Feature image: regional attendees at the online professional development during the peak of pandemic lockdown. April 2020.
“GRAT” – Group of Regional Registered Arts Therapists was formed in 2007. The networking and professional development group is member led by volunteers, and works to support Arts Therapists living and working in Victoria, Australia.
In this article, GRAT members Natalya Garden (GRAT Organiser, Creative Arts Therapist, AThR) and Belinda V. Cody (GRAT Member, MIECAT Doctoral Candidate, Arts Therapist) review my Art Therapy First Aid ONLINE workshop, and imagine a future in which online training helps to strengthen the community of regional Arts Therapists.
“A strong sense emerged that the online format might help to shrink the distances between regional art therapists for PD events”.
Arts Therapy First Aid (ATFA, Sunday 19th April, 2020), the webinar, was designed and led by Carla van Laar. Carla has recently presented her Arts Therapy First Aid Workshops, in person, to Arts Therapists from Geelong to Brisbane. Following the devastating New Year bushfires across Australia, GRAT (Group of Registered Regional Arts Therapists) invited Carla to facilitate the workshop to raise funds for bushfire relief in fire-impacted communities across Victoria. Due to COVID-19, Carla adapted her workshop to the online format, creating a first for GRAT. Ten participating GRAT members and guests came from a variety of Arts Therapy and other professional backgrounds: psychology; arts; trauma therapy; yoga; education; NDIS Community Support (trauma-related); sexual-assault specialists; family violence specialists; teaching; and more. Attendees logged on from regional Bendigo to Melbourne; and from Geelong to Central Victoria.
Carla has a Professional Doctorate in Therapeutic Arts Practice from the MIECAT Institute, Melbourne. She is a registered arts therapist, educator, published author, and exhibiting visual artist. She discussed the context of previous Arts Therapy trainings she has conducted in Nepal. Carla adapted her presentation to an online format, basing it around core principles drawn from the Psychological First Aid Handbook, and pivotal arts therapy literature. The webinar included individual and group artmaking, break-out rooms for smaller group focus, and reconvening for sharing and group dialogue. A highlight was Carla’s presentation of the psychological first aid principles in a series of PowerPoint slides, illustrated by Carla’s own artwork, featuring environmental themes.
Carla invited participants into mindful physical exercises for grounding; art making to focus attention on sensations in the body and emotions; collaborative art making; leading of arts-based scenarios for the whole group; and time for reflective feedback while sharing art works created. These activities were guided in such a way as to focus awareness and artmaking on the relationship between the therapeutic arts and aspects of the psychological arts therapy principles. Participants acknowledged the strangeness of the online medium for the workshop; discussed new and creative ways of working incorporating communication technology; limitations and possibilities of the new format; and effective new applications, particularly in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Carla also demonstrated possibilities for facilitating future GRAT meetings/gatherings and professional development (PD). A strong sense emerged that the online format might help to shrink the distances between regional art therapists for PD events. The webinar format seemed to allow for effective communication and reflection, despite local technological disruptions. The format also incorporated spaces for individual and collaborative art making and intervention development, in addition to leadership, and community feedback.
A sense of a strong (regional) arts therapy community was apparent as participants collectively displayed their hand-made paper hearts for a farewell screenshot. These hearts reflected current needs mid-COVID-19 crisis and hopes for a safe future.
GRAT and workshop participants would like to express heart-felt thanks to Carla for her fantastic experiential webinar.
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