I can’t believe that it’s the end of the year already. As I look back on the year, it seems crazy to remember that we were still in the grips of COVID this time last year and feeling the strain of restrictions and a long period of emotional and social turmoil.
Little ones sit happily drawing and colouring in while older kids sing, rap or dance to Amapiano. The room is always noisy, often chaotic and messy, and the energy levels are high enough to reach the moon.
There is a lot of joy in the coming together of our modalities in the Arts Therapy Scope of Practice. Our collaborative, shared efforts make our therapeutic modalities known, understood and accessible. Connecting in the South African space is critical as well as internationally.
Something remarkable happened on a former dump site in Freedom Park Soweto. Something so unexpected, uplifting and fascinating that volunteers from Joburg, Mexico, France, Austria, the US and South Africa came and rolled up their sleeves, eager to watch, learn and contribute their own talents to this unfolding story which culminated in an Arts Showcase which was open to the public on the 4th of December.
An Introduction to Supervision Training for arts therapists who have at least 3 years post-qualifying experience was held in person at the University of Pretoria South Campus, 5-7 August 2022.
2022 has been a good year, being the first year fully back to in-person work since COVID. Our students have serviced clinical and community placements in Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Pretoria.
This year I had the pleasure of teaching on the first Masters in Art Therapy. It has been a wonderful experience running a studio practice group but challenging, as the sessions have been online throughout the year.
I embarked on my PhD journey in 2020 through the University of Melbourne with great excitement, thankfulness and a little bit of trepidation. I knew what I wanted my research focus to be and with the help of my incredibly knowledgeable and supportive supervisors, I refined it into what it is now.
At the start of 2022, Membership Services and the Communications committee launched a space for Sanata members to connect.
Being a new graduate can be daunting and uncertain. Membership services launched a mentorship program at the start of 2022 where new graduates were given the opportunity to be paired with a mentor.