Download Beatrice Brogi`s Page 1 of 3 Art Therapy Art Therapy at QMUC: I am

Beatrice Brogi's
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Art Therapy
Art Therapy at QMUC:
I am currently a trainee Art Therapist on the MSc in Art Therapy at Queens Margaret University
College.
To summarise how I see myself, I am a skilled artist and a trained experienced teacher; I am
a mature, flexible person with a strong commitment to what I do. I have achieved emotional
stability, sensitivity to human needs and expressions and a high level of self-awareness. I have
a great interest in helping people to overcome problems.
What is Art Therapy?
Art Therapy is the therapeutic use of art-making to promote healing and growth in a
professional relationship. Art Therapists are Masters-level professionals who have extensive
knowledge of, and are able to practice, counselling theories and techniques with people of all
ages, in a variety of settings including schools.
The discipline of art therapy draws upon the visual arts, psychotherapy and psychology and is
applied within psychiatry, special education, social services and the voluntary sector.
For whom Art Therapy is beneficial
Some mental health providers use art therapy for children as well as adults and male and
female sufferers alike, as both a diagnostic tool and as a way to help treat many conditions
including the following:
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eating disorders
behavioural problems
drug and alcohol abuse
socially-defiant adolescents who have been detained and/or put on probation
trauma or serious injury
chronic illnesses, such as Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease
disorders such as depression, abuse-related trauma, and schizophrenia
serious or terminal illness
life's challenges and illnesses including change, divorce, depression, bereavement,
trauma and addictions
Art therapy can assists individuals struggling; through the use of metaphor, art provides a safe
format in which one can focus on the management of uncomfortable feelings, increase problem
solving skills and enhance self esteem. It offers an opportunity to build a sense of community
with others in groups.
About the course in Art Therapy
The course is designed to help meet the need for trained professionals in the mental health field
and in education to assist in the development of persons through self-discovery, self-awareness
and personal growth, using art as a catalyst for healing and self-actualisation.
The course consists of the PgDip in Art Therapy (leading to State Registration) plus the Masters
Dissertation. The course is modular and will qualify me to register and practise as a Registered
Art Therapist with the Health Professions Council.
The MSc in Art Therapy comprises these modes of learning:
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Experiential - workshops in which I will make my own images and discuss these in a
group setting.
Placement - supervised placement work with clients. This reflective practice will enable
me to gain experience working with individuals and groups.
Lectures, discussions and seminars.
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Academic assessment is by essay, portfolio and presentations.
Detailed personal statement
I have chosen this course as I want to be able to help others in a creative way, giving people
the opportunity to express themselves through art.
I am a creative person, and I find producing work the most therapeutic way to release anything
pent up inside oneself. Art and the practice of the visual has always been an interest in my life;
in primary and secondary school Art was one of my best subjects. Since then I have aimed
always to study and work in numerous artistic or creative fields aiming to work in communities
or with people in need.
I discovered in myself a vocational talent in teaching and I started a PGCE, which I am about to
finish and I have been teaching in several further education and community colleges since
March 2003. I have acquired experience working with a variety of people of all ages with mental
health difficulties, disabilities and learning difficulties. By teaching creative activity I have
noticed how those activities were of particular benefit to both children and adults experiencing
difficulties with written and verbal communication.
In my teaching I enjoy individual activity and I am also very successful in group situations. I
enjoy creating a learning environment that is fun, non-threatening, and good to be in. I find
that when working in groups, creative thinking and activity enhance communication between
individuals and therefore between the whole group.
Drawing, painting, and sculpting help many people to reconcile inner conflicts, release deeply
repressed emotions, and foster self-awareness, as well as personal growth. My main focus in my
teaching is to raise students’ awareness of both the product and more importantly the creative
and developmental process.
In my professional teaching career I have further developed some of my skills such as patience,
good communication skills, good observational skills and a flexible and imaginative approach. I
have become a mature, flexible person with a strong commitment to what I do. I have achieved
emotional stability, sensitivity to human needs and expressions and a high level of selfawareness. I have grown my interest in helping people to overcome problems. With my PGCE I
have developed a further interest in psychology, including an understanding of the factors that
motivate people.
