Next time you feel emotionally overwhlemed or out of control, try submerging your face in cold water for 30 seconds, or hold on ice pack over your eyes and cheeks. This activates the mammalian diving reflex which slows down your heart rate as well as activating your parasympathetic nervous system which helps you return to [...]
This simple model from Dr Daniel Siegel is a great way to understand what's happening in the brain when we get emotional triggered (he described it as 'flipping your lid'). Just the act of noticing and naming the emotion we're experiencing is the first step to bringing the upstairs brain (the cortex) back online. "Name [...]
Mind Jar's make a great tool to help kids practice mindfulness. It's also a great way to start a conversation about what a busy mind can feel like. All the different bits of glitter can represent all the thoughts, ideas, worries etc. we have. Sometimes our minds are busy and cloudy, just like when we [...]
It was so great getting to return to Ormiston and see some of the learners I'd worked with earlier in the year. This school is just bursting with creativity and innovation. I love how they treat each learner as unique and help them find their own pathway through education. I also love how this school [...]
CHILDREN TALK ABOUT Created by students from Ormiston Junior College and White_mess Children Talk About is a new documentary theatre project that creates space for young people to have courageous conversations. We think that young people should be entrusted to talk about difficult subjects, and play their part in the process of change. We have [...]
Earlier this year Anna-Michele and I presented a workshop to the Arts Therapy students at Whitecliffe college. It was exciting and inspiring to see the number of people interested or already working with children in school settings. We presented a number of different therapeutic theories and techniques for working creatively with children (particularly in schools) [...]
Film still - video response - Robert George & Lucy-Mary Mulholland TIFFANY SINGH: LIFE IS BUT A VAPOUR As part of her 2013 McCahon House artist residency, Tiffany Singh explored the concept of wellbeing in relation to the process of grief, death and dying. The public were invited to the McCahon House studio over a [...]
The journey so far of my interest, research, learnings and experience of Arts Therapy in schools... In 2011 after completing a BA, majoring in Psychology from the University of Canterbury, I began a 3 year Master of Arts - Arts Therapy program at Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design in Auckland. In 2012 I completed [...]
Performance piece: This work touches upon the themes of inclusivity and participation in the creative process present in Tiffany Singh's work. The audience is invited to co-create the work by providing a soundscape with hand bells, for which the performer will respond in movement, based on the direction, volume and intensity of sound. *** On [...]
