Colorado Art Therapy Association
Spring Newsletter - 2021
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Toni Morrison
Adri Norris
mixed media and watercolor on wood
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Dear Colorado Art Therapy Community,
Our hearts are filled with warmth and gratitude for the art therapy community who has been wonderfully supportive and healing during this time. There are many challenges that have been confronted and continue to be confronted to change the future. By acknowledging the collective hurt, artists and art therapists have mobilized to stand in solidarity with BIPOC communities. Opening the world's eyes to the violence that continues to perpetuate in the world is a heartbreaking act that requires mental health therapists to advocate and act.
On 20 April 2021, Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all charges. For many, this is not a moment of justice, it is a moment of a former police officer being held accountable for his actions. Accountability is a step towards fighting for something greater. Justice would be not another black person being murdered at the hands of the police. In the face of this trial, the world watched the re-traumatization of witnesses and saw the continued police violence against BIPOC communities with Daunte Wright (age 20), Adam Toledo (age 13), and Ma'khia Bryant (age 15). BIPOC communities need us all to stand up with them. Collective grief has been reverberating down to the roots of the Earth.
Grief and trauma have been compounded together as the nation demands action in the face of mass shootings. As of 18 April 2021, the United States has seen at least 147 mass shootings in 2021 with at least 45 of those since 16 March 2021 according to the Gun Violence Archive. One of those mass shootings took place in Boulder, Colorado with two other gun violence incidents taking place in Grand Junction, Colorado, and Oak Creek, Colorado. Since 1993, Colorado has had seven mass shootings. This is the wounded history people in the community feel having to continue witnessing such violence continue to be ignored.
Asian-Americans have also had to use their voices to address the increasing violence, hate, and discrimination that was going unseen. There are people who do not want to see the harm that is occurring, deepening the wounds felt throughout history. There are so many aspects to address in the face of violence and systemic violence which means that it is imperative for the art therapy community to support one another. Hold each other like we hold the community. Stand in solidarity, spread healing for connection, and speak with advocacy for hope.
Jacenta L. Irlanda
CO-ATA President
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Colorado Art Therapist in the Spotlight |
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Meet Susan Jacobsen,
ATR-BC, LPC
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The Colorado Art Therapy Association is proud to feature Colorado art therapist, Susan Jacobsen.
Jacobsen serves as Clinical Advisor to the Return to Zero H.O.P.E. board and she engages in the Pregnancy After Loss group. She is the owner of Henry's Heart Art Therapy, which is dedicated to her son, who was still born.
Jacobsen believes in the power of art to access healing for ourselves and our clients. She works with clients who have lost babies and who are pregnant after a loss. She also supports clients to cope with grief and trauma.
When she is not working as an art therapist, you can find her making art, camping and hiking with her family!
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Colorado Art Therapy Association News |
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There is Room at Our Table:
Encouraging Inclusivity on Social Media Platforms
Lara K. Rutledge, MA candidate
COATA Public Relations Chair
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art by Angelina Bambina @angelina_bambina_dsgn
digital illustration
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Art therapists acknowledge the importance of creating room at the table for everyone; moreover, the Colorado Art Therapy Association strives to embody this through our social media platforms.
Like a table at mealtime, our social media platforms have become a space for including multiple perspectives and for having conversations related to values that we share and seek to cultivate.
In times of pandemic-isolation and racial injustice, we have chosen to focus on hope, connection and solidarity. From featuring BIPOC Colorado artists and engaging our followers in art challenges to quoting inspiring art therapy pioneers of color, we have put a fork in what is important to us during this time.
To works towards promoting change and to honor all voices at the table, this means acknowledging when we have made a mistake and working to correct it. Our mistakes have empowered us to move forward with new understanding.
Please consider following us on Instagram @arttherapyco and Facebook @arttherapyassociationofCO and support BIPOC organizations and artists of color!
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Consider supporting these BIPOC organizations
and artists on Instagram:
Colorado BIPOC Organizations & Artists
@lcacdenver
@seewalker_art
@greggdeal
@gabrielsanchezart
@volarduran
@cannupahanska
@afrotriangle
@edicapacha
@mi_moegram
BIPOC & AAPI Organizations
@auc_artcollective
@ckyourprivilege
@BIPOC_mentalhealth
@bipoc.voices
@asianmentalhealthcollective
BIPOC & AAPI Art Therapists & Therapy Organizations
@blackfemaletherapists
@blacktherapistsrock
@inclusivetherapists
@decolonizingtherapy
@blackcreativeartstherapy
@therapyforblackgirls
@ericapang.art
@erio.arttherapy
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"You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn’t do anything to the object of its displeasure. So use that anger. You write it. You paint it. You dance it. You march it. You vote it. You do everything about it. You talk it. Never stop talking it." #MayaAngelou
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Peer Supervision Takes Shape
Kerry Jessup, LPC, LCAT, ATR-BC
COATA Peer Supervision Chair
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Colorado Art Therapy Association offers monthly Peer Supervision groups open to professionals working in the field of art therapy or related fields. This is an opportunity to make art together and receive feedback and support with challenging clinical issues and cases. Peer Supervision brings our community together for connection, growth, and self-care through art.
All groups are 2 hours long and are now being held outdoors in parks (weather permitting with Zoom as our backup). We prioritize safety and follow CDC guidelines by wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
Hand sanitizer and clean art materials will be provided, or you are welcome to bring your own materials.
The format for supervision is:
- Introductions
- Discussion around a topic selected by the facilitator
- Case review and clinical challenges
- Art-making
- Sharing/processing artwork and closing
Our facilitators are registered by the Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATR) and most are also licensed at the state-level. Recent graduates of art therapy programs are encouraged and welcome to attend, as these groups can be applied to post-graduate ATR supervision hours.
