FAT Moon Podcast

I have always been interested in empowering others and supporting them in sparking change in their lives. I am an art psychotherapist and my practice has taken many exciting avenues.

My work is about supporting you in rediscovering yourself, unlocking your true potential, and connecting with your creativity. Through working together my aim is to help you to recognise patterns and habits in your life that may be keeping you stuck, finding ways to safely express and connect with your emotions, and support you in becoming empowered and inspired.

I provide private supervision and have years of experience working as an art psychotherapist in a variety of hospital and mental health settings. I have a particular interest in working with those who experience psychosis and providing family and carer support.

Alongside this, I also run workshops and reflective practice for staff teams working in Psychiatric Rehabilitation and inpatient settings. The workshops integrate art psychotherapy approaches within a psycho-educational framework to support team members to reflect creatively on the experience and impact of working with clients with complex needs and presentations

Miki is an artist, Board-Certified Art Therapist, and Licensed Clinical Social Worker living in the United States (Virginia). 

In her 20 years+ career as an art therapist and a social worker, she enjoyed working with older adults in various settings such as nursing homes, assisted living facilities, private homes, an outreach mental health program, and an outpatient mental health 

program. Currently she has a private practice in Virginia and works primarily with older adults, immigrants, and clients of color. Her clinical interests are grief, aging related issues, acculturation, racial identity, and racial/cultural trauma. 

In addition to her private practice, Miki has taught in social work and art therapy graduate programs as an adjunct faculty for the past several years. Whatever the role she serves, she is committed to applying anti-oppressive approaches. Her writing and

publications explore topics of antiracism and other types of oppression, solidarity building among people of color, and cultural identity exploration. 

As a visual artist, Miki practices her creative expression through paintings, mixed media art, and printmaking. She believes that it is imperative for art therapists to maintain their artist identity through an ongoing artmaking practice. 

She provides group supervision and individual supervision for art therapists and social workers. 

Oratip Nimkannon is a registered art therapist (AThR) and counseling psychologist based in Bangkok, Thailand.

She works at a private mental health clinic, using the relational/psychodynamic approach.

Throughout her career, Oratip has worked with older adolescents, adults, and older adults from various cultural and professional backgrounds.

Her particular interest focuses on helping people who have felt disempowered, whether by their family, the larger society, or by their own mental health conditions. This interest grew out of her early experience helping survivors of political violence and multiple traumatic events. Depression, anxiety, loss and grief, attachment/relationship, identity/ character issues, self-discovery/growth, life transition/adjustments, stress, and relational trauma, are the areas that she can help with.

Email: oratip.n@gmail.com

Noula is an Australian clinical psychotherapist, artist, and author, and the founding director of the BeCause Movement. Across all her expressions, she is deeply passionate about removing the affect of developmental neglect and not belonging on human lives.   

She is a Brainspotting Trainer and Consultant, and also trained in Somatic Experiencing (SE) levels 1 and 2, Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP) level 1& 2 and trained in Dialectic Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR, full member EMDRAA), and with Frank Corrigan in Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) and trained in trauma therapy and parts work.

Noula also uses a range of mediums to open new conversations and perspectives on mental health issues. She is represented by Artereal Gallery, Australia, was the Founder and Director of MAANZ, and also hosts a variety of art & well-being focused workshops.

Noula was selected as the therapist in a six-part observational documentary - called Space 22 - which explores the impact of creativity on our mental wellbeing.  

Hi, I’m Gabriela. I am a qualified registered art psychotherapist with an absolute passion and belief in the power of art therapy. 

After completing my undergraduate degree (majoring in English and psychology) at Wits University, I went on to do my honours in psychology at Wits, and then my masters in art therapy at the University of Roehampton in London, England.

My master’s degree was through a Jungian lens and I am very inspired by this creative way of therapy, as well as traditional Freudian psychotherapy. Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy has also had a major influence on me personally as well as in my therapy as it promotes finding meaning in all situations in life, through rather than despite challenges. My diploma in Community Art Counselling has helped me apply my art therapy skills in giving group therapy as well as what therapy looks like in a South African context.  Having said this, I aim to tailor my therapy for each individual and their unique needs and I bring in as many worldly elements as necessary to give each individual the most holistic experience possible.

