In this Featured Member series, AATA celebrates the work of our members. During the coronavirus pandemic, we are inviting members to share their experiences about how their professional and personal lives have changed.
August 10, 2021
“I am the One Who is Comforted” by Jonathan Haag. Soul Collage. October, 10, 2020. Artist Statement: I made this piece with students as we explored the process of Soul Collage as part of the course, Introduction to Art Therapy in the Fall of 2020. The collage reflects my experience of receiving comfort from God during this difficult time as well as my desire to be a source of comfort to others.
What has changed (or remained the same) in your job during the COVID-19 pandemic?
In response to Covid-19, how I deliver classroom instruction has changed to allow for online options and hybrid courses as well as maintaining in-person classes. I also am paying more attention to trauma-informed teaching pedagogy.
In what ways have your clients been impacted by COVID-19? How are you managing your own stress during this time?
One way my students are impacted by the pandemic is the loss of what they hoped and expected their college life to be like. They also are traumatized in various degrees by the sudden and substantial impact the pandemic has made on their academic, social, and family lives. I’m managing my stress by being intentional with self-care activities such as making art with my students, focusing on spiritual practices, and maintaining my relationship with my spouse. Despite my best efforts, this is still a crazy-making time.
Jonathan Haag, DAT, LSCW, ATR-BC
Jonathan Haag has over 25 years of experience as an art therapist. He is the Assistant Professor for Art Therapy at Millikin University. He currently teaches three art therapy courses each semester and coordinates undergraduate internship site placements. Previously, he worked at Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton as an Art Therapist and a Licensed Independent Social Worker for 16 years. Jonathan’s main responsibilities at Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton included providing grief therapy for children and teens between the ages of 5-20 after the loss of a loved one and to facilitate the art therapy program, Drawn Together. His research article, Recontextualizing the Draw A Story Assessment: Expanding the Expressive Function in Art Therapy, was published in Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 35(3)3 2018. He graduated with a BFA from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, a Master of Art Therapy from Wright State University, and a Master of Social Work from the University of Cincinnati. In 2015 he earned a Doctor of Art Therapy from Mt Mary University in Milwaukee, WI. Jonathan is also a member of the Education Subcommittee on Undergraduate Art Therapy.