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Discussion with LS (Part 5/6)

Did undertaking personal therapy yourself inform your sense of the client/ therapist relationship?

Yeah, it was important. You need to be able to be aware of what it’s like to be on the other side of the table. If the therapist didn’t show up for instance; or if they were late, it would be so strange. If there wasn’t confidentiality it would be un-therapeutic and counterproductive. Having been in that role where you have to form a trust with the client, the therapist, other group members…. those relationships are different from the ones you have in the rest of the world. Experiencing that first-hand helps you to learn things about yourself. It proves to me that it works and that it’s effective…. You also need to understand how a suggestion or question from the therapist can have a very big knock on effect. We’ve all got blind spots. And unless you’re prepared to go through the process yourself, how can you be prepared to put someone else through it?

Do you find yourself taking on other people’s issues following a therapy session? As an art therapist how do you deal with this?

I think you learn not to carry things around if you know they’re going to affect you. But human beings are extremely adaptable…. You learn different techniques; ways of looking after yourself.


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Discussion with LS (Part 6/6)

I just wanted to bring the discussion back to your course and your experiences after graduation? Did you initially find it difficult to find work that was related to art therapy?

Not really, I was surprised as I thought it was going to be really hard. But I think because I’d been surviving as an artist for the last decade it was comparatively easier to find work as an art therapist. It’s more recognised as a profession…. combining that with the social art and the artist advising seems to give those things more weight and means I can work with people that I couldn’t work with as an artist (i.e. in a clinical setting). Fairly soon after graduating I was awarded a travelling bursary to go to Beirut and set up some art therapy sessions. People over there (in Beirut) were really receptive to the idea. I found placements really fast and loved the work that I did. I wanted to be out there for longer but would have needed more funding for a longer piece of work.

Given that you have so many different working roles, and you only do art therapy some of the time, do you think it would be hard for someone to be an art therapist exclusively without taking other types of work?

No, because art therapy is necessary; it’s very much needed. So if they can communicate what they do then they can find work as an art therapist. But I don’t think they’ll be able to walk right into a job, they need to be proactive, even so far as setting up new services.

Is there additional training you can do that might make you more employable?

You’re perhaps better off working. I’m sure there are other courses; and art therapists are meant to be training all the time anyway as part of their professional development, but there comes a point when you have to work. It also becomes counterproductive if you’re doing training in different things…. If I was looking to employ someone to work alongside me I think I’d be more impressed by someone who was out there working, and doing a bit of professional development too, as opposed to someone who was course-hopping.

Incidentally, that leads me into my last question. What advice would you give to someone was thinking about making art therapy their vocation?

What, if they decided they want to do it already?

Yes, what advice would you give them?

Don’t work for free. I know so many people who are offering their services for nothing; thinking they’ll get more experience and then they can get real jobs. But they’re devaluing the profession. It’s happened in the fine art industry already. When I graduated from my fine art degree I did random jobs and then other jobs within the art industry that weren’t being an artist, but supported my practice. Those jobs don’t exist anymore because so many people have been taking on unpaid interns and now galleries don’t think they need to pay for labour. It’s really hard to make money in the fine art industry compared to 10 years ago, and it was hard then. If we’re not careful it will go that way with art therapy. It’ll become this novelty thing where people are prepared to do it for nothing, but this doesn’t work because you need someone who’s going to be there long term… The position needs to be properly set up, you need supervision and you need to have a good team around you, it takes time to form therapeutic groups. I think to offer 3 months to get started is fine. Though after 3 months you leave and only come back to set up something more substantial if you’re to be paid properly. Do good work, get paid for it and support the profession.

Lee will be presenting Dusk at Abney Park Chapel this week from Wed 26th Oct – Thu 1 Nov. For more information go to http://www.lee-simmons.com/new-work/


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I started to reflect on a previous post regarding confidentiality as I’d recently reactivated my Facebook account to coincide with the start of Uni. Incidentally I’d mentioned the blog to a few others on the MA and they seemed genuinely enthused about it and encouraged me to send them the web link. Complying with their request I decided to write a bit of blurb about the blog and posted it on the MA facebook page. Although having clicked ‘send’ I started to wonder what was to be gained by publicising this blog to others on the course. What was my intention? Initially I thought it might be of interest to those who are in a similar position to myself. Though if I’m honest I guess I was seeking validation from my peers; an indication that what I was doing was ok and not betraying their trust by posting stuff about the course. Subsequently I found the following links (sent by a friend) extremely helpful.

http://www.psychotherapy.net/article/psychotherapists-guide-social-media
http://www.therapytoday.net/article/show/2372/print/


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