Feeling grateful for the Refinery inviting me to offer another Growing the Good session January 25th from 7-9:30 pm. Participants reframe challenging situations by shifting negative perceptions to resources of personal strength and wisdom. Check out all the other wonderful Refinery offerings!
Kids with autism often have strengths in the areas of non-verbal reasoning, creativity, imagination, and spatial relations. They can tap into these strengths through art therapy while being supported in other areas such as communication, social skills, motor skills, and self-regulation. Saskatchewan art therapists have submitted a request for the province’s Autism Services Saskatchewan to approve art therapy as a service for families who use Individualized Funding for supports. Approval would mean families could contact Saskatchewan art therapists directly for their child or youth to benefit from art therapy. Check out the documents below that were included in the submission with examples of children with autism who participated in art therapy as well as art therapy and autism research and publications.
Do you want art therapy to be an approved service for a child or youth you know with autism? You can show your support by emailing autismregistry@health.gov.sk.ca by the end of October 2022.
The ASK workshop for assessing suicide in children and youth aged 5-14 years just wrapped up. Thanks to ABK Wellness for an informative and relevant workshop that covered topics such as warning flags, protective factors, coping styles, and approaches for having conversations about suicide with young people and families. Even though death by suicide among youth under 14 years of age is not common – 46 were recorded in 2018* – suicide is on the minds of many young people who come to art therapy and, understandably, a very big concern for their families. The ASK workshop provided me with additional tools and information to better support young people and their families when suicide is a concern.
In response to people of all ages who I’ve met and are at risk of suicide, I designed a business-card-size safety plan to be easily available – for example in a pocket or wallet – when someone has thoughts of suicide. You’re welcome to download and print the card for anyone who might benefit from having a reminder close at hand of personal resources and 24/7 help lines: https://dianneshannonarttherapy.ca/resources/
Just received marks for my final class of Mount Royal University’s Addiction Studies Extension Certificate. I took this program to better support the many individuals who come to art therapy and have experienced some aspect of addiction. The six online classes covered topics such as the effects of addictions on individuals, youth, families, and the brain as well as concurrent disorders and treatment.
Something I’ve noticed over the years is that there doesn’t seem to be enough support for youth who have an addicted parent, so I’m pleased to pass along a link that was shared in class to a guide produced by Starlings in Calgary:
Many friends and family over the past few years have been confronted with a cancer diagnosis and treatment, so I decided to go through the American Art Therapy Association’s outcomes-based research bibliography for information about art therapy’s efficacy for cancer patients. The articles I found are listed in the attached pdf file for those of you who are also interested. A Google search of “cancer and art therapy” will also bring up many, many examples of art therapy in cancer treatment.
Rising numbers of COVID-19 cases this fall mean that in addition to being fully vaccinated, I’ll be taking the following precautions in my office:
Masks are required in the common areas of the building and are recommended in my office space
If your child is comfortable wearing a mask they are encouraged to do so
I clean surfaces and any shared art supplies between client sessions
My office space has an air purifier with a HEPA filter
Thank you to everyone who is comfortable wearing a mask during sessions. If this is a concern, please give me a call to discuss how we might be able to accommodate your needs.
After more than a year of outreach and online sessions, I’m looking forward to seeing clients at 107-2366 Avenue C North for in-person sessions. What a wonderful feeling to see the supplies and tools I packed away months ago…sand tray and figures, puppets, odd bits of metal, felt, wood, clay, paint and more! Call or email if you’d like to take a look and discuss how art therapy might be helpful for you or someone you know.
There are a few spaces left for two art therapy classes I’m facilitating at the Refinery in Saskatoon. Explore grief and loss through Wolfeldt’s Ten Essential Touchstones over four sessions in May and June. Or try the one-day workshop in June called Growing the Good and discover personal resources to help you in difficult situations. Check out these and other Refinery class offerings: http://www.emmanuelrefinery.org/classes