Tending to Your Inner Flame: A Guide to Self-Care and Building Resilience for Helping Professionals

When I was in the process of deciding whether art therapy training was right for me, I searched for resources. I searched for the stories of others, advice they could give me, pretty much anything that could help me prepare for this new career path. To my disappointment, I found nothing. I learned the hard way exactly what this training entailed for me.

That is what led me to create this guide, which is also my graduate-level art therapy Capstone project. I have set out to create exactly what I had been looking for before I started training. It is my hope that this will help others feel more prepared to begin their careers in helping professions.

The italicized content in this guide comes directly from anonymous students and professionals in the creative arts therapy community. This information was collected through a survey I created around self-care and resilience in creative arts therapy training and careers. The survey was distributed digitally through the Canadian Art Therapy Association (CATA), the Kutenai Art Therapy Institute (KATI), and other professional networks. I have included in each chapter the corresponding question from the survey. I have chosen not to include all the submitted responses to avoid repetition, and I have distilled the information into common themes to communicate the essence to you.