Groups are free for CO-ATA members and $10 for non-members.
Please register on our website prior to the day of the group. We will email you directions to our location inside of the park as well as the group facilitator's cell number.
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May Art Thrive Challenge Kick Off |
Join the Colorado Art Therapy Association this year for the May Art Thrive Challenge!
Each day in May, we will focus on daily art prompts to inspire community awareness and connection through social justice. Use this time to reflect on themes about where you live, to check your privilege and to consider what makes your community unique!
Follow along with us on Facebook or Instagram each day to receive an art prompt and instructions.
Do you know someone who might enjoy this daily art challenge? Would you like an art buddy to create and discuss these themes with? Spread the word!
Join the May Art Thrive Challenge:
Instagram @arttherapyco
Facebook @arttherapyassociationofCO
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Naropa University Art Therapy Oral Presentations |
Let's gather to celebrate Naropa's Class of 2021 graduate students
as they share their developments in the field of art therapy!
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Now is the Time to Talk About
Art Therapy and Grief
Madi Musson, MA, ATR-BC, LMFT, EMDR-C, CiT
COATA Peer Supervision Facilitator
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Artwork by Denise Karabinus |
We live in a world where we are constantly challenged to face the adversities of grief. In these unprecedented times, more than ever, we are asked to not only hold space for others, but to also explore and sit with our own feelings. As we emerge from a year of isolation, loss, and transitions all of us need our own avenues for exploring the complexities of grief that we are collectively experiencing.
Art therapy, as part of the vast expressive arts therapies, provides an outlet for us. It is through the mark-making, explorative creation process that we have the potential to shift from internalization into a collaborative outlet for healing. It is through the act of creation that we are given the spaces needed to heal and to cope with the challenges of our generations. It is in our together-ness, not on our own, that we find the resources necessary to move forward.
In our unspoken visual truths art therapy establishes the foundation of stable, secured places while giving a voice to the collective traumas we have encountered. Within the last year we were challenged to not just witness traumas related to COVID-19, but to also engage in the conversations as allies to Black, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Indigenous members of our communities. We are all in this together. Addressing the intergenerational traumas, collective oppressions, and ongoing injustices in our world are necessary to move forward.
It is through culturally attuned, trauma-aware, and identity affirming creative expression that we can shift.
Image Reference
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A Dedication to Lives Lost in the Boulder Shooting |
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The Colorado Art Therapy Association honors the lives that were lost in the recent tragic shooting in Boulder, Colorado.
May these lives always be remembered.
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In Loving Memory of:
Denny Stong
Neven Stanisic
Rikki Olds
Talona Bartkowiak
Suzanne Fountain
Teri Leiker
Officer Eric Talley
Kevin Mahoney
Lynn Murray
Jody Waters
Image Reference
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Boulder Community Processes
Grief and Trauma through Art
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#BOULDERSTRONG
Stephanie Buriel
crocheted yarn installation
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Local art therapist and Naropa University faculty, Jessica Whitesel, recently interviewed with CBS4 Denver's Shaun Chtinis (March, 2021). In the interview, Whitesel said:
“When we experience trauma, it is nonverbal, it doesn’t have words. To heal from that, to work with that, it’s useful to have methods and approaches that are also not based in talking and based in words.”
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Museum of Boulder Curator Chelsea Pennington Hahn cleans signs that were collected from the makeshift memorial for shooting victims in Boulder, Colorado (Swearingen, March 2021). |
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Textile artist, Stephanie Buriel, aka "Yarn Bomber," installs her yarn heart at The Riverside Restaurant in Boulder, Colorado. (McCort, April 2021). |
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King Sooper's Shooting memorial made possible by Museum of Boulder (Castillo, April 2021). |
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University of Colorado musician, Louis Saxton, plays his cello at the fence outside of King Soopers where the shooting took place (Castillo, April 2021). |
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Photo and Article References
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Art Therapy for Disaster Relief Training, A Success |
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On April 14, 2021, The Colorado Art Therapy Association members trained with Nicole Porter Davis, ATR-BC, LCAT, President of the New York Art Therapy Association (NYATA) and Founder of Emerald Sketch: Art Therapy Trauma Response.
Though the Colorado community had an urgent need to address trauma related to the Boulder shooting, art therapists from across the country joined in to learn trauma response tools to support their communities with issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter.
During the training, art therapists participated in art therapy prompts related to disaster relief, engaged in powerful somatic exercises, and in-depth discussion about the neurobiology and trauma.
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Art Therapy for Disaster Relief: Trauma Response training has been recorded and will soon be available for download via NYATA and
CO-ATA virtual platforms.
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Toni Morrison
Adri Norris
mixed media and watercolor on wood
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At an early age, I knew I wanted to be an artist. Throughout all my life changes, moving from Barbados to New York, to New Mexico, then joining the Marines, art was the one thing that persisted. I was raised to be a leader, to see myself as someone who could help people and improve lives.
It was only in the last few years that I figured out how I would do that. The Women Behaving Badly series was born out of a desire to educate people about women from the past. Their stories have been lost over time and this loss is a disservice to those women, to the women and girls living now and to society as a whole. Sharing these stories through my art inspires young girls with role models they’ve never seen before. These stories make adults think more about what they have and what they have yet to gain by listening to the voices of the unheard.
I feel as though I am at the beginning of my journey. My list of women numbers in the hundreds and I have barely scratched the surface. I intend to be in it for the long haul.
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Support the Colorado Art Therapy Association!
We are seeking to fill these board positions:
Vice President
Secretary
Student Liaison
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