Janet Walker Expressive Arts Therapist

Community

One of the sessions of Expressive Arts meet-up group in 2009.

One of the sessions of Expressive Arts meet-up group in 2009.

BC Expressive Arts Therapy Community

How do I keep fresh and engaged in the work I do?  One of the ways I do this is by organizing and participating in regular meetings with my Expressive Arts peers where we can practice Expressive Arts together.  This practice allows me to experience Expressive Arts as the giver and the receiver, to put myself into my clients’ shoes and feel what it is like to be faced with the blank page and not know where to start. Meeting other Expressive Arts Therapists who work in varied contexts (schools, prisons, hospitals, agencies, private practices) also provides an opportunity to share ideas and expertise in using an arts-based approach to mental and physical health with many types of clients.  

For Therapists

The BC Expressive Arts Therapy community list was created to help therapists network and collaborate together.  It is a list compiled by an Expressive Arts Therapist for other Expressive Arts Therapists, and as such, it  is not a registered body or an official organisation.  

The purpose of the list is two-fold:  first, to facilitate a community of practice in our field, and second,  to share information with  our colleagues.   If you are organizing an EXA open studio session or peer meeting and would like to open the invitation to other EXA practitioners, or if you have  announcements  that are specifically EXA-related such as  job opportunities, shared office and studio space, or training and professional development opportunities, you may wish to send a message to people on this list. 

If you have training in Expressive Arts  and  you are an Expressive Arts Therapist, Expressive Arts Educator or Expressive Arts Social Change Agent, email me if you would like to add your name to the list. 

Setting up An Outdoor Therapy Space

Beginning Outdoor Work:
In September 2020, I told clients that I would be working in my indoor playroom, as well as “emphasizing outdoor time” during sessions. During the lovely and colourful autumnal months, clients and I alternated between the two spaces, taking advantage of my two large sand trays and extensive sand tray collection indoors, and also working with a smaller, mobile sand tray, a child-sized art table, and art easels outdoors. Children also played in the treehouse, and with child-sized garden tools and toys in the large sandbox in the yard. We used the lawn for juggling and soapstone carving, where soapstone dust could be carried away on the breeze. I enjoyed exploring this new way of working, but wasn’t entirely sure if it would be possible during the winter. We wore masks indoors and I occasionally permitted children to take them off outdoors if we were working (playing) with lots of space between us. At this time, I also made up several smaller mobile sand trays so that I could use them indoors and outdoors and have a total of six sand trays so that I could change them between clients.

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Moving Entirely Outdoors:
Following provincial health restrictions on November 19, 2020, I moved my Expressive Arts and Play therapy practice entirely outdoors where there is good air circulation, and my clients and I can maintain physical distancing. We wear masks all of the time and have a hand-washing ritual at the beginning and end of each session. Clients go through the side gate into the Special Play Space: a large yard and garden, treehouse, sandbox, and a covered balcony where I have set up an art table, mobile sand trays and figurines, a variety of toys, puppets, musical instruments, and water play. I have a propane heater to keep us warm on the coldest days.  

Surprises:
How enthusiastic families are to continue with in-person sessions, even outdoors, and even when given the choice to do Teleplay sessions; how adaptable and resilient children are to wearing masks and working in any weather; how delightful it is to include the elements (rain, wind) and the animals (birds, squirrels) as partners in the sessions; how the outdoor environment is allowing for specific therapeutic themes to be explored in new ways. For example, playing hide and seek amongst the trees, behind the treehouse and in corners of the garden became a prominent theme for a little girl who had lost her mother (loss/attachment issues/losing and finding).

Differences:
This fall, I had to sweep my Art and Play Studio for leaves; I have to take some materials inside at night and back outside in the morning to minimize them absorbing extra humidity; my “work outfit” includes warm hiking pants and shirt, wool socks, wool sweater, rain jacket and rain pants, hiking boots and a frog toque…and a mask. My clients and I dress in layers and stay warm. I am not able have my entire sand tray figurine collection outdoors; however, I occasionally give a child a basket and let them choose 10 figurines from the larger indoor collection that they would really like to take outside.