As an art therapist, I have had experience working with both children and adults from all walks of life. Namely in various schools, at various NGO’s, and with children with special needs. I have also worked in a forensic psychiatric facility for adults, a chronic psychiatric facility for adults, and with Holocaust survivors. Over and above clinical therapy, I remained in the academic field and lectured in art therapy at a South African university.

The combination of art and psychology is unique, groundbreaking, empowering, and meaningful and I feel honoured to be able to facilitate this for the individuals that I see. 

I am originally from Japan and grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand. After completing my Bachelor of Fine Arts, I studied further at the University of Canterbury and explored postgraduate studies such as early childhood education and neuroscience. I completed my Master in Art Psychotherapy at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2011. 

I am currently working at one of the NHO (National Hospital Organizations in Japan) affiliated medical center, specializing in the field of pediatrics for example there is a closed pediatric psychiatric word and CPT (Child Protection Team). 

My current areas of practice are inpatient services (1:1), outpatient services (1:1 and group), mother, children, perinatal care, loss of children, depression, anxiety, developmental disorders, psychiatric disorders, child abuse, cultural difficulties, etc. 

A member of the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC), the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT), the Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA), the Japanese Association of Certified Public Psychologists (JACPP). 

I offer both private practice and supervision in person and online. 

Daphna Arbell Kehila has over 20 years of experience as an Expressive Arts Therapist, cultivating inner strength and well-being through creative arts. Based on a client-based approach, Daphna creates, develops, and conducts programs and workshops for various populations in Singapore and globally.

Living and working in the Asia Pacific region for more than three decades Daphna has a deep understanding of multicultural experiences. She is the owner and director at West East Pte. Ltd, where she practices Expressive Arts Therapy and Yoga Therapy. Currently, Daphna focuses on mentoring caregivers and young therapists, providing supervision for individuals, and capacity-building programs for organisations.

Daphna has experience in conducting research for various institutions and organisations including the National Institution of Education (NIE); James Cook University; The Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME); Active Global; and The Red Pencil. Her work has been published in various professional journals.

Hi, I'm Claire. 

I am a registered art therapist for aged care in Melbourne. I’ve had the opportunity to work with youth in recovery, palliative care patients, and residential aged care. My enriching experience working with older people inspired me to establish a practice that engages and empowers the aged care community.   

  I completed my Masters in Art Therapy in La Trobe University. My placement experience in the palliative care setting motivated me to develop a new approach to art therapy that accommodates the physical limitations of patients often caused by fatigue. This approach is called Art on Behalf wherein the art therapist assists in the co-creation of the artwork. It makes art therapy more accessibly to people with limited mobility. 

  Working in aged care, I witnessed the transformative potential of art therapy with older people living with dementia. I believe that making art can be a nurturing and healing experience when you are with someone who is fully present. My mission is to improve the well-being of the aged care community by promoting arts engagement with older people living with dementia. 

Jackie Schuld is a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist  (REAT) in private practice. She specializes in late-identified autism, working with newly diagnosed autistic adults and those who suspect they might be autistic. As an autistic and ADHD individual herself, she uses art therapy to help autistics process their new identities and learn to work with their autistic minds. When not with clients, she enjoys creating art, writing, and spending time with her loved ones. She writes a weekly mental health column for Medium(@jackieschuld), and is the author and illustrator of the books "Grief is a Mess" and "Making it Through Chemotherapy."

Hi, I'm Rae (they/them) and I'm an Arts Therapist, Psychotherapist, and Supervisor. I am non-Binary with a lived experience of Neurodiversity and Chronic Illness. I am very passionate about Disability Rights, the LGBTQIA+ Community, and Mental Health. I am also vegan and love animals. As a supervisor, I offer strong knowledge and experience in supporting LGBTQIA+ and Neurodivergent folks, including Gender Identity exploration, and can support you also to create a more affirming and inclusive practice.  

