical training and a combined five-year bachelor’s and master’s degree option for exceptional students who are majoring in fine arts or psychology.

Students are required to participate in internships with children, adolescents and adults in a clinical setting for approximately eight to 20 hours per week. The intern program is one of the most extensive in the country, with more than 100 sites located throughout the Washington, D.C., area. These include the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Whitman-Walker Clinic, Children’s National Medical Center, Children’s Inn at NIH, Miriam’s Kitchen, and the D.C. and Fairfax County public school systems.

“Internships allow us to spread art therapy to new settings,” said Bardot. “And interns often become so invaluable they are offered a job after the internship is completed.”

The curriculum also offers courses on international social and cultural competency to prepare students for work with ethnically diverse populations. Last summer, art therapy students traveled to India as part of a three-week summer course called International Social and Cultural Art Therapy. A series of short internships with local organizations immersed students in the Indian culture so they could experience what it was like to be a minority. Students visited schools, a women’s shelter, a rehabilitation center and helped residents with disabilities, working on art projects at each site. The students received valuable training and needy populations in India were introduced to art therapy.

As director, Bardot’s goals include implementing trauma research within the art therapy center, creating additional collaborative research opportunities and continuing coursework in international and cultural diversity. And, of course, she remains committed to producing top students. “Many of our alumni have gone on to become leaders in the field, in the national association and in the educational sector,” Bardot said. “We are providing a breadth of experience, knowledge, and important connections within the field of art therapy, and I want to build upon our strong foundation.”

For more information about the Art Therapy Program at GW’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, click here.

Saturday December 12-Presentation by Susan Corrigan, AATA Executive Director

Hello,

The chapters of MATA, PATA, and VATA are excited to share the opportunity for local art therapists and art therapy students to meet with Susan Corrigan, American Art Therapy Association Executive Director. At the 2009 AATA Conference, Susan presented the strategic plan and vision for AATA. For those of you who were not able to attend the conference or this
presentation, we wanted to ensure that you also had the opportunity to
view this presentation.

Susan will be re-presenting on Saturday, December 12th from 10am-noon at

Eastern Village (large metal arch at the front of the building)
7981 Eastern Ave (Between 13th and 14th Streets)
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Parking can be found on the street or in the Kennett Street Garage (Montgomery County public lot) behind Eastern Village building. By metro, you will exit at the Silver Spring station, and it is approximately a 15 minute walk at a medium pace. If you are taking the bus, you can take the S2 line.

Following the presentation, there will also be time for questions with Susan.

If you have any other questions, please contact Amy Tatsumi via email tatsumi dot amy at gmail dot com

Please forward this email to regional art therapists and art therapy students.

Thank you on behalf of the MATA, PATA, and VATA chapters,

Amy Tatsumi, MA, ATR
PATA President

The Art of Self Care & Caring for Others

Creative Renewal
The Art of Self Care & Caring for Others
An Expressive Arts Personal Process & Supervision Group
for Therapists, Social Workers & Counseling Professionals
February – May 2010 / Four Monthly 4 – Hour Sessions
scheduled in consultation with participants on a Saturday or Sunday
Proposed weekends: Feb. 20 or 21, March 27 or 28, April 23 or 24 & May 22 or 23
Commitment to all 4 sessions requested
$320 (includes art materials; payment plan available)
Each session will include:
* A creative, nourishing environment to gather regularly with peers and engage in meaningful
dialogue and reflection about your life and work
* Time to “come home to yourself” and nourish your own soul through individual and collective
expressive arts explorations
* Introduction to expressive arts therapy methodologies and their applications in clinical and
community settings
* Arts-based practices for personal and professional growth
* Creative renewal as we “re-imagine” our lives and work with others through art-making and
soul-centric practices
For more information and to register, please contact:
Jena Leake, M.A., R.E.A.T.
Registered Expressive Arts Therapist
434.996.8087 jenaleake@earthlink.net
The Art Life Studio, 313 Second Street, S.E., Suite 208, Charlottesville, VA 22902

