August 16, 2018
Shaindel Edelman is excited to graduate this month with her MA from The George Washington University (GWU). Through her AATA membership, she enjoys “being a part of a larger art therapy community and keeping up with the latest art therapy literature published in the journal.” As a member of her local chapter, the Maryland Art Therapy Association, Edelman makes use of the MATA Google Group to find art therapy opportunities in Maryland.
After graduating with a BA in liberal arts and beginning her career as a freelance illustrator and arts educator, she was inspired by her work with students who struggled with anxiety to pursue a career that would integrate the arts and mental health.
As a GWU student, Ms. Edelman interned at a variety of locations, including the Child and Adolescent Center at MSA and a Jewish private school this past year. She says the trauma-informed training she received in her program “opened my eyes to the direct effect art therapy has on the body and art therapy’s ability to support integration in trauma work.” For her culminating project, she studied art therapy’s impact on resilience with children through group work in an educational setting.
Edelman is “excited for the day that art therapy is commonly understood by the general public and known as a powerful and unique form of communication, healing, and expression” and hopes to see art therapy licensure available in every state.
“Tender Loving Care” by Shaindel Edelman. December 2017. Acrylic on Canvas.
Artist’s Statement: “Inspired by Bruce Perry’s writings about attachment and trauma. This is an image of my mother holding me as a baby.”