Course Overview:

This three hour, live, online and interactive training brings together an international host of presenters sharing creative therapy approaches for supporting others during crisis and trauma. There are three sessions offered that will be recorded and made available to those preregistered.

Stories engage specific parts of the brain that light up during storytelling. This presentation illustrates the importance of storytelling especially in time of crisis, and gives ideas for everyone to tap into their memories and share their experiences.  We may be telling the tale of what happened to us in a given situation, or we may be sharing the solace of a well-known story that has the power to instil hope and reassurance.  We are all able to share stories with the young and old alike, which will create a mutual interchange and story relationship.

You will have the opportunity to:

1. Activate memories of healing stories
2. Create strategies for sharing stories
3. Refine our skills for application.

Contemporary crisis work is complex and dynamic. It suggests the application of a process-oriented approach and the need for a co-created intervention with the aim of supporting people to be authors in shaping their lives and future. The lecture presents the crisis as the intersection between its nature, the characteristics of the individual and the support system. The innovative concept of MAP (My Awareness Process) is also introduced. The presenters will share considerations from their international fieldwork on the ideal time to apply the therapeutic power of play, play therapy, and expressive arts while facing challenging situations such as pandemics, post-disaster conditions, crisis, migration, poverty and deprivation.

You will have the opportunity to:

1. Understand contemporary crisis work as a process-oriented approach
2. Describe the concept of MAP (My Awareness Process)
3. Discuss the ideal time to apply the therapeutic power of play and play therapy in challenging situations

How can we keep on looking and listening, caring and responding in the face of crisis? In this session, you can hear directly from our Ukrainian colleague currently living through the war about her personal strategies for managing crisis and keeping committed to supporting others. Creativity and connection are two ways to manage our own strong feelings in the face of other’s crisis and trauma. Finding ways to process our own emotions and responses to challenges for our client’s and threatening world events can keep us sensitive, sustained and optimally active.

You will have the opportunity to:

1. Hear from a Ukraine therapist about their work and self-care in crisis
2. Participate in a creative arts support and self-care experiential exercise
3. Connect with other mental health professionals to reflect on your learning experiences

Who should attend?

Carers, psychologists, social workers, counsellors, case workers, child and family workers, play and art therapists, pastoral workers, other allied health professionals and students who are currently working or intend to work to support children, families and communities through crisis and trauma. 

Workshop Presenters

Presenter - Dr Sue Jennings
		Dr Sue Jennings is a dramatherapist and specialist in Neuro-Dramatic-Play; she has worked as storyteller for many years and sees therapeutic stories as an important intervention for children and adults.  ‘Telling the Tale’ is often a secure means of sharing experience safely, without causing vulnerability.  Sue has published over 50 books and has recently edited with Clive Holmwood and Sharon Jacksties, Routledge International Handbook of Therapeutic Stories and Storytelling.  www.ndpltd.org.  YouTube: Moose and Mouse.

Presenter - Claudio Mochi
		Dr Claudio Mochi, MA, RP, RPT-S is psychologist and psychotherapist, Director of the training program at the International Academy for Play Therapy (INA) in Switzerland, Founder of the APT Italy. He has conducted trainings and projects in disaster mental health field internationally, and presented on Play Therapy and trauma in 6 continents and over 20 countries.

Presenter - Isabella Cassina
		Isabella Cassina, MA, TP-S, CAGS (Expressive Arts Therapy), PhD Candidate is a Social Worker specialized in International Cooperation (IHEID Geneva) and Migration; Registered Therapeutic Play Specialist (APT Italy). She is international speaker, Head of Project Management and trainer at the International Academy for Play Therapy (INA) in Switzerland. The book at this link is a very useful resource for professionals working with refugees. Two more books on the topic will be available soon. One Claudio and Isabella co-edited with Karen Stagnitti (link) will be available from August.

Presenter - Katerina Bolshakova
		Katerina Bolshakova is a practicing psychologist in the Ukraine. She is an art therapist, trauma therapist and developer of methods for psychodiagnostic research into the art of painting on stones and the use of these skills in therapeutic activities. For the past 3 years, Katerina has been focused on the development and implementation of expressive therapy techniques with painted stones in various types of therapy. In her private practice, she uses her hand painted stones in expressive therapy work appreciating that this allows client to interact directly with objects from nature.

Presenter - Jacki Short
		Jacki Short is the Director of Sydney Centre for Creative Change. She is a registered counselling psychologist, play therapist and supervisor with over 25 years’ experience in counselling, supervision, group work and training.  Her work in schools, hospitals, welfare organisations, drug and alcohol agencies and in private practice has inspired Jacki’s belief in the power of imagination, positivity, play and possibilities - especially in the face of challenge. Passionate about supporting others to find creative ways to express, explore and resolve difficulties, Jacki loves sharing opportunities for connection and creativity.

Workshop Date and Times                                                    

Saturday 14^th May, 2022   6 - 9pm Sydney, Australia (AEST) 

Saturday 14^th May, 2022   11am – 2pm Ukraine (EEST)

Saturday 14^th May, 2022   9am – 12pm London, England (BST) 

Saturday 14^th May, 2022   10am – 1pm Rome and Switzerland (CEST)          

Attending from interstate or internationally?

You can use this time converter to check the exact day and time of this training for your location.

Workshop Details

Included in the workshop price:

• 3 Live and Interactive CPD hours, 

• Exclusive access to edited recording of webinar, two weeks after event, for 3 months, 

• Slides available after the event,

• Over $1000 in giveaways of books, puppets and other online training events for those attending live

• Link to create Certificate of Attendance,

• GST.

Workshop Cost

Special Price             $400

All money raised from this event will be donated directly to Katerina Bolshakova (Psychologist on our training team, for her on the ground volunteer work in the Ukraine supporting local hospitals and Ukrainians impacted by war). It is greatly appreciated that all presenters are donating their time freely for this event.

Work Paying?

Lucky you!

Send us an email requesting an invoice via the contact page with your name, the dates and name of course/courses you'd like to do and the name of your organisation who you want us to invoice and we will send you an organisational invoice and a registration form.