by Debbie Schroder Do you remember having to write that dreaded essay in grade school about “what I did during summer vacation”? Summer is far from over, but I welcome the chance to share a little about my “summer vacation”. I attended the American Art Therapy Conference in Savannah about a week ago and thoroughly…
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Hmmmm.... How does the supposed "expert" in the meaning of photographs make the choice of which one photo best represents her relationship with her dog?? Gee this is as difficult as making the choice of which photo of me I should use as the one-and-only Facebook profile pic!!! Oh, well, since the dog cannot tell…
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from Craig Tomas McAdams, Southwestern College Counseling Intern... This story does not have a have a happy ending. "Steve" from the previous blogs is in fact, Tomas. Tomas Guevara Paucar. The happiest, most delightful child I have ever met. A couple of months ago, I noticed him among the children because of his…
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Ships Are Safe in the Harbor, But That is Not What Ships Are Made For Dru tells me that many people who look seriously into Southwestern College decide to “stay closer to home”,or decide that “money is an issue”. While I guess I more or less understand that, I would not necessarily recommend either…
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(Guest Blogger Dr. Hoover is the husband of Southwestern College Art Therapy graduate, Mutsumi Shoji...He is in private practice in Santa Fe, and works with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine) Chinese Medicine and Mental Health Dr. Jesse Hoover, DOM Whether using acupuncture or herbs, Chinese medicine (CM) lends itself well…
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Craig Tomas McAdams, Internship in Maras, Peru: Theatre Begins First, I wanted to give you all an amazing update on “Steve” from the last blog: the Andean Research Institute has graciously put up the funds to get Steve treatment at a clinic here in Peru. Apparently, we are heading to a clinic…
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A Few Good Men Wanted. Actually, a Lot of Them. Southwestern College in Santa Fe has about 150 Master’s level students, and about 135 of those are women. This is not a terribly unusual ratio for a school of Counselors and Art Therapists. So guess what? The world needs male counselors and male art therapists. It’s…
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Life is fragile How do you continue functioning on a day like today? How do keep studying for your matriculation exam when thoughts of terrified people keep flashing in your mind? How do you even move, let alone do the dishes? - You just do. Our society does not allow…
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CLICK THIS URL.... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-james-michael-nolan/is-education-supposed-to-_b_1679458.html But is the whole point of education to "get a job??" This piece of mine was published today in the Huffington Post... Sharing, tweeting, liking and Stumbled-Upon-ing always welcomed by Southwestern College.... Thanks, Jim Nolan…
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Click This URL ! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-james-michael-nolan/new-thought-on-job-creati_b_1679264.html This is from my most recent (July, 2012) published blog piece for Huffington Post...Any effort you make to share, tweet, re-tweet, like or otherwise spread the word would be of great assistance to Southwestern College... Warmly, Jim Nolan…
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by Katie Weber The selection of work I chose for this show spans over the last ten years of my life. It reflects my journey into my self. Along this path I have discovered different aspects of my being, but mostly this creative wondering has led me to a deeper understanding of my self…
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Southwestern College, Santa Fe Notes from Cooper Riis by Eliza Buck 7-13-12 Sensing safety takes time. I’ve been at Cooper Riis thirteen weeks now and have just acquired a level of safety that enabled me to propose a new group and move it forward to actuality. This process helps me understand the value of a…
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There are not Four Directions, as there are not Seven Chakras. There is no Holy Trinity, as there is no “New Mexico.” It is OK to pretend, to tell these stories, and it is a lot better to remember that we are pretending, that we are telling stories. They are good stories.…
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Southwestern College's Invitation to Blog: Students, Alumni, Faculty, Friends… Southwestern College’s Blog Page, as of, well, right this minute, has had 27,162 “Views” since its inception on November 2nd, 2011. That is a pretty fair number. Some of you love to write, or just want to share your experience with others, or are…
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Southwestern College Student Kim Poinsett-Holmes Reflects on Her Research on Childhood Sexual Abuse I have just completed my first year in the Masters of Counseling program at SWC. Out of the many soul-touching moments that I experienced through this first year, the one event that brought it all together for me was the qualitative research study…
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Craig “Tomas” McAdams – Southwestern College (Santa Fe) Internship in Maras, Peru A couple of days ago one of the boys I meet with for individual sessions – let’s call him Steve – came in for our meeting with his older cousin, John, and I was pleasantly surprised, almost shocked when he ran up…
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This artwork style combines acrylic paint on canvas, panel, or metal. The materials parallel with sand, ground pumice, rocks, and ‘found objects’ of metal pieces. The metal has an important message; its weight and malleability. Whether the shapes are- formed by time, and events, or sculpted by hand, they represent how time and experience has shaped me.…
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The Alchemical Possibilities of Failure....by Alicia Hoffman... “My heroes are the ones who survived doing it wrong, who made mistakes, but recovered from them,” Bono. I agree with Bono; surviving a mistake or a perceived failure and transforming it into wisdom or a life lesson is inspiring. If you do an internet search…
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by Debbie One of the joys of teaching is the absolute “no control” factor. I know, I can control the books we use, the kinds of experiential work we do, the art supplies we have, and so on. What is completely out of my control is the mix of interests, chemistry and energy present in…
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Cymatic Therapy: Self and Other by Kat Dison multi-media This interactive performance explored the dynamic space within the self and the dynamic space between the self and other, and acknowledged the other that we encounter. In my final presentation for multicultural art therapy with diverse populations, I applied my skills as a musician and sculptor to…
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Language Can Hijack Life Itself, if You’re Not Careful… I wish we would save the word “trauma” for trauma, and not apply it to describe inconveniences, experiences we did not like, things that sucked, or any significant change in autonomic nervous system functioning. I get about two hundred of those a day. I do not…
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Clinical Training at Southwestern College, Santa Fe Dru and I were talking today, as we are wont to do, and here is what came up. We both wondered why we do not have a thousand new students a year wanting to come to this MOST extraordinary program. Seriously. Not exaggerating. Not that we want that…
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