Attachment and The Arts 2011: Identity

Friday 8th April 2011

Videos of the presentations from the second attachment and the arts conference are now available. The conference focuses on "Identity, attachment and the arts" and showcases the latest cutting edge practice in art therapy in this field. This year we were delighted to have Dr Jeremy Holmes as our keynote speaker.

(Videos are in wmv format. In IE browsers it will open in a new window and start playing almost immediately, in other browsers it depends on how your browser is set up and what plug-ins you have. You may have to download the whole video before playing)

Jeremy Holmes
Frames and Faces: Art Psychotherapy and the Art of Psychotherapy: the Case of Louise Bourgeois

 

Jeremy Holmes was until 2003 a full-time Consultant Psychiatrist in Psychotherapy in the Devon partnership Trust, and Honorary Senior Clinical Research Fellow at the Peninsula Medical School. He now works part-time in private practice, in the community and in academia. His research interests include the clinical applications of Attachment Theory, the integration of Psychotherapy into Psychiatric Practice, and the assessment and treatment of Personality Disorder.

This presentation concerns new understanding from research about the visual role of the face in attachment. Links are made between the face and practice in the arts and psychotherapy with particular reference to partial contingency, triangulation and rupture/repair.  These ideas are applied to the artist Louise Bourgeois.

Download video (90 mins playtime 600MB) >>

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Jonathan Isserow
Looking Together: Joint Attention Skills and Art Therapy

 

Jonathan Isserow is a practicing art therapist and also an art therapy trainer at Roehampton University. His presentation explores what attachment theory research has to tell us about one of the most important, but often overlooked, therapeutic processes in art therapy, that of therapist and patient looking together at artwork. The theories are linked to the moving case of Hellen Keller and also art therapy practice.

Download video (31 mins playtime 180MB) >>

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Kim Noble and Ami Woods
Identity and Identities through Art

 

Kim Noble is an important emerging artist who has dissociative identity disorder (formally multiple personality disorder). Kim reflects on how art has become a crucial part of identity building and communication between personalities.

Ami Woods is an art therapist who co-ran an innovative staff and patient group in a gallery with Kim during her artist in residence. Ami reflects on how this effective but new way of co-working affected her identity as an art therapist.

Download video (34 mins playtime 167MB) >>

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Stephanie Bull and Kevin O'Farrell
Attachment, Art and Identity in Learning Disability

 

Stephanie and Kevin are co-editors of a new book showcasing developments from contemporary art therapy with people who have a learning disability. This presentation focuses on how, despite often being surrounded by people, those with a learning disability often have few empathetic attachments in their lives and this has an iatrogenic effect on identity. Art therapists are exploring how moments of attunement can be extended via the use of art in digital audio-image recordings (a powerful example is presented), the use of therapy books and engagement in mainstream cultural activities.

Download video (41mins playtime 250MB) >>

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Papers from 2010 conference >>