NCAS-I Team Ready to go to Cambodia

After organizing, re-organizing, weighing and packing nearly 200 pounds of art supplies, tending to last minute details, and checking the last thing on our list, we are ready to begin our journey to Cambodia!  We have a full agenda ahead, partnering with several different NGO’s in 4 different cities in Cambodia.  We will blog as we go along, so please stay posted as we tell of our adventures.  Here is a rough schedule of our trip.

May 22 – 28  - Siem Reap – while there we will be visiting Angkor Wat, getting lessons in Khmer and working with Anjali House, a non-profit organisation providing free food, healthcare and education to under-privileged street kids and their families in Siem Reap, Cambodia.  We will be making a sand tray and miniatures with them.

May 28 – 31 – We will be on the Thai Cambodia border working with Lotus and the CWCC Safe Shelter, a counseling and re-integration program with women and children survivors of the sex trafficking industry.  We will be working with them for 3 intense days offering training to the clinical team about trauma informed art therapy and doing groups with the girls.  We will be making worry dolls, hope garlands, treasure boxes, mandalas, eye pillows, and much more.

June 1- 7 –  Phnom Penh – On the 1st we will board a bus and travel to Phnom Penh where we will visit the killing fields, the Royal Palace, Silver Pagoda, and other sites.  We will spend time with Carrie Herbert, an Integrative Arts Psychotherapist, qualified Trainer and supervisor and Director of the Arts Therapy Services for The Ragamuffin Project.  Carrie will provide supervision and educate the team about the expressive arts in Cambodia.  We will also visit with Arn Chorn Pond, founder of Cambodian Living Arts, and a Cambodian-American refugee having survived the Khmer Rouge genocide, at his lovely home in a small province outside of Phnom Penh.

June 8 – 15 – Kep – In Kep we will be staying at The Vine Retreat, and organic farm and retreat center where we will be spending time together integrating all we have learned, sitting together and making plenty of art.  We will also spend 3 days with a women’s handicraft and development association WHADA, making handicrafts to bring back to the states for sale, with all proceeds going back to this women’s organisation.

And much much more in between.  We will be posting often, sharing lots of stories and pictures!  Thank you so much for your support as we experience good times, exciting times and some hard and difficult moments too.

Until we return…… love to you!

Boulder Burlesque Joins NCAS-I in the Fight Against Sex Trafficking

Blog by Sue Wallingford

“We strive to make the profane sacred and to unveil the shadow of sexual taboo. We actively inspire and support the reclamation of ones own personal relationship to themselves and thereby the world through owning completely the heart of ones own sexuality.”

~Jenna Noah, Madame Mercy of Boulder Burlesque

It may seem odd that a burlesque troupe and a team of art therapy students about to work with girls victimized by sex trafficking would join forces to speak out against this horrible crime.  How could a dance troupe, whose purpose is to titillate an audience by striping down to the barest essentials while dancing in the most provocative ways, have any thing to say about sex trafficking, especially when victims of sex trafficking often start by dancing at strip clubs.  And why would a group of art therapists in training want to have an association with a group of women who might be considered as perpetuating the exploitation of women?  Isn’t that a contradiction in terms or at least just a really bad idea?  Would the public understand this collaboration? Would they get the wrong idea?

These are some of the considerations Jenna Noah, the creator of Boulder Burlesque, and I had before joining together in speaking out against the sex trafficking industry at a recent performance in Boulder.  Jenna, who supports various organizations in the boulder focusing on women’s issues and freedoms, feels a strong connection to what NCAS-I is doing.  She has been a strong advocate for us since the very beginning.  So when she asked me to come to a show and speak about what NCAS-I is doing and that fifteen percent of the proceeds would go toward our project, I was intrigued to see how this collaboration could happen, plus I had never been to a burlesque show and I was curious about what I would see.  Admittedly, I was also a little afraid I might feel embarrassed by the seductive nature of the dances.  I wondered if my own deep seeded feelings of shame around sexuality would surface.

To my surprise and pleasure though, what I saw did not elicit those responses at all, but instead brought up unexpected feelings of empowerment, ownership and a deep recognition of what sexual freedom looks like.  It was clear why this collaboration made so much sense.

I think it is very difficult for women to express their sexuality without the potential for exploitation or coming off as a slut.  It is scary business for so many women, particularly women with a sexual trauma history, like the girls my students and I will be working with in Cambodia, who live much if their lives sexually imprisoned; certainly not “empowered”.