*What is disability? An International Call for Postcards - DC

*What is disability? An International Call for Postcards - DC
*The deadline for receipt of postcards is February 5, 2010. VSA arts invites your participation in a collaborative art project. We’re taking a creative approach to investigate the different ways people interpret the same word: disability. The call is open to everyone around the world—people of different cultures, ethnicities, geographic locations, and abilities. You do not have to consider yourself an
"artist” to participate. VSA arts will curate an exhibition, both online and in Washington, D.C., to represent the submissions as part of the 2010 International VSA arts Festival held June 6-12, 2010.

Please contact Liza Key, Visual Arts Coordinator, at efkey@vsarts.org to receive a shipment of printed calls for the project (available while supplies last). Additional copies of the postcard and alternative formats are uploaded to the site:
www.vsarts.org/postcardproject

Shared by--
Frances Smokowski, Painting, Drawing and Collage
c/o Chrysalis Studio
Brooklyn, NY frances@chrysalisstudio.com
718-522-2787

Website:
http://www.chrysalisstudio.com

Webstore:
http://www.theimaginalsell.com

Mary Washington Hospice Call for Art: “Arts Healing Journey”.

“Art opens the closets, airs out the cellars and attics.
It brings healing”
Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way

Greetings,
Mary Washington Hospice is the first hospice program in our area to bring Complementary Therapy services to our patients with life limiting illnesses and to their families. Our Complementary therapies add an extra dimension of care to Mary Washington Hospice’s commitment to nurturing the mind, body and spirit. We are currently offering art, music and massage therapy. These non-invasive, holistic approaches are intended to “complement” the medical, social and spiritual care already provided to our hospice patients. Complementary therapies are intended to further enhance quality of life and to provide comfort and wholeness to our patients and their loved ones.
To further promote the benefits of using the arts in healthcare, Mary Washington Hospice feels it is essential to partner with our community to take the healing effects of art into healthcare settings where we care for the dying. This will not only impact our patients, but also their families and staff.
Mary Washington Hospice plans to corroborate with local artists to establish a traveling art exhibit entitled, “Arts Healing Journey”. Research has proven that positive, visual stimulation makes a difference in the healing process.
We would like to start with an initial exhibit that will begin January 8, 2010 and go through March 31, 2010. The art will travel to three locations and stay for one month. We are still in the process of finalizing locations. They will be local and will be local Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes, MW Hospital may also be an option for one of the locations.
The artwork will be on loan to us, unless you would like to donate the piece for a future auction to support the Complementary Therapies Program. There will also be an option to sell your artwork with a small commission going to the Complementary Therapy Program.
The initial exhibit will include 25 paintings and/ or photographs that will be professionally displayed. We will also have special openings at each location with appropriate live music and other pleasantries. We also plan to utilize local press to share and inform the community of these exhibits and partnership with area artists.
Submission of artwork via a digital image is to be emailed to brenda.lynne@medicorp.org no later than December 15, 2009 by 5pm. A panel consisting of local artists, hospice staff, and volunteers and a representative from a nursing home will select the artwork to be used for the exhibit by December 18, 2009 and you will be notified as to whether your work has been selected. We would also like the artist to include a narrative as to how their piece of works promotes healing, and what that means to them.
Remember, healing for our patients and families does not imply cure. For hospice patients the works should reflect art that dignifies life and promotes inner-peace. Also, for nursing home residents, many with dementia, meaningful art often relates to their most precious memories.
If you have any additional questions, or would like to talk further about the project, please feel free to contact me by phone or email.
I am looking forward to this exciting project and to be able to bring peace and healing to our patients, families and staff through your work.

Brenda Lynne, MSW
Mary Washington Hospice
Social Worker
(540)741-3580 office
(540)287-8613 work cell
brenda.lynnne@medicorp.org