The first “Meeting Places” PD workshop at CERES on Sunday 25th August 2019 highlighted the values shared by the wonderful group of therapists who attended. Some had travelled from regional Victoria and Tasmania to be there – affirming that finding art based and collaborative ways of working within systems and institutions is a topic of interest and importance.
We were treated by the presence of actor Henry de Oleveira who developed up three fictional but possible client characters, enabling the group members to play and practice new approaches to assessment and goal setting with ‘Jarrod’, ‘Mark’ and ‘Chris’. These three characters had diverse and complex life stories, were referred by different agencies, and brought the processes to life in some genuinely moving moments of creative connection and exploration.
Henry noted that making art ‘in character’ took his love of improvised interactive drama to a whole other level!
Participants all reported that by the end of the day they had more art based and collaborative resources to work with, and for most group members their confidence about ‘assessments’ and ‘report writing’ had doubled!
As one participant wrote in her feedback about the day “arts-based assessment offers opportunities for collaborative engagement with clients in a way that strengthens the therapeutic alliance and relationship”.
That’s why I love what I do! Thanks everyone for an awesome day. Play on! Xxxx Carla.
Leave a Reply