After seeing the beautiful and profound artistic dances done by this troupe I was humbled, and in awe. I realized like I never have known before, the freedom that can come from full embodied, unabashed sexuality, like what this dance troupe is doing.  I also realized what a precious gift this is, and something most of us don’t have – certainly not girls whose bodies have only been a receptacle of abuse and torture.  They will likely never know this kind of freedom due to the depth of their trauma wounds. And this is where the shame lies, because sexual freedom is the right of every human being.

Thank you Jenna and Boulder Burlesque for your support, and bringing awareness to women who don’t have one of the most basic of human rights… and for dancing in your full-embodied, creative, sexual, unabashed selves! You are beautiful, every inch of you!

Student Blog Entry: Healing trauma through art-based interventions

“Healing trauma through art-based interventions”

By Emily Seagrave

One of the most exciting opportunities for me as an emerging counselor and art therapist is the practice of designing treatment plans and art-based interventions to be utilized and shared with our partner organizations in Cambodia this spring. Because the Naropa Community Art Studio-International will be partnering with organizations that work on a daily basis with individuals who have experienced trauma, our interventions require us to skillfully integrate trauma-informed practices. Eager to brainstorm ideas, I have spent some time researching Trauma-Informed Art Therapy® and potential art-based interventions. A few preliminary questions guided my research and directed me toward the intervention featured. Note: While the intervention featured may not be appropriate for all populations who have experienced trauma, my hope is that this post will offer some insight into how art can help to heal trauma.

What is trauma and what effects does trauma have on an individual? In general, traumatic events involve threats made to the integrity of an individual’s life or body, or an encounter with death or violence that is both close and personal. Herman (1997) explains that traumatic events have the power to evoke helplessness and terror and result in changes to physiological arousal, emotion, cognition, and memory that are profound and lasting. Further, traumatic events compromise an individual’s sense of control, connection, and meaning.

How might such an experience manifest in an individual? According to Herman (1997), “The traumatized person may experience intense emotion but without clear memory of the event, or may remember everything in detail but without emotion. She may find herself in a constant state of vigilance and irritability without knowing why” (p. 34). In other words, the symptoms of trauma tend to become disconnected from the source and assume a “life of their own” (Herman, 1997, p. 34).

What role does art therapy play? Words or verbal narrative cannot describe the traumatic memories because they are experienced and remembered through vivid sensations and images (Steele & Malchiodi, 2012). Art therapy, on the other hand, allows for the trauma narrative to be processed through nonverbal expression (Malchiodi, 2005, 2008, as cited in Steele & Malchiodi, 2012). Even more, Malchiodi (2011a) explains that the sensory qualities – kinesthetic, auditory, and visual – of expressive approaches like art therapy are especially beneficial when working with trauma symptoms because of their relationship to neurological functioning and neurodevelopment (as cited in Steele & Malchiodi, 2012). Ultimately, as Steele (2003) elucidates, the goal of therapy for traumatized individuals is to encode the traumatic memory, express it through language, and successfully integrate it. However, the traumatic memory must first be retrieved and indirectly symbolized through the external means of art (as cited in Steele & Malchiodi, 2012). This essential step of externalization through art can be achieved through a creative therapeutic process called “body scan,” a somatically based art intervention briefly introduced below.

Body Scan: A Somatically Based Art Intervention

http://www.infinite-healingwa.com/

How does a body scan work? Body scan is based on Peter Levine’s “Somatic Experiencing.” It essentially combines bodily experience with visual artistic expression. An individual is asked to relax and imagine scanning one’s body from feet to torso to arms to head, noticing any sensations of discomfort, anxiety, or other distressing emotions. The individual is presented with an outline of a body (or has his or her own body outlined) and is asked to use drawing materials to indicate on the body outline any sensations noted during the body scan through lines, shapes, colors, or images (Malchiodi, 2008; Steele & Raider, 2002, as cited in Malchiodi & Rozum, 2012).

What is the goal of body scan? One goal is to help the individual visually express implicit sensations and to identify where any feelings of discomfort are felt in the body. To follow-up, the individual may be asked to add additional lines, shapes, colors, or images to the outline that might help reduce the discomfort in the body. Ideally, the individual can see both where he or she is holding trauma in the body and where resources are in the body. The ultimate goal of body scan is to assist the individual in understanding how trauma affects the body and to teach that trauma reactions are actually a physical response to stressful situations (Malchiodi, 2008; Steele & Raider, 2002, as cited in Malchiodi & Rozum, 2012).

