What has been your favorite part of the program so far?

My favorite part of this program is how well it fits. Like I said, I didn’t choose Art Therapy; it chose me. And I am reminded of that every step of the way. The classes are a balance between art, active discussion, and theory. Making art and participating in discussions with my professors and classmates about history, culture, and current events is inspiring. Working at my internship while I am studying has been equally challenging and rewarding. The hard work balanced with the pure joy I feel, knowing that I have finally found my field.

In the middle of my first semester, my grandfather passed away. It was sudden and unexpected, and I had to fly home immediately. Because of COVID-19, my classes and internships are remote, which allowed me to go home and be with my family for a month. It may have been the most difficult month of my life, but my professors and classmates were supportive, understanding, and motivating. That month was one of grief and struggle, but it was also a month of faith and trust. I felt more determined to keep up with my studies, as I felt secure and grounded in my decision to be at SVA.

How has your individual art practice informed or related to your studies in Art Therapy?

Using my art to connect my studies, my internship experience, and my own healing has been an incredibly beneficial practice. I am really realizing how connected everything is. My studies inform my internship, which informs what I want to study deeper, which informs how I relate to my everyday life. My past experiences affect how I relate to the material, current events affect the populations and topics I want to learn more about, countertransference found in my internship work affects what I talk to my own therapist about.

It’s all connected, and that is why this field is so amazing. It connects everything I have learned with everything I will learn, it connects my love for creativity with my need for knowledge and learning, it connects the healing practice of my own art with communication and collaboration with other artists and healers. From learning the therapeutic importance of each medium in Methods and Materials to being encouraged to process my internship in my sketchbook for Supervision, I am making more meaningful artwork than I ever have. Through my own art practice, and a lifetime of personal experience, I have learned the healing capabilities of making art. Through the education I am receiving, I am learning how to think more critically about the art I am making, I am learning what it is communicating, to myself and to others, and I am learning that it is all connected.

What are you most looking forward to in your remaining semesters at SVA?

I am most looking forward to meeting my classmates. This year has been fully remote. My cohort has been connecting virtually, and I already know the relationships I am building will be important ones for the rest of my career, and my life. Learning how to be together, apart, has been our greatest challenge, and, I believe, our greatest strength. We are learning to navigate the difficulties and benefits of telehealth, together. This year has been a difficult one, and even in isolation, we are building a community of connection and collaboration, and I can’t wait to take these relationships from the virtual space to the real world.

The artwork I have attached is the most meaningful piece I created during my first semester at SVA. This was a mask-making directive we created in Debi’s Methods and Materials class. I titled this piece “Grief and Empathy.”

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