Minimalist Mental Disorders Posters

A friend of mine clued me in to this art by British graphic designer Patrick Smith. This is a great combination of art and psychology, and I wanted to share it with you!

Art Therapy & Mental Illness

Here is a nice feature about art therapy from "The Emotion Machine" website:

Art Therapy And Mental Illness

Art therapists believe that through creative expression and by evoking one’s imaginative abilities a person can live a greater life of physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

Depending on the patient’s strengths and interests, certain art therapies may include any combination of dance, drama, music, writing, embroidery, and the visual arts (drawing, painting, sculpting and photography).

Through these expressive mediums it has been shown that patients become better at reducing stress, managing behavior, developing interpersonal relationships, increasing self-esteem and self-awareness, improving problem-solving and other cognitive faculties, as well as achieving insight.

The arts have probably been used as a source of healing ever since they have come into existence; but art therapy did not emerge as a distinct profession until the 1940s where psychotherapists began to take interest in the creative output of those with mental illnesses (such as the famous Mexican artist Martin Ramirez who was diagnosed with schizophrenia) as well as those on psychedelic drugs (such as this government-mandated study on LSD).

Recently there has been a new Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) program at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) in Germany which includes art therapy techniques mixed with yoga, anger management, cognitive processing therapy and other treatments.

More amazingly, PBS’ Wide Angle, Focal Point documentary did a segment on how art therapy has even been used to reform terrorists (out of over 200 patients who have completed the program only 5% have relapsed!):

PATA to Provide NBCC Continuing Education Workshops

PATA is excited to announce that PATA has officially been granted provider status with the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).  As a result, PATA will be able to award continuing education credits for trainings and workshops, both as a member benefit and to encourage professionals from the broader mental health field to learn more about art therapy.

 

PATA has lined up a series of exciting workshops to cap off this new membership benefit.

 

On April 16, 2011, from 11a-12:15p Geoffrey Edwards, MS, an art therapist trained at the Mount Mary College Art Therapy Program and currently studying to become a Master of Acupuncture at the Tia Sophia Institute, will provide a workshop on integrating mind-body practices with art therapy.  The workshop will focus on integrating Five Phase Theory of Chinese Medicine into group and individual art therapy processes.  

On October 15, 2011, from 11a-1pm, Karen Baer, MA, ATR-BC, a local art therapist  and  a trained SoulCollage® Facilitator will provide a workshop on the therapeutic applications of utilizing this intervention.  SoulCollage® has intrigued thousands of enthusiastic practitioners who make cards to represent parts of themselves and then use those cards to access their own deep wisdom. 

 

On December 10, 2011, from 11a-12:15 pm, local art therapists Gioia Chilton, MA, ATR-BC and Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC of Creative Wellbeing Workshops, LLC will present on integrating positive psychology and art therapy. They will focus on Barbara Fredrickson’s work on positive emotions and their ability to broaden perception and build resilience.

 

Workshops locations will be announced soon.  Other continuing education opportunities will be offered—input on topics or suggestions for presenters are welcome.

 

ATCB Publishes Updated Code of Professional Practice

The Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB) is pleased to announce the publication of the updated ATCB Code of Professional Practice, available on our Web site at www.atcb.org/code_of_professional_practice/. 

Over the past two years, ATCB has worked diligently to revise and re-work our Code of Professional Practice to bring it up to date with the current environment of Art Therapy practice. As part of this process, the ATCB first compared its Code with the ethics documents of related organizations including the American Art Therapy Association (AATA), the American Counseling Association (ACA), and the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), as well as the standards set by The Joint Commission (JCAHO), to determine what areas needed updating, revising or addition. 

After making these revisions, the revised version of the Code of Professional Practice was posted to the ATCB Web site and feedback from ATRs, ATR-BCs, and other stakeholders, was encouraged. The final document includes revisions made by the ATCB that reflect the feedback received during the public comment period. 

The ATCB is pleased to announce that the 2011 edition of the Code of Professional Practice has been approved and is now available online through the ATCB Web site. ATCB will soon publish an article that details the changes to the Code and provides the rationale for these changes.

The ad hoc committee charged with revising the Code and the Board of Directors appreciate the input that many of you provided during our work to update the ATCB Code of Professional Practice.

Please contact ATCB at atcb@nbcc.org if you have questions or concerns.

Diagnostic Drawing Series (DDS) Training — April 9 & 10

Free Lecture — Friday Evening, April 8, "How Do Normal People Draw?"

Marymount Manhattan College, New York City

This intensive workshop will cover all the essential areas of more than 25 years of DDS research and clinical findings regarding hospitalized and non-hospitalized people ages 13 and older.  The workshop will be taught by Barry M. Cohen, primary creator of the DDS, and Anne Mills, Director of the DDS Archive.  13 NBCC continuing education credits are provided at no additional charge to registrants.

Visit www.diagnosticdrawingseries.info for more information on this training and to register.

