Art as Therapy

Discussion with LS (Part 3/6)

Typically art therapy applicants are required to have some level of clinical experience prior to starting on the course (at Goldsmiths this constitutes 1500 hours of working in health, social services or education). Can you describe your own vocational experience prior to being accepted at Goldsmiths? Did you already have that experience or did you have to acquire it by other means?

No, I already had that. I’d worked for Richmond Mencap, and done assisting work for special needs schools on and off during and since my degree (2000), and I’d done a year of leading community art projects, often working with disabled people; my own projects also involved working with a wide variety of people, including those in difficult situations. There was plenty of experience that I’d gathered along the way as I’d enjoyed working with people in lots of different environments.

Do you feel that the course equipped you to work with a range of other client groups as well?

Yes, I worked in psychosis as part of my clinical placement and I don’t think I could’ve done that before. I needed specialist support and training to work in that environment.

Can you say a little bit about the client groups you now work with as an accredited art therapist?

It’s quite varied. It’s mainly adults; I’ve worked with a lot of mental health patients and I’m doing family work at the moment.

Discussion with LS (Part 4/6)

There seems to be a range of art therapy courses which are defined by different strands of psychoanalytical theory/ theorists. My course at the moment for instance is Jungian-based though I wondered if this was the same for your course.

No, it was Freudian-based. Following a line through Melanie Klein, Bowlby, Winnicott (to name a few) following the development largely of attachment theory and object relations to the present day. It covered a huge amount but really ignored Jung.

Did you read up on Jung anyway?

No, there was enough to be looking at on the training. I read what was suggested to read and followed some other things up that I was interested in. I obviously did read a lot of Freud, and was particularly interested in Klein.

Do you feel that people will actively seek out therapists whose training is underpinned by a particular school of thought whether it’s Jungian, Freudian or other? Is this a prerequisite to people working with you?

Well I’ve never been asked. It’s good to have learnt about that history, though the most important thing is whether you’re psychodynamic or not and how you’re thinking about your clients. People are definitely interested to know that I’m a psychodynamic art therapist and that I’ve got that traditional training from Goldsmiths – then they generally know what they’re getting. Other therapy courses often have more of a spiritual element or focus more on dreams and visualisation.

Does the breadth of different art therapy courses make it harder for you to describe what you do as an art therapist?

Some people have a really good understanding and that’s really exciting. Some people are open to knowing more about it and that’s cool. And some people, no matter how well you explain it, are not going to get it and maybe don’t want to get it either. There’s definitely a lot of misunderstanding around it, a lot of people think you’re doing art teaching or art activities which you’re obviously not.

So do you have to be strict in saying this is what I do and it’s just this or do get asked to asked to do other things which aren’t geared towards art therapy?

When I’m doing art therapy I’m clear in saying that this is an art psychotherapy session, there are different boundaries. If I’m doing individual work they know that the room’s a no-go area for that hour, the work’s also kept confidentially so I won’t be giving the staff feedback. And if I’m working in an art therapy group there are rigid timeframes; the group takes place here and this is the time boundary, and it’s the same very week. It doesn’t change. Whereas if I’m doing art activities these things are more flexible.

Is it easy for you to switch between these different ways of working?

I always have done. When I was training was I still doing social art projects to earn a living and I ran other stuff too. I’m used to juggling different projects; I think I prefer it to doing one thing all of the time.

Given that art therapy has its own rules and ethical code did you find this way of working rigid having worked on other projects that offered you more flexibility?

Yeah it took some getting used to. At first I found it incredibly dogmatic and I thought it was a bit ridiculous and unrealistic. But then over time I’ve really appreciated how important those boundaries are and how important it is to contain the client you’re working with. The stuff that’s coming up in therapy needs regularity and clear boundaries so that it can be therapeutic and useful, otherwise it could be destructive.

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.

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 26^th Oct – Thu 1 Nov. For more information go to http://www.lee-simmons.com/new-work/