An interesting article on privacy that points out more than just your Facebook settings as possible spots that are exposing your info.
Combat Paper Project (revisited)
Hat tip: Janie P for the link to this video:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2010/04/27/natpkg.combat.paper.project.cnn?iref=allsearch
Cyber Cafe at the Silicon Valley
Three laptops connected to high speed internet and a printer is apparently the American Art Therapy Association‘s idea of the silicon valley.
Is this a joke?
Unfortunately not.
PS—and there’s no free wifi! AUGH!
Therapists, Why Are You Using Social Networking?
Check out this article by Lisa Brookes, KIFT, MFT.
If I had a private practice, I would create a page for the practice (probably linking to this blog), but I would not allow clients to add themselves to my work page. I wouldn’t want to compromise anyone’s confidentiality by having them as a “fan” or a “friend”, there for anyone to snoop. I also would be concerned about boundary and transference issues.
When it comes to ethical concerns on social networking sites, how can we forget the discovery Cathy Malchiodi made last year regarding the ex-prez of AATA posting videos of an autistic child during an art therapy session. Could there be a bigger no-no?
Lets make a deal, fellow therapists—if you are in doubt about what is ethical to post on your facebook, twitter, blog, etc…please consult your colleges! I understand that sometimes people forget that what you post on the internet is a reflection of yourself (in some ways the internet is similar to wearing a mask), but I can assure you, HIPPA and the ethical standard of your credentialing association does apply…even if their regulations have not caught up to the 21st century.
Lastly, here’s a good article that discusses one’s online presence and boundary issues.
Oooooooh! I WANT ONE!
Check out this usable and intuitive way of creating art on a computer using paintbrushes. Photoshop is taken to the next level! How exiting!
Robots and Autism Therapy
I love living in the future!
FUSION Volume 2 Number 3
Check out the new issue of FUSION! I’m really proud of the Features section and I thought the article on American Indian Art Therapy was an interesting read.
Enjoy!
Art Therapy with Deaf Children in Oakland, CA
Read about Brian Berlinski, who works at DeafHope, helping children process sexual abuse and trauma.
If This is Top Art Therapy News…
…then we’re in trouble. Found through a google news search, this is one of the top articles on art therapy.
Let us distinguish art therapy from art expression…or simply, blowing off some stream through art making. As awareness of our profession increases, I’d expect that the misuse of the term art therapy will increase as well, which is why it’s important to stay firmly rooted in the definition of what art therapy is.
Art therapy is not only about self expression. It’s about understanding and working with one or several paradigms rooted in psychological theory, and then integrating those paradigms with:
From the AATA website: Art therapy is a mental health profession that uses the creative process of art making to improve and enhance the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals of all ages. It is based on the belief that the creative process involved in artistic self-expression helps people to resolve conflicts and problems, develop interpersonal skills, manage behavior, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and self-awareness, and achieve insight.
Writing profane words over a picture can be art therapy. But, a group of people spontaneously using photoshop to insult or make a political statement is just that—art making for the sake of insult and statement making. Yes, it’s a form of self expression, but that is not art therapy.
As professionals we need to stay true to the definition of what we do. Otherwise every rude and over-the-top form of self expression will be confused for the delicate, difficult and enlightening work that is art therapy.
Nigeria—The Importance of Art Education
Taken from the Nigerian paper, The Compass, Kent Onah observes that teaching children a curriculum that excludes art does them (and by default the nation) a great disservice. Without creativity, innovation will not take place.
“…The polymer scientists needs some artistic knowledge to be able to come up with good polymeric innovations. The industrial designer must basically be an artist first if he/she can create useful and attractive products. The food technologist must first have a basic knowledge of art to perform effectively. The psychoanalyst or psychiatrist can not treat effectively all the time without employing art therapy.
As mentioned earlier, the medical doctors and surgeons depend on artistic illustrations to treat and to teach.
The environmental designers must basically be talented artists. The list is endless. The active presence of art in the curriculum will help the child to communicate better by exposing him/her to other outlets of communication beyond his/her mother tongue and verbal communication.
The creative process involved in the teaching or production of art helps to break the monotony in the study of other courses. As art is activity based, it adds variance to the teaching and learning process, thereby breaking boredom and encouraging more assimilation and better understanding. Art develops and improves the imaginative power of a child as well as encourage him/her to observe greater details in appreciating his/her culture and environment.
The inclusion of art studies in the school curriculum will help to discover as ‘well as treat or proffer solution to a child with psychological problem at its earliest stage. It will encourage resourcefulness among our youths and empower them toward self- reliance. It will expose the child to the endless potentials of art as a humanizing experience.
Above all, it will reawaken an interest in the visual arts which is the basic ingredient on which science and technology rely for their ultimate success…”