Why I Became an Art Therapist

By: Amy Maricle

This week I have the pleasure of being interviewed by Janet McLeod, MA, AT, AThR Clinical (Hons) an art therapist and artist in Auckland, NZ.

I first learned about Janet and her wonderful work last year when I participated in the Art Therapy + Happiness Project last year and got to enjoy being part of an interactive community of people using the arts for personal and professional healing.

Janet’s wonderful blog, Positive Art Therapy, focuses on the intersections between positive psychology, art therapy, and mindfulness. Janet has been doing a series of interviews with art therapists throughout the world to help highlight the work we do.

She has interviewed many amazing therapists, including Cathy Malchiodi, Hannah Klaus Hunter, Gioia Chilton, and others, so I feel very honored to be included other blog.

Janet gave me the opportunity talk about what drove me to be an art therapist, and how a secondary trauma experience helped make me create the creative self-care approach that I teach clients and art therapists alike. I talk too about the way I weave other approaches into my expressive therapy work.

Click here to read the full interview on Positive Art Therapy.

8 Comments

Maya on March 19, 2015 at 2:37 pm

Love the interview Amy!
Reply
- Amy Johnson Maricle on March 19, 2015 at 2:40 pm
  
  HI Maya!
  
  Thanks so much for reading and commenting! Given that it’s Creative Arts Therapies Week, I wonder if you would tell folks anything about what made you become a music therapist? Folks can also visit your beautiful blog about music therapy, self-care, and mindfulness here.
  
  Creatively Yours,
  Amy
  Reply
Shazia on March 19, 2015 at 3:05 pm

Yay! So glad you became an art therapist Amy!!!
Reply
- Amy Johnson Maricle on March 20, 2015 at 4:08 pm
  
  HI Shazia:
  
  Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to share your sweet sentiments. I’m so glad you share your wonderful meditation gifts.
  
  Cheers,
  
  Amy
  Reply
karin on March 20, 2015 at 6:29 pm

I love your comment and value on the ‘inner landscape’. This is such a central component of the human condition and what most of us are living daily, regardless of what shows on the outside. It’s why I will always find Mark Rothko so amazing-his work pulls the viewer in with its large scale and creates a silent resonance with ones own experience to an incredible place of peace, but with honesty as some feel very sad too, like expressing a loss where words seem inadequate. Art is so powerful and seems to have no limits of what it can do for us.
Reply
- Amy Johnson Maricle on March 20, 2015 at 9:02 pm
  
  HI Karin:
  
  That’s such a great explanation of the power of Mark Rothko’s work. For folks who might not be familiar with this painter, he did very large scale paintings in the 50s, 60s, and 70s that were composed of large blocks of color. Here’s a link in case you are interested.
  
  It is so amazing how standing in front of a huge, minimalistic exploration of color can so vividly speak to your feelings and your experiences in a way that words cannot. Thanks Karin.
  
  Amy
  Reply
Nikki Frank-Hamilton on April 21, 2015 at 2:51 am

Heading over to read the article, but just wanted to let you know that your website looks beautiful. Arty, fun, calming, welcoming. Love it! Congrats!
Reply
- Amy Johnson Maricle on April 23, 2015 at 2:20 am
  
  HI Nikki!
  
  Thank you for your lovely comment. I appreciate you dropping by and taking a look around.
  
  Cheers,
  
  Amy
  Reply