Clay Art Therapy and Spirituality
We are overjoyed to share our new book. It is currently available on LULU, just click the link or the image below. You can read the book description below with the image.
A personal word on the project. During Covid-19, we engaged a postdoctoral study on clay art therapy and how people make their sense of meaning, which is how we define spirituality. In this way, everyone has a spirituality which is a very person-centred approach to life.
The study looked at the ancient bowl-form, as a kind of first type of clay formation made by humans. In the therapy studio we worked with the bowl in its many variations. The bowl came about as an imitation of the human hands holding water. Over time, bowls morphed into cups, plates, cooking pots, and many other types of vessels to hold food items. All during the evolution of pottery the origins related to art and culture as well as spirituality or how humans made their sense of meaning. The earliest figurines are of goddess forms, along with many other types of sacred objects.
Our clay-based therapy work with participants under NDIS remains in pilot phase, as we are still sorting our studio space renovations which has taken so much longer due to Covid circumstances. However, our recent NDIS Audit gave us a commendation for excellent investment in ongoing professional development toward the clay therapy project. They also congratulated us on our policy and practice frameworks, which includes a strong Telehealth model of delivery.
In future we will let people know about our online clay therapy opportunities. The approach will enable NDIS participants to collect basic tools and materials at home, and work with us online in our therapy art studio. We focus on individuals, and our work falls under the line items for behavioural support, assessment, and counselling therapy. Here is a little brochure for those who might like to start getting ready for this kind of experience.
Clay art therapy inspires awakening. Earth-infused and experiential methods are relational, self-reflective, and transformational.
Clay therapy provides documented outcomes in healing, anxiety and stress reduction, trauma and recovery, as well as in reframing beliefs and identity.
The approach builds skills in daily living and relationships. Seeking a holistic perspective to inform clay therapy, this project follows decades of research into the healing of trauma in minority cultures revealing the hidden power of spirituality as meaning making.
A person-centred method reframes minority identity within a postmodern psychotherapy. Experiential methods in therapeutic art-as-life and life-as-art embraces scientific evolutionary theories of development, cooperation, ascent, and convergence. Clay-based psychotherapy is informed by culturally infused methods reflecting on western, minority, and disability experiences.
We explore our therapy studio productions as well as the works of contemporary sculptor Andrea Martini, and the 15th century works in terracotta by Andrea della Robbia. Our approach provides for opportunities to reflect on the nature of clay art therapy in healing, capacity and skill building, identity formation, and in facilitating transcendent outcomes.
