Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that affects the midbrain's reward system, the production of dopamine (the feel-good chemical) that influences mood, motivation and movement.

This professional development workshop is open to  ANZACATA members who are interested in increasing their understanding of Parkinson’s and the important role art therapy can play in supporting patients.

“Parked in” will serve as an invitation to witness a personal sample of working closely with Parkinson’s clients, navigating both client and practitioner limitations. There will be real examples of how a person-centred approach to working with clients with Parkinson’s – meeting them where they are at – can be beneficial both to client and practitioner.

The workshop provides an opportunity to understand how art therapy can help with neuroplasticity, loss of visuospatial function and emotional distresses in addressing Parkinson’s challenges.

There will also be an emphasis on the importance of good supervision to help practitioners with self-care, especially at the beginning and end of engagement, with a focus on providing a holding space for the support needed to work with such clients.

The audience will be invited to engage in an experiential component during the workshop.  Please bring different sized papers (A5 and A3) and coloured markers to work with. The session will finish with a reflective Q&A discussion.

Note that this presentation will include references to a 10-minute TED Talk (“Embrace The Shake” by Phil Hansen). Attendees are strongly encouraged to watch this talk before attending the workshop.

Learning Objectives

• To have a better understanding of what Parkinson's is, rather than what it is not
• To create a safe space for art therapy to help boost confidence in making a mark when "parked in"
• To understand the importance of good supervision to help with self-care, especially when dealing with the end of the journey.

Presenter Details

Anna Barten MA (ATh), AThR, MACA (Level 2), BEd Clinical Art Therapist was awarded her MArtTher from Western Sydney University. Registered with ANZACATA, the peak professional association for Creative Arts Therapies in Australia, New Zealand and Asia, Anna also holds a degree in Visual Arts Education from the UNSW and is registered with the Australian Counselling Association. Anna has been passionate about working within a partnership with a diverse audience, discovering the best solution for managing difficulty when words alone are not enough to help identify, understand and manage emotional upset. Her humanistic approach has created a safe environment to build trust to discover the power of art making in promoting general mental health wellness. When Anna is not helping clients find their joy, she finds hers in spending quality time with family and friends, often travelling to visit with them. Anna also enjoys practising her own art, photography, cooking, and spending time in nature, engaging in long walks, swimming and kayaking.

When: Friday 25 July 2025
Time: 12:00–1:00 pm AEST
2:00–3:00 pm NZST
10:00–11:00 am AWST/SGT/HKT
Duration/CPD: 1 hr
Where: Zoom
Cost: $12 (+ GST for Australian members)
Open to: All ANZACATA Members (except subscription only)
Max: 50 participants
Recorded session: No (Privacy Reasons)

Cancellation Policy
When you register and pay to attend one of our events, you are holding a space on our calendar that is no longer available to other members. In order to be respectful of your fellow members and the presenter, please email Michelle as soon as you know you will not be able to attend the event. We keep our events as affordable as possible and need to pay presenters the fee they request. While we understand sometimes urgent matters come up, if registrants cancel at the last minute, we struggle to pay presenters. A full refund will be given if the cancellation occurs more than 24 hours before the event. If the cancellation occurs less than 24 hours before the event, 50% of your registration fee will be refunded only to defray our costs.

The Art Therapy in Schools Community of Practice (CoP) aims to foster a supportive and collaborative space for school-based art therapists to exchange their learnings, reflections, and resources in order to better support students’ wellbeing.

This free webinar will provide an overview of the CoP, and how as a community, we can advocate for art therapy as a profession to deliver quality and ethical services to students.

It is suitable for art therapists/art therapy students who are currently practising in schools or are curious about working in schools.

SESSION OUTLINE

1. Art therapy in Australian schools – An overview of current state, benefits and challenges.
2. Opportunities to mature this sector (A strategic target state) – Individual and collective efforts to mature, uplift and advocate for art therapy in schools.
3. Implications and next steps.

