Pre-workshop with Dr. Van Huet and HKAAT 2022 AGM

PRE-WORKSHOP WITH DR. VAN HUET AND HKAAT 2023 AGM
Professional Growth & Resilience: Dealing with Stress & Changes through Art Therapy 

by Dr. Van Huet

Although we are now getting used to living in a post-pandemic world, some of the experiences and changes the pandemic brought on still have a lasting impact on individuals, organizations and professions. However, crises can also contribute to building resilience and can lead to developing innovations in medicine, technology, psychology, etc., and this has been the case historically following world conflicts.
In this presentation, we will reflect on how this can be applied to art therapy: as art therapists, we can use our creativity and art-based tools to respond to stressful changes and build our own resilience. We can also use our knowledge and skills with our clients, and support them to address high levels of anxiety and stress. This is particularly needed at the moment: for instance, children and young people are particularly at risk of experiencing mental health problems as many have found that isolation during the pandemic has impacted on their confidence, their communication skills and their ability to relate to peers. This has also affected their engagement and progress within education. Art Therapists have a vital role to play with supporting them to recover from this.

This presentation will introduce some helpful concepts and tools that can be used within this work, including the body/mind connection, working with body maps, introduction to a compassion-focussed approach and working with compassionate images. A few practical exercises will support participants’ learning.