Ruth offers a myriad of services through her work:
Creative Arts Therapy: Creative Arts processes can be applied in educational, community and therapeutic settings to enhance engagement, self expression, community, wellbeing, meaning making, recovery, self esteem, emotional intelligence, integration, stress relief, collaboration and change. Programs are designed to suit specific demographical requirements including Children, Youth, Women, Men, Aged Care, CALD, Goori, Mental Health, Disabilities, General Community, Health and Community Professionals. Creative processes might include painting, drawing, sculpture, dance, movement, voice, sound, photography, video, poetry, drama, music, writing, storytelling.
Power of Song: Ruth offers regular workshops, retreats and gatherings delighting in the power of song for transformation and fun. Ruth teaches unaccompanied singing for ordinary people using songs from cultures where singing is a part of every-day life, including African, Islander and Gospel. Beginners are welcome. No solo singing or auditions required, and there is no need to read music.
Retreats and workshops: Drawing on her Creative Arts Therapy and counselling training, Ruth facilitates trauma informed retreats and workshops for the community. Ruth has faciliated retreats and workshops for Aboriginal women’s wellbeing, experiential workshops for child focussed workers interested in therapeutic therapies for children, wellbeing retreats for carers and more.
At the Aboriginal Women’s Wellbeing Retreat- Gudhur Galban (Strong Women) in 2013, women experienced rest and relaxation in the beauty and nurture of the natural environment and experimented with unfamiliar therapeutic techniques such as Therapeutic Massage, Creative Arts Therapy, Laughter Yoga, gentle Restorative Yoga, Tapping (Emotional Freedom Techniques), Creative Movement, Rhythm, Creative Visualisation, Meditation and Sound Medicine. At night they gathered round the fire and yarned, hearing stories from Elders and singing with the guitar. Women learned new strategies to help bring down their levels of stress and anxiety, laughed and played, made new friends, met unknown relations and went home feeling refreshed and relaxed.
During the Carers at the Well workshop series, 4 X 2 hour sessions using MIECAT processes (Creative Arts Therapy), processes were gentle and organic and responded to the needs of group. Each workshop was planned and structured and exercises designed to develop new skills, develop community, trust, self esteem, confidence. A variety of exercises improvised mimes, masks, sculptures and drawings were used to represent experience, carry meaning and provide emotional support for carers.
Corporate training: Drawing on her background in trauma focused creative arts therapy and wellbeing practices, Ruth provides corporate training, workshops and support for busy professionals and organisations. Programs can be half day, full day, or 2 hours weekly for six to ten week blocks. Program content is generally process focussed, and can also have exhibition or performance outcomes where appropriate.
Pottery: Ruth uses a trauma informed approach combining Creative Arts Therapy, Clayfield Therapy and Play Therapy to support emotional expression. Professional individual and group creative processes use an embodied approach to connect with emotions and arrive at new understandings.
"Dig a channel, water will flow, rising from the river, deep below"
