Art Campers from Girls Inc Halton visited the Milton Art as Therapy office and took part in an introduction to stop-motion led by Jane Kwon (Art Therapist and Animator) & Rapinder Kaur (Art Therapist & Psychotherapist). Learning different ways to tell their story and inspiring others and each other to be Smart Strong and Bold!
Reflections
Art Therapists would agree that we never really know what to expect when our clients enter the art therapy room, whether we are working with a three year old client or a ninety-three year old. Our responsibility is to ensure we create a safe, welcoming, non-judgemental, barrier free environment, where the client (s) is given the appropriate art tools to engage in the creative process of making something. With the knowledge that the client is the expert and as the therapist, I am not there to fix anything, my role is to support them on their journey as they discover their inner power and strengths. The intention and hope behind the Art Therapy process is that the client (s) feels empowered and capable to manage and navigate the challenges and difficulties they experience. I love what I do and feel grateful for the opportunity to be an Art Therapist, however there are times I am left feeling discouraged by the stories I witness. In todays ever-changing insta-world, girls, teens and women are under increasing pressure to look a certain way, to be a certain way and to achieve unattainable standards of beauty and success. Anxiety, depression, isolation, self-harm, social anxiety, disempowerment.............the list goes on of the struggles young people face. So imagine for a moment that the world was set up like an art therapy room. Where all individuals with all their uniqueness, were given the opportunity to take risks, explore and grow their inner potential. When the senior campers from the Girls Inc Halton camp arrived at the Milton office, with their enthusiasm and creativity, it really was encouraging. An example, that in the right environment young people are incredibly capable. Ordinarily a stop motion animation short will take thousands of photographers and hundreds of hours to animate and edit. The senior campers in less than 2.5 hours, explored their unique strengths, discussed how they could use their strengths and art to make a positive impact on the world, they created their storyboards, went through the fabrication process and were able to animate the characters and backdrops they created. This experience was a reminder that technology, with its many pitfalls can also be a vehicle of expression and hope. Men in suits with wealth and positions of power, are not the only ones with the ability to make the world a better place. Empowered women and girls, with their invisible superhero capes can have a much greater and far reaching impact.
Written by Rapinder Kaur Art Therapist at Art as Therapy