At least 15 minutes of the session will be dedicated to Q&A. Participants are welcome to make art during the session.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Understand the benefits and unique values of art therapy in schools.
• Apply a strategic approach to maturing the school-based art therapy sector.
• Identify practical steps to advocate for art therapy in schools.
• Connect with like-minded others and share your reflections.

PRESENTER BIO

Kanling Juric is an Art Therapist at a public primary school and the Founder of Cerulean Space, a Melbourne art therapy private practice. She is particularly passionate about increasing the accessibility to mental health services and promoting the awareness of art therapy. Prior to becoming an art therapist, Kanling worked in corporate for 18 years. She is excited to apply her experience in strategy and governance to advocating for art therapists in schools; and ultimately increasing art therapy's awareness and accessibility and improving employment opportunities and rights for art therapists.
Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

When: Thursday 31 July 2025
Time: 5 to 6 pm AEST
7 to 8 pm NZST
3 to 4 pm AWST/HKT/SGT
Duration/CPD: 1 hr
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Open to: Practising and 'on leave' members (Professional, Tier, Provisional) & Student members
Max: 40 participants
Recorded session: No (Privacy Reasons)

Interpersonal conflict at work is a risk factor for reduced employee wellbeing (Oore & Dolan, 2017) and can make a productive and satisfying relationship at work all but impossible. Exposure to frequent conflicts in the workplace can result in self-doubt, confusion, self-blame, rumination, anxiety, helplessness, and hopelessness.

This practical workshop is designed for practising Arts Therapists and students. It provides an overview of what high conflict or antagonistic personality styles are, how they look, and how they can show up in different kinds of workplace relationships. It also discusses simple, practical strategies that Arts Therapists can offer to clients seeking support in navigating the dynamics of antagonistic workplace relationships. This workshop will also focus on practical Arts Therapy strategies for helping clients to heal from emotionally and psychologically harmful workplace relationships and workspaces and to access their full potential.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Becoming aware of what high conflict or antagonistic personality styles are
• Understanding how these personality styles may impact clients' health and wellbeing
• Developing knowledge of specific strategies—grounded in current psychological theory, research, and knowledge—for managing complex and antagonistic workplace relationships and reducing conflict

PRESENTER DETAILS

Aleksandra Gosteva, MHealSc, MEdPsych, MA AT (Clinical), PGDipEPP, PGDipHlthPsycPrac. Aleksandra is a New Zealand fully trained, registered Health Psychologist and Clinical Arts Therapist. With the breadth of extensive training, research and internships, she has developed specialist interests in different areas of psychology and arts therapy. Aleksandra's work mainly focuses on supporting children and adults recovering from trauma, as well as supporting children and adults with pain management, chronic illnesses, and other health issues. Aleksandra also works with organisations designing flexible and people-centred workplace interventions to improve employee and organizational health and wellbeing and develop research-based initiatives to prevent burnout.

When: Saturday 30 August 2025
Time: 10 am–12.30 pm AEST
12 pm–2.30 pm NZST (presenter time)
8 am– 10.30 am AWST/HKT/SGT
Duration/CPD: 2.5 CPD hours
Where: Zoom
Cost: $40 (+GST for Aust. members)
Open to: All members (except subscription only)
Min/Max: 15/25 participants
Recorded session: No (Privacy Reasons)

Cancellation Policy:
When you register and pay to attend one of our events, you are holding a space on our calendar that is no longer available to other members. In order to be respectful of your fellow members and the presenter, please email us as soon as you know you will not be able to attend the event. We keep our events as affordable as possible and need to pay presenters the fee they request. While we understand sometimes urgent matters come up, if registrants cancel at the last minute, we struggle to pay presenters. A full refund will be given if the cancellation occurs more than 24 hours before the event. If the cancellation occurs less than 24 hours before the event, 50% of your registration fee will be refunded only to defray our costs.