If you are interested in learning more, watch the video above by Art2Be – Art for Positive Living and Social Change – a group of Kenyan and International visual artists and therapists that uses what has been termed “body mapping,” a creative therapeutic process similar to “body scan,” in their work with marginalized groups. Through “body scan” or “body mapping,” you can see how individuals are able to externalize somatic and emotional experience, make meaning with symbolic representation through creative expression, and develop a tangible image that reconnects the different aspects of their being, all of which are key goals of trauma-informed art therapy and goals I hope our partners can work toward with help from the art-based interventions we share.

Herman, J. L. (1997). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence – from domestic abuse to political terror. New York, NY: BasicBooks.

Malchiodi, C & Rozum, A. L. (2012). Cognitive behavioral and mind-body approaches. In Malchiodi, C. (Ed.), Handbook of art therapy (89-102). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Steele, W. & Malchiodi, C. (2012). Trauma-informed practices with children and adolescents. New York, NY: Routledge.

[MORE PHOTOS!] from the 2nd Annual Matchbox Art Auction Gala

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Photos taken by Monica Kovach…thank you, Monica!

[PHOTOS] from the 2nd Annual Matchbox Art Auction Gala

Please enjoy these photos from the 2013 Small Resources = Big Possibilities Event! We made nearly $8,000 with your support!

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Photos by Jessica Sabo…stay tuned for more!

 

BOULDER WEEKLY FEATURES NCAS-I

Thursday, April 11,2013

Naropa’s matchbox art fundraiser: Sparked to make a difference

Naropa professor, students plan return to Cambodia to teach art therapy

By Elizabeth Miller

Courtesy of the Naropa Community Art Studio-International

Poppies by Erin Shannon

Please note that some names have been changed in order to protect confidentiality.

The drawing shows a purple bird’s nest holding five eggs, each a different color, balanced on the limb of a tree. Filling the sky around the tree branches is a crowd of birds, open V shapes drawn in orange pastel. It’s a simple drawing, but a big story.

The image, and the story it carries, is one of more than Sue Wallingford can count that came from a trip to Cambodia in May. Wallingford, assistant professor at Naropa University’s art therapy program and faculty advisor of the Naropa Community Art Studio-International, and seven of her students, went to Cambodia to volunteer in a home that rehabilitates and reintegrates girls rescued from sex trafficking. She’ll return this May with a group of 10 students, expanding the program to visit more locations and work with girls as young as 5 who have been victims of trafficking and teach the staff working with those girls to use art therapy to rebuild skills often lost in trauma, like problem-solving.

The bird’s nest drawing was done by a 15-year-old girl, Srey Ka, who lives in the shelter. At the invitation of Ka’s therapist, Wallingford performed the bird’s nest assessment with her, an art therapy technique meant to draw out and gauge attachment to and feelings toward family from childhood. Ka’s therapist thought she was dealing with attachment issues and PTSD from years of sexual abuse and torture.

As Wallingford coached, Ka sketched out the purple and blue lines of a nest, then Wallingford prompted — what was in the nest? Ka drew the five eggs.

“At one point, I asked her, ‘What does the bird’snest need?’ And she said, ‘It needs to be taken care of. It needs someone to take care of it, but she’s flown away and she’s far,’” Wallingford recounts. “And I said, ‘Well, would you like for me to draw that in the picture?’ So I drew the bird, but far away because she wasn’t ready for it to be at the nest.”

Wallingford kept drawing birds, and looked to Ka’s therapist and a translator helping with the assessment and asked if Ka would like them to help. The three gathered around the drawing.

“We ended up enveloping this tree, this nest, with all these birds to take care of this nest,” Wallingford says. “She just visibly relaxed, she just was like, she took a breath and said, ‘OK, that’s enough.’ And I reflected to her, I said, ‘This nest must be really special for all these birds to want to come see it.’”

‘Hanging Love Charm’ by Merryl Rothaus | Courtesy of the Naropa Community Art Studio-International

The experience has fueled Wallingford to keep expanding the program, increasing the length of the stay and the number of students, taking them to even more challenging settings and adding new programs, like one to teach women to make handicrafts that can then be brought back to the U.S. to sell, and a mini-conference on using art therapy for the staff and clinical teams of an organization that supports 50 shelters for victims of trafficking in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia.

