Who this is for

Adoption practitioners and managers (Voluntary Adoption Agencies, Regional Adoption Agencies, Local Authorities, and independent social workers), children’s social care services, children and family social workers, foster carers, kinship carers, designated teachers, and other professionals working with children and families.

Details

Art, music and drama therapy can help children understand their inner worlds and surroundings, develop closer relationships and interact effectively with their peers, teachers and families. Recent research has supported the use of music and art therapy for social and emotional development. Creative therapies also helps build resilience and reduces anxiety. Music, art and drama therapy allow children to communicate emotions and experiences than they could using words alone. In this way, creative therapy helps children and their carers process complex emotions and share stories of strength, pain and acceptance in safe relationships.

This practice workshop will provide adoption practitioners with creative strategies for promoting healing and resilience within adoptive families. You will discover the transformative power of arts-based and body-focused interventions in supporting the emotional well-being of adoptive families. Through a combination of theory,

You will discover the transformative power of arts-based and body-focused interventions in supporting the emotional well-being of adoptive families. Through a combination of theory, experiential exercises, and case studies, you will learn how to integrate innovative therapeutic techniques into your practice.

Learning 0utcomes

• Explore the theoretical foundations of arts-based and body-focused interventions in adoption therapy
• Learn practical techniques for incorporating creative expression and embodiment into therapeutic work with adoptive families
• Discover how arts-based and body-focused interventions can facilitate healing, communication, and attachment within adoptive families
• Gain insights from real-life case studies demonstrating the effectiveness of these innovative approaches

About the trainers

Johanna Francois is a drama therapist with experience across community organisations and NHS. Johanna currently works with adoptive and special guardianship families.  Her approach is holistic, focussing on the mind-body connection, trauma and attachment challenges and recognising the power of storytelling in developing sense of self and exploration of expression through creativity.

Stephanie Harkin is an art therapist who works with adoptive families, as well as with children and young people in school settings; PRU, Specialist School and a primary school. She has experience as an arts educator, working predominantly in the fields of ASC/PMLD. Her interests are ceramics, cycling and cooking. She enjoys working in a psychodynamic, playful and creative manner.

Madeline Aslan is an experienced music therapist who specialises in supporting adopted children, those under special guardianship orders, and children who are neurodiverse or have experienced developmental trauma. She emphasises building a strong therapeutic relationship through a psychodynamic, child-led approach, creating a safe and supportive environment tailored to each child’s unique needs.

Instructions

A member of staff will be in touch with attendees one week prior to the event to share a pre-event delegate pack.

If you have any questions regarding this webinar, please contact us at info@cvaa.org.uk. We will aim to answer your query within two working days.

CVAA accept online payments only. In case you do not have instant access to your company card, we suggest using your personal card instead to book a training event and claim it back with your agency in your expenses. Requesting an invoice to pay for our standard practice events is not possible.