Workshops

Workshops and Presentations

Munch and Mingle Workshop

Guest artist: Chris Larken, Métis Art Therapist from Winnipeg, Manitoba

Sunday, March 15, 2026
Needle felting, Creative journal writing, Métis traditional designs.
For arts-based therapists, artists, and members of the Métis community.

12 pm Pot-luck lunch
1-4 pm Art therapy workshop

Hosted by Janet Walker
The Expressive Arts and Play Therapy Studio
2054 Honeysuckle Terrace, Nanaimo, BC

Munch and Mingle Meet-ups

For Expressive Arts Therapists and Creative Arts Therapists (Art, Drama, Music, Dance/Movement, and Poetry Therapists), as well as therapists from all theoretical orientations who are would like to join us.

First Monday of the Month, 12 pm -2 pm

My Inner Harbour
149 Wallace Street, Nanaimo, BC (In the Old City Quarter)

Free. Bring a colleague. Bring your lunch.

Network and offer peer consultation.
Share resources and art techniques.
Attend to self care in community.
Peer-led mini-workshops in various art modalities.

Co-hosted by Janet Walker and Laurie Larkin-Boyle

“EXA and Dementia: The Big Surprise!”

Conference presentation at:
Dreaming Us Forward: Co-Creating Belonging Through the Healing Arts Conference

Sponsored by:
CATA - Canadian Art Therapy Association/ACAT - Association Canadienne d’Art Thérapie
OEATA - Ontario Expressive Arts Therapy Association
WHEAT - Western Holistic Expressive Arts Institute

Winnipeg, Manitoba
September 27, 2025

Workshop presenter Janet Walker

Expressive Arts Therapy workshop

Shift: Changing Thought Patterns Through Movement and Creative Expression
Incorporating movement, dance, sculpture, writing, and group discussion.

My Inner Harbour
149 Wallace Street, Nanaimo, BC

May 22, 2025
6:00-8:30 pm

Guest presenter Janet Walker

Community Arts Event

Plenary session during the art-infused conference:
Building a Better World Together: A Community-Building Conference
Community arts and interactive music activity for more than 100 participants

Beban Community Centre, Nanaimo, BC

May 17, 2025

Workshop led by Janet Walker

Interdisciplinary Art Show


Educational, interactive, community art event for the artists (the elders), their families, members of the public, and therapists and artists working with this population.

Eden Garden’s Compassionate Dementia Care
1917 Northfield Road, Nanaimo, BC

May 3, 2025

Curated and facilitated by Janet Walker

Expressive Arts Therapy workshops

Weekly workshops on Mondays 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
September 2024 - ongoing

Eden Gardens Compassionate Dementia Care
1917 Northfield Road, Nanaimo, BC

Expressive Arts Therapy: visual arts, dance, music, theatre, poetry
Giving voice to a rich inner landscape.
Using the arts as alternate modes of expression.
Tapping into human beings' most powerful tool: the imagination.

Workshop presenter Janet Walker

Expressive Arts Therapy and Play Therapy for Early Childhood Education

Workshop during the Inquiring Little Minds Professional Development Conference.

For Early Childhood Educators working with children aged 3-12 in daycare and after-school facilities.

August 30, 2024

Workshop presenter Janet Walker

Expressive Arts Therapy, Play Therapy and School Counselling


Workshop for school counsellors working with students in grades K-12, presented during Le Rond-Point, a Professional Development Day for Francophone educators working for the CSF.

CSF - Le Conseil Scolaire Francophone de la C.-B. (The Francophone School Authority of B.C.)

February 16, 2024

Workshop presenter Janet Walker

(Workshop presented in French. Un atelier en français.)

Expressive Arts Therapy

Theme: “Expressive Arts Therapy, Apology, and Forgiveness”

August 21, 2023: A workshop for trained Expressive Arts Therapists working in the mental health field.

August 22, 2023: A workshop for individuals working in the fields of professional arts (visual arts, dance, theatre) and education.

Guest presenter: Dr. Carolina Herbert, Expressive Arts Therapist and supervisor from Wales/Cambodia

Website link: Dr. Caroline Herbert

Hosted by Janet Walker
At the Expressive Arts and Play Therapy Studio
2054 Honeysuckle Terrace, Nanaimo, BC

Expressive Arts Therapy workshops

Expressive Arts Group Work Supporting Employment Training

Workshops for young adults with barriers to employment to help promote job readiness and personal development skills.

Workshops for participants in the Homegrown Employment Training Program
a program designed and run by the Nanaimo Foodshare.

March 6, 2023
July 17, 2023

Workshop presenter Janet Walker

Expressive Arts Therapy for Seniors

Workshop: “Supporting Seniors’ Health Through the Arts”
During La Foire Santé Pour les 55 Ans+ (Health Fair for Seniors 55+)

Produced and hosted by Senior Citizens in New Westminster and Réso-Santé

March 30, 2019

Presenter Janet Walker

(Workshop presented in French. Un atelier en français.)

Play Therapy for Children Who Have Experienced Family Violence


A panel discussion about the film Jusqu’à la garde (English title: “Custody”)

Hosted by the Francophone women’s association “Inform’Elles” at L’Alliance Française de Vancouver.

November 25, 2019

Panelist Janet Walker

(Panel discussion in French. Présentation et discussion en français.)

Expressive Arts Therapists Meet-up Group

Peer support and consultation group for graduates of Expressive Arts Therapy programs in Vancouver and beyond. Peer-led exploration of a variety of artistic modalities. Peer support for finishing Master’s theses, accreditation, marketing, case studies, and further professional development.

Group one: 2009-2011
Group two: 2018-2019

Hosted by Janet Walker