Previous Workshops

 The Use of the Arts in Therapy and Education

Location:	Centre for Mindfulness based Education, 8 Bond Street Row, Brighton, BN1 1RD
Teachers:	Polly Irvin, Catherine Rees

COURSE AIMS
Words can sometimes seem inadequate to express the depth and complexity of feeling that adults and children bring to our work.
This course will explore how simple art forms and the imagination can be used as powerful aids to communication in a variety of clinical contexts.
By the end of the day, we hope participants will have gained a raised awareness of the many therapeutic and educational applications of the arts and a greater confidence in working creatively.

WHO IS IT FOR?

The workshop is aimed at both qualified and student Counsellors and Psychotherapists, as well as those working in health, social care and education whose work involves enabling others to communicate emotional experience.

It is suitable for those working with both adults and children, and with those whose capacity to communicate with words may be limited.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

We aim to provide a supportive and non judgemental environment in which participants will be facilitated to use the different art forms for self exploration and expression.

The use of the arts and the imagination will be illustrated largely experientially but no artistic experience is necessary as the emphasis is on process and expression rather than on the finished product.

Art forms include pastels, crayons, paints, sandtray miniatures, puppets and clay.

The day will also include a presentation of creative examples from case work and opportunities for discussion.

The approach is non interpretative, and humanistic views of personal growth and the fulfilment of human potential are central.

You will be given a certificate of attendance at the end of the course which goes towards your CPD.

An Introduction to Working with the Arts and the Imagination in Counselling and Psychotherapy

Facilitated by Catherine Rees

Rise counselling. White Rock hotel, Hastings

Words can sometimes seem inadequate to express the depth and complexity of feeling that clients can bring to therapy. This full day workshop is aimed at both qualified and student Counsellors and Psychotherapists wanting to learn more about the riches that working with the arts and the imagination can bring to the therapeutic relationship. No artistic experience is necessary as the emphasis is on process and expression rather than on the finished product. The approach is non interpretative, and humanistic views of personal growth and the fulfilment of human potential are central.

The workshop will be in large part experiential and should be fun and inspiring as well as informative. It will include exploring our own relationship with creativity, including what might block its full expression. Participants will be invited to use the different art forms available for their own self exploration and self expression in a supportive and non judgemental environment.

In the second part of the day, creative examples from case work will be presented to illustrate the many uses of the arts and the imagination in a variety of clinical contexts. The use of different art forms will be illustrated including painting and drawing, clay, puppets, sand tray and the use of the imagination and metaphor. None of these resources is essential to start working more creatively. References will be made to key theoretical influences including Gestalt, TA, and neurobiological research and CBT.

There will be an opportunity for discussion and to ask questions about individual client work. A handout will be provided containing references and suggestions for further reading.

Catherine Rees

Catherine is a UKCP accredited Psychotherapist with an MA in Integrative Arts Psychotherapy and a Certificate in the Therapeutic and Educational Application of the Arts from the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education (IATE). www.artspsychotherapy.co.uk She is experienced in working with groups and individuals in both the NHS and private practice and has worked for Age Concern and the Martlets hospice in Hove as a Psychotherapist and Counsellor. She is passionate about the creative process and its link with the psychological process, and facilitates groups designed to help people unblock, expand or discover their creativity.