 Co-sponsored by the Art and Psychology Departments of Marymount Manhattan College

CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS

EXPRESSIVE THERAPIES SUMMIT: 2011

Art - Drama - Music - Poetry - Psychodrama - Dance - Sandplay 

www.expressivetherapiessummit.com

Thursday through Sunday

NOVEMBER 10-13, 2011 

NEW YORK, NEW YORK   

7 Creative Arts • 100 Faculty • 4 Days 

Proposals accepted online only through Sunday, March 27

Add your name to our mailing list

Program and registration available in June

Sponsored by www.expressivemedia.org

Collaborative Program Provides Soldiers with Art Therapy

http://www.gazette.com/articles/torres-113752-difficult-walmart.html

HUGH DAVIS

2011-03-01 16:30:47

It is difficult for Isaac Torres to be in a crowd. Walking into Walmart is emotionally excruciating. The fear of being in a group of unknown people gripped Torres during a deployment in Iraq.

“Being on the border of Jordan and Iraq, I was surrounded by Jordanians and Iraqis daily,” Torres said. “I had a paranoid feeling because I didn’t know if I had a suicide bomber next to me, or if I would suddenly be attacked. In a crowd, I felt totally alone.”

During the past year, Torres has captured that feeling on canvas.

On the wall behind him was a painting entitled, “Alone in the Crowd.” There at the bottom, unmistakably, was Torres’ face.

The painting was part of an exhibit by soldiers/artists in the Military Creative Expressions Program, the brainchild of Vic Tise of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center board.  

“When I became the education committee chair for the Fine Arts Center, I realized that there was not much of a relationship between the center and the military,” Tise said. So he approached Aspen Pointe (formerly Pikes Peak Mental Health) about doing a cooperative project.

“It was one of those things where we just knew we were going to do it,” Tise said.   

In January 2010, he went to a town hall meeting with the Fort Carson’s Warriors Transition Unit and suggested using art therapy to help soldiers deal with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and traumatic brain injuries. Fifteen soldiers signed up, and six showed up for the first class, held within days of the meeting. About 35 soldiers went through the program in its first year.

The 15-week creative expressions program is designed by Kim Nguyen, who suffered significant trauma as a survivor of wartime Vietnam.

“The main purpose of military creative expressions is not about painting pretty pictures, but teaching them skills so they can express themselves,” Nguyen said.

“With PTSD, the soldiers tend to be paranoid, anxious and hyper vigilant. So, we give them the media and they gain a sense of control.  After a while, they begin to surrender to the media,” Nguyen explains.   

During the process, Nguyen demonstrates artistic techniques.

“The process of painting takes those intangible feelings and makes them tangible,” Torres said.  

At the end of class the soldiers process what they have painted, gaining insights into their thoughts, feelings and  memories.

Barbara Tise, a licensed professional counselor, assists during the classes.   

The soldiers donate some paintings to be auctioned to raise money to help the soldiers pay for additional art classes, Nguyen said. Later this month, she expects to start an intermediate class.

The paintings have been displayed at the Hillside Community Center and the Colorado Springs Airport.

Torres is a strong advocate of the program.

“This program helped me slow down from the adrenaline rush of deployment,” he said. “It helped bring me back to civilization where everything is moving at a steady pace.  I learned patience.

“The images I paint are not from my deployment; they are from inside, they are my emotions.”

CREATIVE JOURNALING SERIES

Crossings: A Center for the Healing Traditions
8505 Fenton Street, Ste 202
Silver Spring MD 20910
301-565-4924

Where: Crossings, Downtown Silver Spring, near Whole Foods
When: Saturdays, Mar 5 and Mar 26, 2011
Time: 10 AM-11:30 AM
Who: Open to all
Fee: $35 in advance/$40 at the door
To Register: Call 202-352-5225 or email r.wilkinson@creativewellbeingworkshops.com

Sat, Mar. 5, 2011 Resilience
Sat, Mar. 26, 2011 Happiness

Creative Journaling combines journaling with art-making to deepen the exploration and insight that can be gained from the journaling process. Journaling on strengths and positive experiences fosters hope and builds resilience.  These workshops are designed for all ranges of artistic experience--previous art training is not needed—you need not consider yourself an “artist” to attend.  Each session will have a different focus, you are welcome to attend the whole series or just one. 
Be sure to bring a journal to work in.  This can be a traditional bound book such as a blank lined journal, a blank drawing book, or a hand made book.  Consider that you will be doing artwork in it as well as writing--this may determine the size and type of journal you use.  All other materials will be provided.

Rebecca Wilkinson, MA, ATR-BC is a Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist with 20 years of clinical experience.  She is co-founder of Creative Wellbeing Workshops, LLC, which provides workshops and training on creativity, wellbeing, and happiness.  She also facilitates workshops through Smith Farm Center for Healing and the Arts and serves as adjunct faculty with the George Washington University Graduate Art Therapy Program.   She can be reached at r.wilkinson@creativewellbeingworkshops.com or 202 352 5225.
www.creativewellbeingshops.com