“It’s really important that this be a sustainable project — and it has been,” Wallingford says. She returned to Cambodia for three weeks in November to check up on the programs, and said the evidence that what she and her students had taught was being used was overwhelming.

“I think one thing that’s happened, too, as a result of having been there, rather than just me knowing a little bit more about the culture and knowing what to expect and all that, is the social justice piece — the piece around really wanting to make change,” Wallingford says. “I just can’t be complacent any more. There’s that quality of, I’m sorry but I cannot just let something like this go unnoticed. That drives me a lot.”

‘I Burned My Hand Pouring My Heart Out, but It’s OK Because I’m Reminded I Can Feel’ by Sarai Nissan | Courtesy of the Naropa Community Art Studio-International

“You go to countries as a tourist and there’s a little bit of a nice boundary for you to really understand fully what this country has experienced and the trauma that’s there,” says Danielle Rifkin, who has traveled and volunteered in Cambodia before but will return with Wallingford to practice and teach art therapy. “Really trying to understand, by being able to sit with all these people, what their experience has been I think will be really different for me.”

Wallingford and the students going with her to Cambodia this year have organized the second annual matchbox art auction gala, Small Resources = Big Possibilities, for April 12 to fundraise for the trip. They distributed matchboxes around the community to use in art pieces that have since poured back in to Wallingford’s office and will be auctioned at the gala.

“There’s a definite business aspect to all this, just getting prepared for the gala itself,” says Emily Wilson, who brought eight years of experience as a corporate project manager to organizing the gala.

They’ve done community awareness and fundraising to keep the program sustainable, but the purpose goes beyond raising money, Wilson says.

“Even more than that it’s such an outlet for community awareness and to really bring a dialogue around these issues and to let people know what we’re doing. People get excited.”

Small Resources = Big Possibilities matchbox art auction gala will be held at 7 p.m. April 12 at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th St. All proceeds will benefit the Naropa Community Art Studio-International. Tickets are $30 and are available at www.NCAS-I.brownpapertickets.com.

Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com

Student Blog Entry: Raising Funds and Raising Awareness – The Work Before the Work

“Raising Funds and Raising Awareness – The Work Before the Work”

by Emily Wilson

I am so incredibly excited, and perhaps just now realizing, that we are going to Cambodia to learn, to serve, to share our skills, and to build relationship.  That may seem strange, as this blog and project have been going on for over a year, a group of students already went and I had been accepted for this project months ago.  But for me, it is just becoming real.  So much preparation has been going on; learning about Cambodia and Trauma-Informed Art Therapy®, exploring cultural humility, discussing ethics, getting vaccines, figuring out the schedule logistics and NGOs that we will be partnering with, participating in community awareness events, and raising funds.  It is hard to believe that in less than two months, we will be on the plane to Cambodia getting ready to embark on a life changing experience.

So, how do we pay for the plane tickets, the art supplies to bring, the accommodation for students and supervisors while we are there?  The answer – A lot of hard work and all of you!   I began getting involved with NCAS-I at the beginning of 2012.  I helped serve in the role as Project Manger to organize the 2012 Art Auction Gala, then the 2012 Painting Marathon and now this year’s Art Auction Gala.  It took a dedicated and tireless body of student volunteers, community members, and faculty and staff to coordinate, and take responsibility for all of the moving parts to create these successful fundraisers.  Since the start of this project less than two years ago, we have held over 30 formal 2-4 hours meeting and countless one-off meetings, over 500 individually tracked tasks our control log, enough funds raised to ‘pay it forward’ to sponsor the next year’s trip each year, over 300 volunteers, 250 artists donating matchboxes, and numerous in-kind donations including entertainment, food and drink.

So, why do we do this?  Perhaps if each person took the countless hours invested to work a part time job, we could raise the same amount, or even more funds towards the trip. I have three answers for this:  

1. It builds community – This year’s trip will be undertaken by a group of ten students and two supervisors.  Through our time together and especially our time working hard to create these events, we are building cohesiveness in our group.  A sense of community, togetherness, with each member having an active and contributing role helps to describe group cohesiveness (Corey, Corey & Corey, 2010, Yalom & Leszc, 2005).  I am learning through our process of hard work that I can count on each person, I am seeing others’ many strengths, and I feel we are creating a bond that will hopefully serve us well as we embark on this adventure.

