• About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Download App
  • Anti-Racism Summit
SWHELPER
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Register
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • LGBTQ
  • Disability
  • Podcast
Find/Post Jobs
  • Home
  • News
  • Culture
  • Mental Health
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • LGBTQ
  • Disability
  • Podcast
No Result
View All Result
SWHELPER
No Result
View All Result
Home Mental Health

Creative Expression and Artistry in Healing from Trauma

Elizabeth BishopbyElizabeth Bishop
April 7, 2019
in Mental Health, Serving Consciously, Social Work
0
ADVERTISEMENT
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linkedin
Amy Bucciarelli, MS ATR-BC, LMHC, Board Certified Art Therapist, helped Frank “Dylan” Dinkins make a painting for his parents. Bucciarelli works with pedatrics patients at UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital.

You may be familiar with the idea of “Art Therapy”; a process where people from all ages might find healing and comfort from experienced trauma or loss. Creativity and artistic expression are connected. However, they are not necessarily one in the same. Creativity can be expressed in many ways that do not result in artistic accomplishments.

You may also be familiar with the concept of Trauma-Informed Practice. Historically, when someone has experienced trauma, there has been a great deal of focus on talking through the story, quite often in the presence of a professional counselor.

People may join support groups where they feel connected to others who have also experienced trauma. Some of us simply find friends and others who are willing to listen to us as we re-live our pain and try to make sense of the suffering.

Many people find relief and healing through this process. However, it is not necessarily the only way to navigate trauma in our lives. Healing can happen on a number of levels and through a variety of practices and approaches.

What is Trauma?

To back up a little bit, what do we mean by trauma? This is often a very personally interpreted experience. It might not be so much about the actual nature of the events as it is about the impact the experience has on the individual.

According to Judith Herman, in her book Trauma and Recovery, “Traumatic events overwhelm the ordinary systems of care that give people a sense of control, connection, and meaning. Traumatic events are extraordinary, not because they occur rarely, but because they overwhelm the ordinary human adaptations to life. They confront human beings with the extremities of helplessness and terror and evoke the responses of catastrophe.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The American Psychological defines trauma as, “an incident of grave threat to life or one’s personal integrity, or unexpected, or violent death of others.”

Impact of Trauma

As what constitutes trauma can be very different for each of us, how we experience it is equally personal.

Traumatic experiences can have impact for long periods of time if there has been no opportunity to find relief through some form of expression. People can experience PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), which can lead to a multitude of other challenges including mental health and addiction struggles.

This is true for all of us. This is true for the people we provide service to who have experienced trauma and it is true for us as helping professionals who have also experienced our own personal traumas and have been exposed to the trauma of others.

Without strategies to manage trauma, we can become sick, disillusioned, depressed, and disconnected ~ not only from others, but also more importantly from ourselves.

Trauma Informed Practice

It seems that the most powerful thing we can do as helping professionals when providing service to people who have experienced trauma is to acknowledge the experience for that person. So again, it is not just about what we say or what we do, but rather how we approach the individual in their current situation.

To me, this is evidence of presence and engagement that results in honoring another.

“Utilizing a trauma-informed approach does not necessarily require disclosure of trauma. Rather, services are provided in ways that recognize the need for physical and emotional safety, as well as choice and control in decisions affecting one’s treatment. Trauma-informed practice is more about the overall essence of the approach, or way of being in the relationship, than a specific treatment strategy or method.” (Trauma Informed Practice Guide, 2013, BC Provincial Mental Health and Substance Abuse Council).

We can also learn to take this same approach with ourselves. How do we simply acknowledge that we have experienced some form of trauma in our lives and recognize our personal need for safety and choice? I believe as we grow in our capacity to create this space for our own experience, we will naturally bring that energy and essence into our interactions with others.

Panel Discussion

Our first panel discussion on Serving Consciously occurred Friday February 24 at 12pm PST at www.ctrnetwork.com. The entire show was all about Trauma and Healing through alternative practices. My guests explored ideas related to artistic expression and the role in trauma-informed practice and share their research experiences.