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Basic Layout:
I have a covered deck that mesures 11 x 15 feet, leading off of the kitchen. Stairs lead up to it from the patio and garden below. The yard and garden are enclosed by a tall wooden fence and is far from the neighours’ yards, maintaining safety and confidentiality.

Supplies:
Heavy gauge clear shower curtain liners (London Drugs, $12), metal shower curtain rings (Dollarama, $2), eye hooks (any hardware store, about $5), thick string, thin, cheap shower curtains to cover tables and shelves to protect from paint and rain during the night (any dollar store), tablecloth clamps to hold down the shower curtains on tables (hardware or outdoors store), large, shallow plastic bins with lids to make several mobile sand trays (Value Village, $1-5 each). All of these basic supplies cost approximately $80. In addition, I bought a new propane heater from Home Depot (Mr. Heater). There are many models and price ranges available in home/building/hardware stores.

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I purchased several large plastic containers with lids, filled them with sand and had mobile sand trays that I could easily switch between clients.

I purchased several large plastic containers with lids, filled them with sand and had mobile sand trays that I could easily switch between clients.

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Procedure:
I had a covered deck which already had wooden curtain rods attached around the perimeter. I hung the heavy gauge clear shower curtain liners to create a wind/rain barrier around the deck on three sides, which helped keep us as well as the furniture and supplies dry during January wind and rain storms. I used my old, very basic sewing machine to stitch up a hem on the shower curtains (I sewed 2 inches, and left 2 inches open, then sew 2 more inches, and so on…). I threaded a piece of heavy string through the bottom hem, which I attached to eye-hooks about knee-height around the deck. I also weighted the hem down with small rocks from the garden. This helped to anchor the curtains down, so that they weren’t flying up into our faces when the wind was really blowing. I am able to open up the curtains when there is a beautiful, sunny winter day and close them again overnight. I covered the art table (and, during rainy nights, the toy shelf) with thin, cheap shower curtains and attached them with tablecloth clamps.

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Face-to-Face and Outdoors:
I truly believe in the power of face-to-face therapy with children, especially when the modes of expression are play and art. Outdoor work, with its natural light, sights, sounds, textures and smells, has the additional benefit of both calming and positively stimulating children’s brains and nervous systems.

I have been happy to be able to continue seeing children in person this fall and winter, while ensuring that we have the best possible air circulation (and thus a lower risk of viral infection). In January, as Nanaimo temperatures dropped to 3 degrees outside and we were expecting snow, I tidied up my indoor studio and prepared to put on my new HEPA-UVC-light air filter on and invite children indoors. But, as usual, they all came dressed for the weather (coats, toques) and happily galloped up the stairs to the outdoor studio.

I feel that my clients see their Expressive Arts and Play Therapy sessions as a special time in a special place. First, there is the face-to-face, immediate sharing of energy in the therapeutic relationship. In addition, in a society where we spend the majority of our time indoors, we are able to have a subtle relationship to nature and the elements. It continues to be an excellent work and learning experience for me.

A recent addition: two old doors which serve as durable outdoor easels for older children and adults. (My wooden children’s easels are only tall enough for small children, or for people who want to sit.) The easels now form another “station” or area…

A recent addition: two old doors which serve as durable outdoor easels for older children and adults. (My wooden children’s easels are only tall enough for small children, or for people who want to sit.) The easels now form another “station” or area for outdoor sessions.

Me, dressed for work, COVID-style. Hiking boots, wool sweaters, rain gear, frog toque and mask.

Me, dressed for work, COVID-style. Hiking boots, wool sweaters, rain gear, frog toque and mask.

The outdoor playhouse.

The outdoor playhouse.