TATI Online Art Therapy
TATI Student Art Therapy Centre
About the Centre
The TATI Student Art Therapy Centre (formerly TATI Online Clinic) opened in September 2020 to offer affordable and accessible virtual mental health services to the community, while expanding practicum opportunities for art therapy students, during the challenging and uncertain time of the COVID pandemic.
Who We Are
Services at the Center are provided by students at the Institute, who received training and supervision by experienced art therapists registered with the Canadian Art Therapy Association and the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario or the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.
Re-opening in Spring 2025!
We are planning to re-open the Centre in spring 2025! If you’re interested in virtual art therapy for yourself or for someone who might benefit from our services, or if you’re a mental health or social service workers interested in referrals / cross-referrals, please fill out the form below to receive updates about when registration opens for individual sessions and upcoming art therapy groups!
Current Art Therapy Groups
VOICES IN COLOUR Virtual Group
The group intends to provide a space for Black-identifying youth to engage in art-making as a form of self-expression, self-love, and empowerment, and to explore and celebrate their rich cultural identities.
The group aims to connect youth with peers with whom they can identify and share lived experiences. This group will also explore more challenging topics, such as the impacts of racism, in a safe and supportive community space.
NO ART EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!
And it is FREE
Groups dates / times:
Jan. 5 to March 2, 2025
8 weeks total on Sundays (no sessions on February 16, 2025)
Grades 6 to 8: 12 – 1:30 PM
Grades 9 to 12: 3 – 4:30 PM
Space limited to 12 participants per group.
Facilitated by TATI students Monica McArthur and Kate Moo King-Curtis.
To register please email groups@tati.on.ca.
Anti-Oppressive Practice Focused Dungeons & Dragons Art Therapy Group
What if therapy was art & games? What if you could use art, play, and story-based therapy to cultivate your creativity & imagination, relate better to others, and empower yourself (and your community) to realize a better future? Channel your inner hero and join this group which combines a modified version of Dungeons and Dragons, with art therapy.
Anti-Oppressive Practice (AOP):
This group is designed to support each person to explore their social locations, connect personal experiences with the broader social contexts, and work together to cultivate empowering and creative responses to various effects of oppression.
No previous D&D or art experience necessary! Join an adventuring party that will support you wherever you are on your journey of discovery.
Group dates / times:
Wednesdays 6:00-8:00 pm ET
April 2 – May 28, 2025 (8 sessions)
Price: $160 for ALL 8 sessions
(Financial accessibility options available on request)
Open to anyone 18+ who is interested in building capacity to support self and others in developing collective wellbeing in challenging times.
To sign up please contact: alex@alexandernicholls.ca
- Limited Space Available
- First-come-first-served
- Participants will receive support materials and game dice
Organized in collaboration with art therapists and registered psychotherapists (qualifying) Alex Nicholls (he/him) and Leanna Scheitrowsky (she/her), co-facilitated by TATI student Haley Andrew-Pels (they/he).
Past Art Therapy Groups
Below are art therapy groups that were completed at the TATI Student Art Therapy Centre.
What We Do
What is art therapy?
Art therapy combines the creative process and psychotherapy. The art therapist facilitates a supportive, accepting space for the participant to creatively express themselves, gain self-awareness, connect with their own knowledges, and expand their life skills. Using various art forms and mediums as part of this creative therapeutic process, thoughts and feelings can be expressed that would otherwise be difficult to articulate. (Source: Canadian Art Therapy Association)
What does art therapy look like at the Centre?
We currently offer seasonal art hive sessions and group art therapy facilitated online using Zoom with Personal Health Information Annex enabled. Group cycles are typically 8 to 12 sessions in length and focus on creative self-expressions, processing emotions, and skills-building on present-awareness, self-care, and/or problem-solving.
We can work with individuals who:
- are 16 years of age or older
- are residing within Canada (except Quebec)
- are looking to explore and work through non-urgent emotional concerns through arts-making
- have access to stable internet with webcam and microphone, and private space for art therapy sessions
We recognize that many emotional challenges may stem from experiences of violence, trauma, or systemic oppression and marginalization. Due to the short-term format of the art therapy sessions we offer, student art therapists would not be able to support individuals in unpacking or delving into the histories of trauma, but can support individuals in dealing with the effects of these experiences in the here and now.
What art materials do I need for art therapy sessions?
Participants don’t need special art supplies to take part in art therapy sessions. Student art therapists will work creatively with participants to use or upcycle materials that they have at home, as well as make suggestions for exploring other materials if the participants are interested.
TATI Online Art Hive
For those interested in community arts-making in an open group, we offer a virtual art hive on a seasonal basis, organized by TATI student co-facilitators. To find out more about the art hive and register, please visit the TATI Online Art Hive page.
Support the Centre
We are committed to making mental health services affordable and accessible. Our art therapy sessions are accessed by donation. We won’t turn anyone away due to lack of funds. For those who wish to support the ongoing work of the TATI Student Art Therapy Centre, please consider donating through this link.
Centre Support & Supervision
- Clinical Manager / supervisor: Jesse Pajuäär (RCAT, RP)
- Clinical Supervisor: Jacquie Compton (RCAT, RP)
- Clinical supervisor: Patricia Ki (RCAT, RSW, PhD)
- Coordinator: Russell Rozinskis (MA, PhD Cand.)
Gratitudes
We thank the Donner Canadian Foundation for their generous support for the TATI Student Art Therapy Centre for 2022-2025.