On April 27th, Battered Women’s Support Services facilitated a workshop called “Responding to Trauma: Journeying with Art Therapy to Build Spaces of Justice and Dignity” for women counsellors, therapist, and front line workers.

The workshop was lead by Jacqueline Sigg a gender, social justice and human rights informed psychotherapist. She has a strong commitment to co-explore means to enrich stories of dignity and justice with women who suffer gender and obstetric violence. She coordinates academic and institutional programs in Mexico, including the creation, planning and execution of them. She has delivered teaching and training both in bachelor as postgraduate programs in art and narrative therapy in Mexico, Spain and the United States.

In the workshop, participants…

  • Experienced the benefits of including graphic art into the trauma informed work.
  • Explored art as a mean to create safe spaces to work with experiences of trauma that are difficult to put into words.
  • Experienced the artistic process as a vehicle to create new meanings and possibilities to respond to the effects of trauma.

Below are two photo essays which document the workshop.