2. It brings awareness – These events also bring awareness to the community and create an environment for dialogue; about sex trafficking, about international work and cultural humility, about the ethics involved, about working with fair trade organizations and orphanages, about sending collective prayers and wishes for peace.  And in addition to the fund-raising events, we participate in many other community awareness events, such as the Longmont Street Festival, at which we talked about this project, and created prayer flags as a symbol for hopes and wishes.  NCAS-I members also spoke about their 2012 trip at a community event and spoke at a Naropa Board meeting to bring awareness within the Naropa Community.  We participated in CU’s Eye Contact event, which was specifically geared towards the issues of human trafficking.  We participated in Art Therapy workshops at BMOCA, a sex trafficking symposium with Transitions, spoke on KGNU, had a feature in Naropa Magazine and the Daily Camera, the Boulder Weekly and more!  We are sparking a dialogue and trying to bring a moment for discussion wherever we go.

3. It is FUN! - Each event I participated in and even the work up to the event was FUN!  We laugh, we have exciting events, we create together, we eat great food, we express gratitude and it is super fun.  Rather than write anymore, I have included these pictures to express my sentiment.

References

Corey C., Corey J., & Corey M. (2010). Groups: Process and practice (8^th ed.). Brooks/Cole: Belmont, CA.

Yalom, I & Leszcz, M. (2005). The Theory and practice of group psychotherapy. Basic Books: Cambridge, MA.

Student Blog Entry: The Transformational Power of Art

“The Transformational Power of Art”

By Lisa Lamoreaux

The 2nd Annual Matchbox Art Auction Gala is just around the corner, and our team is busy preparing for the event. I get more and more excited with each matchbox coming in. I am amazed and inspired by the creativity of the artists. Inspecting them closely, I see the tiny masterpieces as a snapshot into the artist’s personal universe. Each box becomes its own world, with its own story that is unique to the artist’s hand that created it. All the pieces are so different, and yet, all connected through their humble beginnings as a matchbox. A matchbox turned into something more – a beautiful piece of art that will be auctioned off at this year’s gala.

When thinking of the incredible matchbox transformations, I am reminded of something I read in preparation for our upcoming trip to Cambodia. Herbert (2012) talks about finding in the galleries and shops of Cambodia, works of art and jewelry crafted from the metal of old, deactivated landmines. Herbert (2012) describes these pieces of jewelry and art as being proof of the possibilities to transform traumatic experiences through art. When reading this, I was struck by the Cambodian people’s resiliency. They are literally taking pieces of their traumatic, war torn history and turning it into something beautiful. They are using art to rewrite the stories and reclaim their culture. By doing this, the people of Cambodia are integrating their experiences and healing from societal trauma.

“Hanging Love Charm” by Merryl Rothaus

Many of the people we will be working with in Cambodia have experienced trauma on both a historical and a personal level. We are going there to offer art therapy as a tool to heal these traumas. It is also important to remember that the Cambodian people are the experts of their experiences, and that we are going there to learn from them.

In 2011 a group of people were inspired to expand Naropa Community Art Studio (NCAS) to include international work (NCAS-I). The dream started with $50 dollars that bought 500 matchboxes. Those matchboxes were transformed into masterpieces, and auctioned off to raise funds at our first Matchbox Art Auction Gala. The gala was such a success that we decided to do it again. The 2013 service-learning trip to Cambodia is made possible through the support of our community coming together and donating time and money. Please join us for the 2nd Annual Matchbox Art Auction Gala, April 12, 2013, from 7 to 10pm for a fun-filled night of art and entertainment.

Herbert, C. (2012). Integration of arts therapy and traditional Cambodian arts and rituals in recovering from political-societal trauma In D. Kalmanowitz, J. Potash & S. Chan (Eds.), Art therapy in Asia: To bone or wrapped in silk (pp. 209-220). Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Student Blog Entry: The Ethics of Matchbox Art

“The Ethics of Matchbox Art”

By James Huffman

As part of our preparation for our work in Cambodia we have been exploring ethical issues related to the field of art therapy. Our beacon through this, sometimes cloudy area, has been Bruce Moon’s (2006) work, Ethical Issues in Art Therapy, which does an excellent job highlighting various perspectives and providing scenarios for consideration. As prepared as we may feel, however, for whatever ethical dilemmas we may encounter, there will always be situations which fall outside our textbooks and where we will have to exercise our best judgment.

