The Art Therapy First Aid Professional Development workshop is suitable for qualified Art Therapists, Allied Health professionals and Educators.
The training covers:
- Psychological First Aid principles as outlined in the APS Australian guidelines for supporting people affected by disaster.
- Clarify what Psychological First Aid is and what it is not.
- Practice sessions to build confidence in offering Psychological First Aid.
- Adapting Psychological First Aid principles into Art Therapeutic responses.
Participants gain confidence and skills in practical art-based ways to promote:
- Safety
- Calm
- Connectedness
- Self-efficacy
- Hope.
Summary of feedback from Art Therapy First Aid professional development workshops.
Attendees expressed a range of benefits, and these had common themes:
- Appreciation of the balance of experiential learning with theoretical content.
- Community building opportunity to spend the day with other like-minded therapists.
- Confidence and inspiration to take the Art Therapy First Aid approach into their own communities.
- Personal development and space for healing from the impact of bushfires and the pandemic.
Here are some examples of comments that illustrate these core themes:
“I liked the gentle facilitation of community building and healing.”
“I have gained confidence in my capacity to do this work safely.”
“I am taking confidence in going back to community and delving into the work.”
“Thank you for an amazing day alongside fellow art therapists.”
“Wonderful workshop that stimulated ideas and took some of the fear away about working in a First Aid capacity using Art Therapy.”
“I felt very seen and heard in my own healing around the fires. Thank you.”
“I feel inspired to be able to work in the community – thank you!”
“Loved the balance of active participation and theoretical background.”
“The content was delivered thoroughly, yet concisely, and well-balanced with the alternation between theory and experiential activities. I’m so glad I came.”
“I am excited about taking this out into my world. It is powerful, so needed and makes a big difference in a different way.”
“I want more!”