Trauma
Mental Health Resources to Support Communities Coping with the Crisis in Afghanistan
The stories and images coming out of Afghanistan resulting from the Taliban takeover of the Afghan government are heart-wrenching. For so many who have a direct connection or unique perspective, this is a particularly difficult time, with serious mental health repercussions. AATA has compiled this list of mental health resources for emergency support and other assistance.
Feeling Stressed about the Capitol Attacks? Here are some Tools to Help Cope from a Trauma Art Therapist
January 13, 2021 | Raquel Farrell-Kirk
I kept the television off and focused on my day at home with my ten year old son. At first, I easily ignored the texts updates I was receiving from friends about the rally in Washington DC, but as the situation escalated into an attack on the Capitol building, I could ignore the news no more. After a few frustrating minutes pressing buttons, I enlisted my son’s help to turn on the television and watched the violence unfold on my television screen.
Connected While Apart: A Communal Tapestry by Domestic Violence Survivors
August 11, 2020 | By Farah S.A.
During the COVID-19 pandemic domestic violence survivors have been experiencing many hardships. Domestic violence cases have increased since the shelter-in-place order took place. Some survivors were unable to leave an unsafe living situation, while others recently left and were trying to maintain their sense of security after experiencing financial abuse prior.
Drawing on Resilience – Reflections on How My Life has Prepared Me for this Pandemic (and Maybe Yours Has Too)
April 20, 2020 | Celeste Schexnaydre
As someone who lives with a compromised immune system, I have been inside for at least a week longer than the general public. I moved my art therapy private practice inside my home and onto a HIPAA compliant platform immediately after having a cough and wanting to protect my clients as well as myself. This wasn’t a surprise to many of them as some are aware of my health concerns. I have had to re-imagine my career frequently due to these health limitations.
Antiracist Approach to Art Therapy: Re-examining Core Concepts
February 26, 2020 | Jordan S. Potash
As a White art therapist who has worked cross-racially for almost my entire career, I am regularly reminded that there are always racial-social-political influences that enter into the art therapy relationship. My current work in an open art therapy studio at a drop-in center for runaway and homeless adolescents and young adults, most of whom are Black, reinforces three strategies for art therapists for understanding and responding to power differentials.
3 Ways for Therapists to Address Barriers to Seeking Therapy
February 25, 2020 | Angela Roman Clack
I am pleased to participate in this blog series reemphasizing the themes covered in the “Breaking the Chains of Racial Trauma in Therapy” panel at the AATA’s 50th conference . In the panel presentation, I shared examples from my work with Black women to demonstrate how racism contributes to a denial of one’s psychological stress or acknowledgement of how therapy could be beneficial. Living life in black skin is an undeniable racialized existence.
Creative Healing Spaces: Healing From Racial Wounds
February 24, 2020 | Lindsey Vance
Growing up in a community that did not speak of mental health care or seeing a therapist, this idea of a career path was foreign to me. Explaining to my family that I was going to be an Art Therapist was even more so confusing, however I went on to be one. The privilege to work in various clinical and community-based settings afforded me the opportunity to recognize that I was not alone in my childhood stigma of misunderstanding and distrust for psychotherapy, but rather various clients of color shared this same belief.
Framing Race in the Context of Art Therapy
February 20, 2020 | Cheryl Doby-Copeland
The 400th anniversary of the arrival in America of the first enslaved people from West Africa validated my interest in the generational impact of racial trauma. The New York Times Magazine 1619 Project galvanized me to consider how historical racial trauma has not been a primary treatment consideration in my client caseload.
Unpacking the So-Called Art Therapist Character in “Parasite”
February 12, 2020 | Clara Keane
“Parasite” made history during the 2020 Oscars, winning four awards and becoming the first non-English-language film to win best picture, the Academy’s highest honor. This acclaimed playful yet dark satire thriller takes a microscope to two families on opposite ends of the social class spectrum in urban South Korea. Their paths become intertwined when Kim Ki-woo begins tutoring English to the daughter of the wealthy Park family.
Interview with Peter Buotte on “Invisible Wounds” Exhibit
November 12, 2019
Yesterday on Veteran’s Day, we shared a blog post by Peter Buotte, veteran, art therapist, and sculptor, on his exhibit “Invisible Wounds,” now on display in the Texas State Capitol ground floor Rotunda in Austin from November 11 to November 18, 2019. We asked Peter to answer a few questions about this exhibit and his art process!