Art Therapy
Art therapy can create opportunity for an individual to work with their body and somatic/sensory response to enquire into their world. It has nothing to do with being a great artist. The materials are simply used to connect the body and mind which opens up our neuro pathways. The creating is not necessarily about the outcome, but more the interacting and findings during the making process. Many individuals find this a supportive way to open up with a therapist about what is going on in their world.
Grief Workshop Dec 2023
In December 2023, Projex J asked me to present an Art Therapy talk and workshop to their monthly grief support group.
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Respecting that no two stories are the same, I set about designing a talk that hoped to offer some ease and thought in a very hard space, with a collective group of people all living with their own grief. The take aways were: Be kind to yourself, You are surrounded by others in a similar pain so you are not alone, and there is always something to be found in everything. “Today you will find a little something, even if it is just that certain things don’t sit well with you, that is something….that is movement, and for now that is all you need. It will grow when ready.”
I delivered my own lived experience of my fathers passing when I was 15 years old and the 20+ years of how that changed and where that took my life. I use symbols and ways to create physical recognitions and reminders of what I need and where I have been. Story making. I then offered a couple of small activities that were achievable in the space. One being a Christmas tree decoration, like a snow dome, that a little memory of the loved one could be on the Christmas tree, at what is often a hard time for those in grief.
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​"Hi Yolande....your art therapy workshop this afternoon was wonderful; I felt a wee bit tentative, that feeling didn't last long. I totally understood the content and the purpose behind it. I took home a lot of thoughts. Nothing needs to be added, nor subtracted; your wonderful personality transcends all. I felt connected, lighter and warmed all over."
The Mask Program – 2017 - Veterans, Emergency Services and PTSD
In 2016 the RSL funded me to go to an Australian Military Medicine Association (AMMA)conference on PTSD. In 2019 I attended the Global Alliance Conference on PTSD. The Road Home organisation (Military and Emergency Services Health Australia) in Adelaide. At this time I connected with The Code 9 Foundation and their incredible peer support work.
Often in service professions such as first responders and military forces, training is designed to shield and strengthen individuals in order to cope with stressors of their employment and make it possible for them to deal with often difficult experiences. Over time this can impact their lives greatly and I believe it is the civilian world that needs to work harder and better to offer this support when it is needed. There are many leading programs and findings that Australia appears slow to embrace.
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In my experience with those living with PTSD and other related disorders there is often a feeling of a blocking process that can grow , presenting as a defence to these stressors and traumas experienced. In a way this can feel like a desensitizing and art therapy and other sensory therapies can offer re-sensitizing to re-engage with the world around them and reintegrate the participant safely and at the individual’s own pace. These are done in collaboration with other supporting allied health professionals in the clients care team, as no two stories and processes are the same.
Artcycle - 2016
In 2016 I was working as a support worker in an Adult Day Program Centre for people living with disability. The programs received very little funding and often only had petrol for the service bus. I initially designed an edible sensory art program, responding to participants wanting to do art, however had a tendency to want to taste materials that were sometimes deemed unsafe. I then focussed on the art room and workshop. I had a transport bus and eager participants. I decided to develop a program that harnessed the idea of recycled furniture to be reborn into an art pieces through the artists individual journey. Encouraging and supporting the participants to create individual pieces that hold their story through art therapy practices and embracing communication beyond verbal. ​ The program involved community engagement as we took clients to find hard waste furniture on the side of the road and asked the owners if we could use the. Items were then taken to the workshop and stripped by the woodwork group and given to the art class to create whatever they wanted to. I had sought a donation from an art supplies organisation for the art materials. The result was astounding and the participants were overjoyed, there was a clear pride and rise in self esteem. Many of the items were given to families as gifts, who had never received such a personal individual creation from their loved ones.
If you'd like know to more about me, my areas of practice or have a question specific to your situation please feel free to reach out via the confidential contact form.