3.5.2020 EFAT – European Federation of Art Therapy, WEBINAARI
“Art therapy in times of community crises; Theories and methods for contributing to our communities in times of crises”
Puhujana: Professori Ephrat Huss
”Crises such as man-made and natural disasters, and epidemics such as Korona, create a complex “shared reality” situation where both therapists and clients are dealing with the same stressors at the same time: Issues such as loneliness, fear, uncertainty, poverty, boredom, emptiness, loss of routines, loss of hope as to when it will be over, loss of professional identity and loss of loved ones, all pose strong challenges to communities. This can lead to problems in systems such as family violence, and difficulty caring for children and old people, and to ensuing psychological problems such as re-traumatization, depression, and anxiety to name a few.
Art therapy – like all social practices is ethically committed to using its skills to help society in times of crises. The question arises how can art therapy address these issues while maintaining our professional boundaries? This lecture will demonstrate how arts can be an especially effective tool to help address the above stressors, and to help promote more effective coping on different levels. It will show how to use arts in short term intervention, using theories of positive psychology and coping, as well as how to use arts to provide self- care for medical staff and other social practitioners. On a community level, it will explore ways that arts can address the above described problems that we are all experiencing, including our clients. Participants will emerge with a set of theoretical orientations and practical art tools that they can adjust to their different context.
Professor Ephrat Huss is a supervising level art therapist, and senior professor, who chairs an MA in Art Therapy for Social workers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. She has published over 80 articles and 2 theoretical and 2 edited books on art therapy and arts based research within social contexts. ”What we see and what we say”; Using the Arts in Social Research and Practice and- a theory based textbook for teaching art therapy as well as an international handbook on arts in social practice. She has also received competitive grants in this field and given plenary lectures at art therapy conferences.”