Panel Guests included:

An Educator and Artist for over 25 years, Orah Chaye has instructed ECE, implemented appreciative inquiry curriculum in numerous settings, been Field Supervisor for Early Years Refugee Home Visitation, and has designed site specific curriculum and In-Service Training. Orah is the Provincial trainer for the BC Council’s Home Visiting and Risk Management certificates. From a strength-based perspective, trauma informed practice and the creative process is embedded in all of her curriculum. She has recently completed an Educator’s Toolkit for Physical Literacy and Nature Exploration (PLANE) and is well known for her unique and creative programming with young children.”

Dr. Amea Wilbur completed her Doctorate of Education at the University of British Columbia. Her research looked at how to make government-funded English classes more inclusive for adult students who have experienced trauma. She worked for many years as an instructor and manager for an EAL program for people with mental health issues. Currently she works at Pacific Immigrant Resources Society, an organization that provides services for immigrant and refugee women and their young children.

Diana Jeffries has been in the English as an Additional Language (EAL) profession for the past 15 years. In addition to teaching Diana has written resource guides for working with students who face a multitude of barriers, refugee youth and for students who have experienced trauma where she collaborated with Dr. Amea Wilbur.  Diana is also an artist with a background in theatre and applied art including mask making and puppetry.  She regularly applies her art background to her classroom practice, as she believes that the creative process can be a very helpful tool for students who are challenged in a regular classroom environment.

Listen here:

https://swhelper.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/elizabethbishop022417.mp3

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
Previous Post

Mindfulness Shows Promise as We Age, but Study Results Are Mixed

Next Post

Signs That Show Your Workout Is Not Enough

Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop is the creator of the Conscious Service Approach designed to support helping professionals to reconnect with and fulfill their desire to make a difference in the lives of those they support. Following the completion of a diploma in Developmental Services and a degree in Psychology and Religious Studies, she completed a Masters in Adult Education through St. Francis Xavier University, providing the opportunity to test and refine the elements of the Conscious Service Approach. Elizabeth is the host of Serving Consciously, a new show on Contact Talk Radio. Simply tune in to www.ctrnetwork.com and click Listen Live at 12pm PST every 2nd and 4th Friday.

Related Posts

Alaska Social Worker Dr. Yvonne Chase is the new President-Elect of NASW
News

Alaska Social Worker Dr. Yvonne Chase is the new President-Elect of NASW

July 7, 2022
155
How Does Sex Therapy Rescue Your Love Life? – 6 Incredible Ways
Health

How Does Sex Therapy Rescue Your Love Life? – 6 Incredible Ways

June 30, 2022
157
The Positive Impact Social Work Can Have on Public Education
Education

The Positive Impact Social Work Can Have on Public Education

June 24, 2022
161
6 Useful Tips to Keep Your Mind and Body Healthy
Health

6 Useful Tips to Keep Your Mind and Body Healthy

June 24, 2022
152
Insult to Injury: U.S. Workers Without Paid Sick Leave Suffer from Mental Distress
Education

How Social Workers Can Practice Trauma-Informed Care

June 18, 2022
567
In A New World, Social Work Leads the Way
Criminal Justice

In A New World, Social Work Leads the Way

June 14, 2022
136
Next Post
Signs That Show Your Workout Is Not Enough

Signs That Show Your Workout Is Not Enough

Top 5 Places To Read Reviews Before You Download An App

Top 5 Places To Read Reviews Before You Download An App

Leave Comment
ADVERTISEMENT
What Can Be Done To Solve The Foster Care Crisis?

Ending the Therapeutic Relationship: Creative Termination Activities

June 24, 2022
5k
What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

What Feelings Are In Your Heart: An Art Therapy Exercise for Kids

June 19, 2022
2.1k
Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

Want to Work With Children: 5 Skills and Qualities You Should Be Working On

April 7, 2019
2.1k

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Subscribe

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram TikTok
SWHELPER

  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Buy Merch
  • Download App
  • Terms of Service

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
    • News
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Politics
    • Criminal Justice
    • Social Work
    • Education
    • LGBTQ
    • Poverty
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Virtual Summit
  • Career Center
  • Download App
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart

© 2022 Social Work Helper, PBC

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
Sign In with Linked In
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Sign Up with Facebook
Sign Up with Google
Sign Up with Linked In
OR

Fill the forms below to register

*By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Go to mobile version