ExpiredVANCOUVER ISLAND – WHEN WORDS ARE NOT ENOUGH: INTEGRATING ART THERAPY INTO YOUR PLAY THERAPY PRACTICE (5 CEUs)

BC Play Therapy Association holds workshops throughout the year to help advance the education of Play Therapy Practitioners and related professions. These usually revolve around a specialized speaker teaching a subject of importance to the advancement of play therapy as a therapeutic practice.

About the workshop

“When words are not enough, we turn to images and symbols to tell our stories. And in telling our stories through art, we find pathways to wellness, recovery and transformation”- Cathy Malchiodi

Art therapy, like Play Therapy, can engage our senses in a way that words cannot. It encourages both verbal and non-verbal recognition and communication of cognitive, emotional and sensorimotor processing. Integrating arts techniques within Play Therapy can, therefore, further promote in-depth mindfulness, self-acceptance, compassion, and the opportunity for repair and healing.

This workshop will explore the mind-body connection through creative artistic expression with the goal of supporting those who work therapeutically. The aim will be to support and facilitate the process of exploring and uncovering client needs and challenges, in order to move forward towards wellness.

Learning Objectives

• Learning how to select and introduce art therapy materials in a safe and ethical manner in a Play Therapy session,
• Gaining an understanding of the language and the power of the materials,
• Exploring how the art materials can unlock the expressive potential within a client regardless of age,
• Introducing specific art directives that address the alignment of the mind-heart-body connection.

Our day together will move between experiential exploration and theoretical content, peppered with case studies and discussion. NO PRIOR ART EXPERIENCE IS REQUIRED.

About our presenter

Inspired by her experiences living, learning and working around the world (Venezuela, Oman, Thailand, Haiti and China) Josy brings a unique multicultural perspective to Art Therapy and to play-based ways of interacting in the counselling and therapeutic domains. She has had the opportunity to provide individual, family and group therapy to children, adolescents and adults working through trauma, life transitions, dementia, grief and loss. Josy’s work is strongly influenced by Client-Centred approaches, Focussing-oriented Therapies, and the always evolving research of neuroscience. She has, over this time, also led numerous local and international workshops on the safe introduction of the artistic process into the therapeutic practices of mental health professionals.

Who should attend

This workshop is open to professional who work with children.

We encourage you to register online however, if you chose to register manually click here to download the form.

BC Playthings, a North Vancouver toy store, will be onsite with their wares for your shopping convenience. They have a large variety of supplies for play therapy, from figurines to fidgets to art supplies and more.