April 2022:

TATI wishes to congratulate Alexandra Hanania, MA, DTATI (Cand) on her new position with Sheena’s Place as Program Manager.  She is doing both program and facilitator managing, and also running art therapy and BIPOC support groups. 

Way to go Alexandra!

March 2022:

Tamar Millar, DTATI, RP shares how she became a full-time employee at Lumenus Community Services:

“Professionally, I am working as an art therapist four days a week at Lumenus Community Services (formerly Griffin Centre, Adventure Place, Etobicoke Children’s Centre, and Skylark, who merged in 2020). As you may remember I had my practicum at ECC with Laurel Choat as my supervisor in 2014. I went back as a volunteer in the Fall of 2016 and gradually became a paid employee, first at one day a week, then two, and now up to four! I work in one of our day treatment programs doing individual trauma-informed and attachment-based art therapy. It’s a wonderful program and it’s so special to be part of a multidisciplinary team – I have learned so much in my time there!”

Thanks for sharing your journey, Tamar—sometimes we come into our positions in unique ways!

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Tammy Reynolds, our graduate from the September 2019 DL Program, shares an update below on her progress as an Art Therapist in Thunder Bay:

 “Just a quick update about what’s been going on in Thunder Bay and art therapy. I’ve been doing well and have clients which is good and get new ones weekly! I’ve been fortunate to be a provider for NIHB which has been a very good thing to help clients who have suffered from intergenerational Trauma associated with the residential schools. I also have a standing contract with the March of Dimes of Ontario, a provider for veteran affairs and I’m also a couple hundred hours away from independent practice with the CRPO so that’s exciting too! It seemed so daunting at one time to get those hours but it’s close now !! I remember after just graduating in 2019 thinking that I would never get there ! Just let students know that it’s possible and doesn’t really take long! If anyone has any questions about the process, they are more than welcome to reach out! “

It’s great to hear from you Tammy and you are doing terrific work up there!

February 2022:

We have an update on one of our graduates, Martine Guay, DTATI, RP, in Peterborough who tells us:

“I am currently working full-time as an art therapist and RP at Gateway which is a branch of EHN Canada, same company as Bellwood. We specialize in the treatment for addiction and PTSD for first responders and military. The clientele is mainly males, for now but it keeps growing.”

This is great news Martine and all the best in your new position!

December 2021: 
TATI wishes to congratulate Saba Rizvi, DTATI (Cand), soon to graduate, on being hired by two agencies to provide art therapy services.  Saba writes:

 

I have been hired as an DTATI (Cand), RP (Qualifying) at the following locations:

 

At NRIO (formerly Bayshore healthcare) I have been hired to provide open group Art Therapy to clients who have been diagnosed with a brain injury. They are also looking into potential  group and one-on-one Art Therapy for their clients who fall under the NRIO/Bayshore umbrella. As this has not yet been developed yet, I am working with them to possible include Art Therapy as a service to their residents.

 

At Anderson Therapy Services I will be providing assessments and therapy to individuals of all ages and who present with a broad spectrum of social and cognitive challenges. I will also be working virtually with the First Nation’s community.

 

Thank you for your support!

 -Saba

 

November 2021:

 TATI congratulates Lori Deeley, DTATI on her great news of having received an arts grant from the province of Newfoundland to do art therapy with older adults.  She has been awarded a Professional Projects Grant from ArtNL to do the following project with a group of seniors in her local Long Term Care Facility in Bay St. George. The project is outlined below. It marries her art therapy work with seniors and her passion for painting, as Lori tells us:

 

This project strives to bring exposure to the natural world, art appreciation and expression to a population of our society which has been shut out of these experiences. Seniors living in long term care facilities are being housed in institutions which are divorced from the natural world in which many residents spent most of their lives. Their exposure to art and artistic expression is limited or lacking entirely. The purpose of this project is to build an opportunity for these residents to witness and interact with the natural world through an ever-changing art exhibition of my landscape paintings which will be accessible to all the residents of the Bay St. George Long Term Care Facility. The exhibition will also include 3 monthly art making workshops. The project would culminate in an artist talk and reception where residents and family members would be invited.

 

Over a period of twelve weeks, I will produce and deliver six new paintings that will be exhibited at the BSG Long Term Care home. The exhibition will grow biweekly, offering a new “art experience”, and building on the previous images. The paintings which will make up this exhibition will be ink and watercolour works based on my explorations of Newfoundland. The work will bring the “Outside In” for a valued population who no longer have access to the natural world or a gallery/museum experience. This series of workshops and exhibition will bring these missing experiences to the residents.

 

I am very excited to get started on this in the new year!

-Lori 

 

November 2019:

TATI wishes to congratulate TATI Grad Shelley Long, DTATI, on her new position.  Here is her description:

I’ve been hired as an Art Care facilitator at St. Martha’s hospital in my hometown of Antigonish, Nova Scotia. It is a part time position (20 hrs per week) and I will be working with patients in various units such as geriatric, PCU, mental health and oncology. I will be working along side a music therapist as well.

 

I’ve been hired through a wonderful non-profit organization called Arts Health Antigonish.  A bit about AHA from their website:

 

Arts Health Antigonish (AHA!) is a collaboration between artists, educators and health care workers which began at the Sustainable Antigonish (SA) Roundtable in January 2013. There was recognition by those at the table of a need to acknowledge, value and respect the immense contribution of the cultural sector to community vitality, vibrancy and health. Afterwards, several champions of health care and the arts came together to establish a working group, leading to an inspiring new community partnership – AHA! The mission of AHA! is to foster creative expression for community health. I am beyond excited to return to Nova Scotia and become a part of the AHA team!   

 –Shelley

 

Congratulations Shelley!  They are lucky to have you!! 

 September 2019: 

Congratulations to TATI Graduate, Sarah Hughes recently earned her Master’s of Science in Child Life and accepted a Child Life Specialist position at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, Alberta. Through education and creative modalities, Sarah supports the developmental and psychosocial needs of infants and children requiring complex medical support for cardiology and respiratory conditions. 

Congratulations Sarah for realizing your long held dream of working with children in a children’s hospital!

The TATI community wishes to congratulate Anna Portoraro, MA, DTATI, RP in her new full-time position at Bellwood Health Services in Toronto.  She was hired as Counsellor & Art Therapist at the beginning of March 2019. 

Congrats on your brilliant career, Anna!