My name is Nicole Levesque and I am an Art Therapist in Okotoks Alberta, Canada. 

I remember vividly the moment I decided I wanted to pursue Art Therapy as a career.  I had always been interested in art since early childhood.  I studied art throughout school and then at college and university.  While I was taking an early art education course I had to do an assignment with a girl who was 5 years old.  The assignment was for her to draw a picture for me, spontaneously, while I watched, and then determine if her drawing fit her developmental level for art making.  I was immediately captivated by how much detail she had in her image.  She spoke to me the entire time she drew...telling me what each part was.  There was one area of her image that she created much differently and she didn't tell me about it while she drew.  I gently asked her about it and she told me it was a dog but that she didn't want to talk about it.  I accepted that and thanked her for doing her drawing for me.  Her mother asked to see the image after we were done and I explained to her what her child had told me while creating it.  I told her about the "dog" image and that her daughter had created it so much differently that then rest of her image and that I thought that was interesting.  Her mother then informed me that her daughter had been cornered by a dog a few days earlier and had been very frightened by the event.  I remember the feeling of being so amazed at how much the girl had communicated in her drawing without having to say a word.  That evening I researched my options for studying Art Therapy and once I received my BFA from the University of Victoria in British Columbia, I continued my education at the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute.

I have since worked with children, at risk youth, adults and seniors in such settings as schools, hospitals, homes and resource centers.  Collage is the medium I have seen the most interesting works created by my clients and I use it often myself in my own creations for self-reflection.  I have recently started a blog: innerexpressionsarttherapy.blogspot.com where I share some of my art and thoughts. 

It was when I started my blog that I came across the Art Therapy Alliance.  I was immediately excited at how much was being shared by other Art Therapists over the internet.  I felt an amazing sense of being connected.  I also follow the Alliance on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and I often share information with my audience in hopes of educating others about my profession as well as encouraging others to live their lives creatively.  I believe that the images we make, when explored, offer a wealth of insight about ourselves and it is my hope to continue to encourage others to trust this process and see what they find.

Thanks Nicole for participating in the Art Therapy Alliance's Favicard On the Go project!   Learn how to participate here.

Check out this Art Therapy Alliance Favicard On the Go photo submission from art therapy student Jocelyn Thoemke from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area in Minnesota:

Jocelyn included this note with her Favicard photo:

"I am currently studying marriage and family therapy and art therapy. I am planning on graduating in the fall of this year.   I’ve been lucky enough to have art therapy internship experiences working with students in public schools, adults with various types of disabilities, medically ill children, and residents of a long-term care facility.
Right now I am in two internships.  The first I just started, and it is working with 2-5 year olds on the autism spectrum.  I’ll eventually also be working with the children’s families.   The second is working with a therapist in private practice and the hope is to put together
an art therapy group for adults who identify as having a disability. My image is in honor of the children I have started working with.  We use PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) quite a bit, and I found this wonderful collection of art related PECS. I am so grateful for the Art Therapy Alliance Network, it’s important that art therapists have communities where we can share ideas and support each other."

Thank you Jocelyn!   You can also check out previous Art Therapy Alliance Favicard photos and stories here.

It's great there's been a few Art Therapy Alliance Favicard on the Go photos submitted this week!  Earlier in the week I received a photo contribution from the Favicard that traveled the shortest distance so far through the mail for this project. This Favicard photo below received from Janet McLeod in Auckland, New Zealand I believe has traveled the farthest!  It is nice to see it arrived safely!

Here is what Janet included with her favicard photo submission:

"Last evening was a beautiful warm summers evening here in Auckland. After work my husband and I took our dog, my kayak and my Favicard to the beach.  We kayaked, played and had a picnic and it felt so good to be alive!   It is not always possible to play in the evening sun at the beach so sometimes I find my fun in other creative ways including photography, painting and art journaling.  

I am a newly qualified Art Therapist.  I came to Art Therapy through a personal journey that has been challenging yet rich and rewarding.  Every day as I work with clients who suffer from chronic pain I am amazing by the power of the process as it allows people to unlock years of trauma and start to heal.

I am very grateful to all those involved with the Art Therapy Alliance.  You are doing such a great job of providing us with an international community to share our experiences and learn from each other.  Art therapy is a young and very small profession here in New Zealand and it has been of huge value to me to be able to expand my network and connect with so many wonderful resourceful people worldwide!

This photo was taken using a Lensbaby, it has the Auckland iconic volcano, Rangitoto Island, in the background, and includes my kayak and Graeme playing with Winnie (our dog) and of course the Art Therapy Alliance Favicard."

Thank you Janet!  Visit Janet's website to check out more of her photography and also her blog.