One such situation occurred several weeks ago at a youth matchbox art making party at Sterling Drive Studios. It was the end of the night and we had just begun the tedious work of deciding which scraps of paper and fabric were large enough to keep and which to throw away, whether it is worth it to fish those 7 beads out of the dustpan or should we toss the whole mess… We had given the artists the option of either donating their matchboxes at the end of the night or keeping them and had received several donations. In the chaos of cleanup, some of the donated matchboxes were placed on the same table as scraps and other materials to be sorted. One piece of matchbox art was particularly confusing – several crumpled pieces of paper drizzled in hot glue with matchsticks stuck seemingly at random throughout it. Initially thinking this to be trash, I threw it in the garbage with the other used and discarded materials. When later I saw it back on the table, I was told it was a donated matchbox with a $1,000 price tag (artists are allowed to suggest a minimum bid for their work).

After cleanup we began packing the donated matchboxes for travel and faced the decision of what to do with the cup. In all likelihood, the extravagant pricetag was a joke and the $1,000 minimum bid would not be met. We would then have to make arrangements after the Gala to return the matchbox to the artist, creating more work for ourselves. So do we keep it?

I believe the answer is yes. As art therapists it is important to define the playing field and stick to the boundaries we set, especially in work with youth and adolescents where conflicts over boundaries are more likely to occur (Santrock, 2010). Boundaries can be reassessed as we go, but they should not be applied retroactively. In this instance we had not provided any boundaries around what the matchbox art should look like or what the minimum bids should be. There is also the possibility that the artist is an aspiring trash sculptor – the likes of HA Schult – and honestly believes their work is worth $1,000. We can’t really know. All we know for certain is that the artist created a unique piece of art, then took the time to fill out a donation form and it is up to us to honor that donation.

Santrock, J. (2010). Lifespan Development. New York: McGraw-Hill

*details have been changed to protect the identity of the artist

Student Blog Entry: Cultural Humility, Political Correctness, and Intentions

“Cultural Humility, Political Correctness, and Intentions”

By Alexa Pinsker

“The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others.” – bell hooks

In preparation for our trip to Cambodia, we have been discussing the most beneficial ways to communicate our purpose, vision, and mission of the trip.  As we dialogue more, it seems more awareness around language has resulted.  Recently, I joked that it is difficult to explain the trip in a few sentences because each week the appropriate language has changed. For example, I once described the trip as a service-learning trip intended to empower women survivors of the sex trafficking industry.  As Zara Zimbardo illustrated, the word empower implies that a woman does not have power and that another (in this case a White American Naropa student) has the ability to give her power.  This meaning changes the intention of the word and creates, as well as perpetuates, the notion of the “savior” who goes in to help the powerless victim.  This was not my intention and I would not want to imply this by using the word “empower.” Consequently, I do see the value in examining appropriate language. However, I do not want to be so vigilant about using the appropriate word that I am afraid to express or communicate at all to people here and to the Cambodian people.

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines political correctness as “the avoidance of forms of expression or action that exclude, marginalize, or insult certain racial or cultural groups” (Barber, 2001). As a group, the notion of “do no harm” has often come up, meaning if you are unsure of your intention or action, return to the principle of not doing harm to others.  When sharing and exchanging with other cultures, some of the best experiences I’ve had have come from being open, curious, and respectful.  I have certainly made mistakes when trying to understand one’s culture, but I have found that most people are forgiving if they see one is coming from a genuine place of curiosity and the desire to learn or understand. Connecting isn’t always about getting it right!  The point is, it’s okay to make mistakes when working with people who may come from a different culture or religion.  It is these mistakes which can often lead to greater understanding and awareness because we are not masking our ignorance with an attitude of all knowing expertise on a particular language or culture.  Cultivating the right attitude is not just about using the right words; it’s also about cultivating the right intentions.  As Bell Hooks (1994) beautifully states in her essay, Love as the Practice of Freedom, “The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others.” Personally, my intention is to share Trauma-Informed Art Therapy® Skills with the people of Cambodia and to both learn and share as much as possible from the Cambodian people in the process, with an open heart.

Barber, K. (2001). The Canadian Oxford Dictionary (2nd ed.). Ontario: Oxford                  University Press.

hooks, b. (1994). Outlaw culture: Resisting representations. New York, NY: Routledge.