Here I'd like to describe the process which has brought me to art therapy.
Art and the practice of the visual has always been a strong interest in my life, and I became a
skilled artist through an education which culminated in a BA Hons in Textile Design at Central
Saint Martins in London which I completed in 1999. I worked in many art disciplines for example
paints, clay, collages, batik, drawing and sculpture, and I had the opportunity to build a strong
portfolio. I specialised in printing and towards the end of my course I took the initiative to
develop computer-aided design skills, a new and relatively unexplored area at the time.
I went on to work as a textile designer and then as a web designer. I see web design as another
outlet for creative expression and through this work I built up a supplementary portfolio of
website designs and digital artwork.
In 2003 I took a new direction in which I found I could use my creativity and skills in a more
rewarding way. I started to take on teaching work, and I also took up a Postgraduate Certificate
in Post-Compulsory Education (PGCE), which I have recently completed. Although the final
result is still pending I've consistently achieved high grades throughout the course.
The courses I teach are built around creative activity, both traditional and computer-based, with
subjects including art and design, digital cameras and Photoshop (a leading computer art
package). The main focus in my teaching is to raise students’ awareness of both the product
and more importantly the creative and developmental process. Whilst I am a keen on traditional
art disciplines I see certain advantages to computer-based working. One observation I have
made is that when learners are asked to be creative they are often less intimidated doing so
with a computer; often people find fault with what they create by hand and using the computer
as a tool can be a way to break this barrier.
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I enjoy creating a learning environment that is fun, non-threatening, and good to be in. I like to
run both individual and group activities and when working in groups I find that creative thinking
and activity enhance communication. In a recent position at Redbridge Institute I designed and
ran a unique and very successful programme where learners collaborate to create a community
website. Learners developed not only their computer skills but social skills, working in a team,
individual research, analysing information and producing presentations as well as making the
best use of the new technology including email, online groups, on-line voting, digital cameras,
scanners and more. This group aim gave relevance and purpose to the skills learned.
To summarise how I see myself, I am a skilled artist and a trained experienced teacher; I am
a mature, flexible person with a strong commitment to what I do. I have achieved emotional
stability, sensitivity to human needs and expressions and a high level of self-awareness. I have
a great interest in helping people to overcome problems.
Why I am studying art therapy; my ambitions
Through my teaching I have gained experience of working with learners of all ages with special
needs including learning difficulties and mental health difficulties. I have noticed how creative
activities are of particular benefit to both children and adults experiencing difficulties with
written and verbal communication.
I am developing these aspects of my work by training as an art therapist. I would like to work
more with people that find it hard to express their thoughts and feelings verbally.
I am inspired by the ideal of the Art Therapist: A Masters-level professional who has extensive
knowledge of and is able to practice counselling theories and techniques with people of all ages
and abilities in a variety of settings, drawing on the visual arts, psychotherapy and psychology.
I see this aim as a clear extension of my current work.
My intention after I obtain my qualification is to work in a wide variety of settings, such as drug
and rehabilitation programs, prisons and other correctional centres, psychiatric facilities,
paediatric wards, mental health clinics, hospices, nursing homes and other geriatric settings,
women’s' shelters, and schools. I will enjoy the exceptional diversity of clients and settings that
this career will offer, and I look forward to helping to develop the professional image of the field
as a whole.
Apart from practicing as an art therapist I am excited by the prospect of bringing new
knowledge skills and practices into teaching situations. I am currently teaching and have
opportunities pending in a number of centres in and around Edinburgh. For example the Bridge
Centre in Musselburgh offers education and training to teenagers with a focus on those with
learning difficulties and those at risk of offending whereas the CA(I)RE Project in Morningside
offers support to carers. These are but two of many settings where a teaching programme
would be strongly supported by the background knowledge of an art therapist.
I plan to remain living and working in Edinburgh for the foreseeable future. Wherever my path
ultimately takes me I am sure that embarking on this course will open new doors in my career
and I will be able to help individuals in learning and in overcoming difficult situations.