Art Therapy Alliance Favicard On the Go Photo submitted by Petrea Hansen-Adamidis Hons BA DTATI, RCAT (Registered Canadian Art Therapist)  from Toronto, Canada:

Petrea's photo was taken in response to her participation in the 6 Degrees of creativity e-course via Art Therapy Alliance as a result of sock monkey fever. She managed to get her two sons to make one each but has not been able to stop making then herself. If you look closely you'll see that these monkeys are works in progress and this how Petrea sees herself as a therapist, always learning new ways of working with clients.

Petrea has been working with children and their families for over 18 years as an Art Therapist. She currently works in a children's mental health centre where she uses expressive arts therapy with individual children for trauma work and parent child  dryads with a focus on attachment work.  

Petrea loves to use story telling with her clients as well as puppet making. When she is not at the children's mental health centre she is busy running her online businesses which have a prevention focus of using art therapy for inner exploration http://www.arttherapist.ca  (formally the Art Therapy in Canada website established in 1997) as well as her new website http://www.offbeatfamily.com  which focuses on using expressive arts therapy for building deeper connections between parents and their children.

Petrea is a member of the Art Therapy Alliance via LinkedIn and enjoys reading about what others are doing in the field of Art Therapy internationally.

Thanks Petrea!

Check out the Art Therapy Alliance Favicard Virtual Map with sightings from the last 6 months:

Another Art Therapy Alliance Favicard photo makes it in for 2011!  This photo was submitted by Art Therapist Heidi Wagner, MAT, ATR-BC, LSW in Ohio. 

Jeanette Chan from Singapore just sent The Art Therapy Alliance her Favicard On the Go photo- :)  Check out her photo and read more about her art therapy studies: 

Jeanette is a final-year Master of Arts Art Therapy student with LaSalle College of Arts in Singapore.  Her love for art and aspiration to work in the helping profession motivated her mid career switch after 13 years in the financial sector. 

Jeanette strongly believes that many psychological and mental health issues stem from mal-attunement during childhood.  Individuals who were unable to experience positive or secure attachments in early childhood may also lack the reflective function to either identify their own internal experience or reflect on that of other people.  Because of this, she's passionate about working with children in early childhood education and intervention programs using art as a tool to facilitate their learning and developmental process.  Working through art has enabled her clients to reflect, experience and see their unspoken world, and gradually help them understand themselves beyond what they say and how they behave outwardly.  As a trainee therapist, her role is to create a safe space to facilitate this therapeutic process.

Jeanette's photo aims to show how art making can be a powerful process to reflect upon oneself and to bring the unconscious into conscious level.  

As art therapy is a very new profession in Singapore, Jeanette is very grateful for the ideas, reading materials and support from the Art Therapy Alliance network.  

Thank you Jeanette!

As an International Art Therapist, Krupa has relocated to south India and has been working closely with children in Edayanchavadi village, near Pondicherry/Auroville in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. In Krupa's photo, children are eagerly sharing their creations in the moments before a puppet show and exhibition of their work at the Thamarai Healing Centre where we meet in their village. Krupa has a vision to create an expressive arts therapies complex with spaces for visiting facilitators to offer music, drama, and dance and of course, art! 

Currently building the curriculum and sourcing space/resources to realize this dream, Krupa looks forward to tapping into the Art Therapy Alliance network to find interested therapists, collaborators and "alliances". Grateful for technology, she finds ATA and similar forums a miracle for staying updated on the developing field, sharing this international work and for allowing exchanges across all borders and barriers.

You can read more about Krupa's work at http://www.sankalpajourneys.com, on the Sankalpa: Art Journeys Facebook Page and contact her at krupa.jhaveri@gmail.com.  Nandri (Thank You in the Tamil language)!

Thank you Krupa!

The Art Therapy Alliance received its first Favicard on the Go photo arrival from Downunder in Australia sent by Karen Adler-Thank you Karen!

Karen is a Transpersonal Art Therapist, an artist, writer, curator and researcher. She's a firm believer in the inherent healing qualities of the arts. Karen has run art therapy workshops for the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction, self-harming behavior and eating disorders, for people seeking to bring about positive change in their lives and most recently, for health professionals working with trauma as a result of this year's floods in Queensland, Australia. She's worked with disabilities and mental health groups and next year will be embarking upon a project with youth called, It's All About Me!  Karen views Art Therapy as being highly adaptable and as naturally assuming the form of the group or individual involved.  She runs three art therapy-based workshops: The Journey Journal; Art Therapy: A Bridge from Trauma to Wellness; Creativity, Health and Happiness.

Karen also uses Art Therapy to help in the resolution of her own life difficulties and am continually surprised and delighted by the insight it brings. She's also been using journalling for most of her adult life - first as a traveller in the world and now, more often, for inner exploration and understanding.

Karen is a member of the Art Therapy Alliance via LinkedIn and finds the discussions help her stay motivated, inspired and informed about all things art therapy related.

Catch up with all the Art Therapy Alliance Favicard on the Go photos and how to get involved here!