Art Therapy IRL (In Real Life): A Podcast about the New Reality of Art Therapy

by Amelia Hutchison

Art Therapy IRL (In Real Life) is a podcast about how art therapists have adapted their work during the first year and a half of the COVID 19 pandemic. This podcast consists of series of six interviews with professional art and expressive arts therapists from Canada and the United States. These conversations address the question of how art therapists can practice during a global pandemic. Together, with my guests, we explore why creativity is a crucial tool for mental health in the wake of collective grief and trauma and how art therapists can address issues of social justice.The outcome of this project is an eight-episode podcast series the provides the listener with an overview of the field of art therapy and practical insights about how art therapists are serving their clients while adapting their practices to meet social distancing protocols. These episodes explore the tools art therapists have developed to work online and outdoors, while highlighting the role of the art therapist in addressing colonialism, the climate crisis, and issues of systemic oppression. The lasting impact of this project is an instilled sense of hope. Art therapists have risen to the challenge of supporting clients through a pandemic with creativity, ingenuity, and resilience.