Trauma
“Invisible Wounds” Exhibit in Texas State Capitol by Veteran and Art Therapist
November 11, 2019 | By Peter J. Buotte
As an art therapist, I get to encounter the invisible consequences of war each day. As an artist, this series intends to make visible the experience of today’s Wounded Warrior who was physically or mentally wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan from 2001 to the present. In another act of courage, each service member has selected a gesture and posed as a sculpture.
Monthly Art Therapy Group Continues for Northern California Camp Fire Survivors
June 27, 2019 | By Devora Weinapple
On November 8, 2018, a wind-whipped inferno ripped through and leveled the densely populated foothill town of Paradise in less than a day. This urban firestorm, known as the Camp Fire, surpassed the worst fires to date in the state’s history, which had been those that devastated Sonoma and Mendocino Counties just in the previous fall of 2017.
The Art of Origami: An Art Therapist Explains its History and Use in Trauma Work
May 29, 2019 | Trauma |#WeAreArtTherapists |
Origami within the context of an art therapy session can have many uses, including‒but not limited to‒ helping people deal with trauma, practicing mindfulness, and even promoting sensorimotor skills or frustration tolerance. However, the art form has a history that spans back even further than the term “origami” itself. We spoke with art therapist and creator of Expressive Origami Therapy (EOT), Toshiko Kobayashi, LCAT, ATCS, ATR-BC, to get a more in-depth look into the origins of origami, as well as its past and modern role in art therapy practice.
Ask Me Anything! Featuring Dr. Cheryl Doby-Copeland
March 6, 2019 | #WeAreArtTherapists
Cheryl Doby-Copeland, PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, LMFT, HLM joins us at the AATA National Office to answer your questions, and talk about her perspectives on art therapy practice, addressing diversity, working with trauma, and more.
Puerto Rico and Florida AATA Chapters Offer Group Art Therapy in the Wake of Maria
By Anais Lugo-Axtmann | April 26, 2018 | Trauma | Community
Experiencing hurricanes Irma and Maria was traumatic for most people living on the island of Puerto Rico. Seven months after Maria, Puerto Rico continues to experience prolonged losses of electricity, water, communications and infrastructure, limiting individuals’ ability to recover, keep their jobs and return to their routine (which is so vital for recovery). Many Puerto Ricans are reporting intense feelings of anxiety and depression which have been linked to the onset of mental health crises.
South Florida Art Therapists Offer Free Services in Aftermath of the Valentine’s Day Shooting
By Raquel Farrell-Kirk | March 1, 2018 | Trauma | Community
Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, MSD as it’s often abbreviated, is less than an hour away from my home, only 30 minutes away from my office, and a mere mile from the Coral Springs Museum of Art, where I conduct a weekly art therapy open studio group for veterans. This proximity is how I came to receive a phone call from the museum’s Executive Director, asking for guidance in setting up free art therapy services in the aftermath of the Valentine’s Day shooting that left 17 dead.
Transformations in Time: Art Therapy Exhibit Captures Responses to 9/11
By Kat Michel | September 7, 2016 | Trauma | Events
From September 6-8, 2016, Bellevue Hospital in New York City will be hosting the exhibit “Transformations in Time,” artwork created in response to 9/11 and in observance of its 15th anniversary. The artworks, created through the Art Therapy Program at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue’s World Trade Center (WTC) Environmental Health Center, serve as visual representations of change and growth.
Charleston Heals Through Art: HeArts Mends Hearts
By Dianne Tennyson Vincent | March 2, 2016 | Trauma | #WeAreArtTherapists
June 17, 2015 was a peaceful evening in downtown Charleston, SC. A regular Wednesday night prayer meeting service was taking place in the historic Emanuel AME Church. After an hour of Bible study and prayer, the unthinkable happened. A young, unfamiliar white man welcomed to the group pulled a gun and killed nine parishioners, including State Senator Clementa C. Pinckney. A grandmother shielded her grandchild with her own body while they both played dead.
Art Therapy and Social Justice at Chicago-based Women’s Shelter
By Sangeetha Ravichandran | December 9, 2015 | About Art Therapy | Community | Trauma
ApnaGhar, Inc., (“Our Home” in Urdu/Hindi,) provides holistic services, education, and advocacy across immigrant communities to end the different manifestations of gender violence. Gender violence can be broadly understood as violence impacting women and girls who are part of various margins of society. They are denied access, rights, and privileges and are stripped of personal power through forms of control exerted by an individual, a group, and/or systems of oppression, including domestic and family violence, forced marriage, trafficking, and honor killings. At Apna Ghar, we address issues of gender violence using a client-centered, trauma -focused, and empowerment-based approach.
Art Therapy with Veterans: The Art Room is a Container
By Rosemarie Rogers | November 11, 2015 | Veterans | Trauma
Art is a visual language. Human beings have been using art for this purpose for thousands of years. The cave paintings discovered in Lascaux, France and Picasso’s Guernica are celebrated examples. Visual arts offer veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) a nonthreatening alternative to compose in images what is inexpressible to them with words.