Over the next three weekends I’m looking forward to learning more about art therapy and: neuroscience; grief, death, and loss; materials and techniques. Check out the impressive speakers who are presenting. And it’s free! https://www.artstherapies.org/course/world-art-therapy-conference-2025
Edgewood Health Network (EHN) Canada offers an eight-week treatment program for adults with mild to moderate drug and/or alcohol addictions, and it’s free if you have a Saskatchewan health card.
You can refer yourself or through a referral from private mental health and addiction health care providers, SHA mental health and addictions providers, physicians, and nurse practitioners.
The program is followed by 10 months of supportive aftercare and includes education and support for families, support persons, and loved ones of program participants.
Many young clients are told they have ADHD but not about how ADHD can impact their life beyond not paying attention and being hyper. Here’s a handout with information I gathered to explain how ADHD can effect the daily lives of children and youth, and how art therapy can help.
The College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario has accepted me as a qualifying registered psychotherapist. What does that mean since my office is in Saskatoon? I’m now able to deliver online art therapy to clients in Ontario including people with benefit plans that cover the cost of sessions delivered by qualifying RPs (and many plans do!).
Registration with a provincially legislated college protects clients by ensuring mental health supports are delivered by qualified and insured practitioners who must demonstrate ongoing professional development. Of the 10 Canadian provinces, five have a regulatory body for counsellors and therapists. The territories and Nunavut do not.
A Saskatchewan college has been in the works for many years thanks to the efforts of 10 member organizations. For more information visit Fact-SK https://www.fact-sk.org/
The province’s Teacher Innovation and Support Fund is available for initiatives to improve student and teacher wellness, student achievement, and school safety. What a great opportunity for teachers to bring art therapy to schools in support of student mental health! Find an art therapist near you to team up for accessible, developmentally responsive, and trauma-informed student supports.
Bringing art therapy to schools reduces barriers to access supports and offers opportunities to do groups with peers who share common experiences. I’ve delivered groups in schools for children who witness violence, newcomer children and youth, high-risk youth in care, bullying behaviours as well as individual art therapy sessions.
Here’s a link to videos on my site about the benefits of art therapy in schools: https://dianneshannonarttherapy.ca/about-art-therapy/#:~:text=Art%20Therapy%20in%20Schools
Here are some of the many examples when you do an “art therapy in schools” online search:
https://thrivealliancegroup.com/art-therapy-improves-mental-health-and-behavior-at-school/
https://arttherapy.org/art-therapy-helps-children-make-sense-of-the-insensible/
Follow my Facebook page for activities, recommendations, client news, shares from community FB pages, practice updates, kudos to other Saskatchewan art therapists, and more.
Two days of presentations through the Children’s Grief Awareness Symposium provided concrete tools and relevant information, so glad I took part! Feeling fortunate to have more tools in my tool box to support grieving children and youth. Topics I attended were about the death of a sibling or parent, the complexities of children’s grief, grief experiences of Indigenous youth, how grief presents in very young children, grief in the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and understanding anticipatory grief.
I’m looking forward to attending this important offering of workshops about supporting grieving children and families. Grief practitioners from across Canada deliver workshops over two days on many, many topics. Check it out!
https://www.grievingchildrencanada.org/index.php/grief-symposium
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!
https://www.emmanuelrefinery.org/grow-with-us/classes
Adapted from Lisa Mitchell.
Dianne Shannon Art Therapy 