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.
Due to funding limitations, our individual art therapy services unfortunately closed in June 2023. However, the Centre occasionally offers online art hive sessions and virtual art therapy groups facilitated by TATI students carrying out their thesis research. We have also offered affordable professional development workshops particularly for new art therapy graduates and students.
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.
Art Therapy Group for People with Eczema
This group is a research project that aims to find out whether art therapy, a non-medical intervention, can support participants to reduce stress-related symptoms of eczema. The group will explore art-making with themes such as self-image, challenging negative self-talk, developing self-care strategies, and cultivating social support. Participants can use any materials they have at home, and no art-making experience is necessary.
Group dates / time:
8 weekly virtual sessions on Thursdays, December 5 to February 6 (no sessions between Dec 23 to Jan 3)
6:00-7:00pm EST
Inviting participants who are 18+ years of age and living with eczema. To register, prospective participants will be asked to fill out an intake questionnaire about their current experience of eczema.
For questions or to register up please email Emily Yang at: thesisproject@tati.on.ca.
This group is part of a thesis project by Emily Yang for graduate diploma at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute.
Living with Endometriosis: An 8-week Virtual Art Therapy Group
Seeking participants who are diagnosed or have a suspected diagnosis of endometriosis and are 18+ years of age.
Group dates / time:
8 weekly virtual sessions on Mondays, October 21 to December 9, 2024
6:30-8:30 pm EST
The group is part of a thesis research project by Jody Heakes Badour, TATI student, for their partial fulfilment of a graduate diploma in art therapy at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute.
The group intends to provide a space for folks with endometriosis to engage in arts-making as a form of self-expression and to connect with others who have shared lived experiences. This project also intends to raise awareness around endometriosis.
This group uses a participatory design, in which the participants will decide collectively in the first session on the topics or themes to be addressed in the following sessions. Through this process, it is hoped that participants will have the opportunities to reflect on the issues that matter to them.
For questions or to express interest to join the group, please contact Jody at student@tati.on.ca.
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 be part of the movement that aims to make mental health services affordable and accessible. Our therapeutic arts sessions are free of charge or by donation. For those who wish to support the ongoing work of the TATI Student Art Therapy Centre, please consider donating through this link.
Current Supervision Team
- Jacquie Compton (RCAT, RP, DTATI)
- Sharlene Friedman (RCAT, RP, DTATI)
- April Penny (RCAT, RP, DTATI)
- Suzanne Thomson (RCAT, RP, DTATI)
- Patricia Ki (PhD, RCAT, RSW, DTATI)
- Administrator: Taylor Bourassa (RP, DTATI)
Acknowledgement
We thank the Donner Canadian Foundation for their generous support of funding the TATI Student Art Therapy Centre for 2022-2023.