When working therapeutically, I use person-centered, strengths-based, and peer-support approaches to assist individuals to access their internal resources and building their resilience. I have received the Graduate Diploma in Therapeutic Arts Practice from the MIECAT Institute and the Bachelor of Arts Psychotherapy from the IKON Institute. I facilitate in a multi-modality capacity, offering other art expressions such as narrative, music, drama, and dance. I have memberships with ANZACATA (Australian Creative Arts Therapies Association), ACA (Australian Counselling Association), and AusPATH (Australian Professional Association for Transgender Health). I have also done Professional Development Training in a range of Psychotherapy Modalities such as IFS (Internal Family Systems Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy), and Rhythms and Regulation with Dr. Cathy Malchiodi.  

 I have experience working with a broad range of clients, from neurodivergent young people to elderly people with dementia. I also have facilitated Arts Psychotherapy workshops for female, trans, and gender-diverse youths at Amplified Victoria (AKA Girls Rock) and for staff members at DFFH (Department of Families, Fairness and Housing). Now I work with clients through the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme), the DHHS (Department of Health and Human Service), and Private Practice. Before this, I was a group facilitator and offered helpline support for Family Drug Help at SHARC (Self Help Addiction Resource Centre). I also have worked as a disability support worker. My background also includes over 10 years working in Graphic Design and as a result, I am passionate about incorporating digital technologies into therapeutic spaces and my practice. 

I am passionate about the integration of the arts into community services; health, education, and social care, and have maintained my own art practice for over 20 years. 
 
As a Registered Art Therapist (AThR) I specialise in art psychotherapy and have additional training in play-based therapies such as Theraplay®, Synergetic Play Therapy, and sand play therapy. I have a special interest in art therapy with marginalised populations, as well as individual and dyadic work with families, children, and young people. 
 
My therapeutic approach is gentle, arts-based, and relationship focussed, and is informed by evidence from neuroscience, attachment, and trauma research. I have over 10 years of experience working with teams in healthcare, education, family support services (including child safety and out-of-home care), and disability services, providing art therapy to people of all ages.  
 
I am a professional member of the Australian and New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA), and having spent many years in Scotland, a member of the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) and a former member of the UK's Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). 

Sally is available for Individual Supervision, please inquire via email: sallygcuthbert@gmail.com

Meredith is a therapist, artist, and cultural worker who develops and sustains innovative art therapy initiatives for the public and private sector.
I strive to provide culturally relevant art therapy.  Over the past several years, I have been actively examining my own bias, history, culture, and life experience as a therapist and teacher being raised in the U.S. with a Eurocentric lens.
I am a white-bodied, feminine of center, Queer person who has a continued practice in examining internalized harmful beliefs both personally and systemically.
As a senior art therapist at John Muir Behavioral Health Center I provided inpatient and outpatient care with a focus on adolescent psychiatry as well as addiction medicine.
In my private practice, I specialized in LGBTQAI+ teens, especially Trans and Non-binary youth, and provide group art therapy for medically ill children and their families, providing interventions in the hospital and at home.
I spearheaded one of the first art therapy programs in the Central New York area, securing funding, marketing, and obtaining clients from a broad variety of public institutions: academic, medical, and non-profits.
As an art facilitator at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, I provided end-of-life art experiential for patients and their families and presented to the university's Biomedical and Ethics Scholarly Concentration students and faculty on integrating the arts as therapy into the medical school curriculum.
At the San Francisco Department of Public Health, I served as a Trauma Informed Champion, was a wellness leader for staff, and developed and implemented their Vocational Rehabilitation Program.

I am part of and work within the LGBTQ+ community where I have brought nationally recognized individuals such as Ari Istar-Lev and Willy Wilkinson to present to healthcare professionals to ensure adequate care for trans-variant individuals and their families.

Currently, I am an art therapist at a skilled nursing facility working with individuals and groups that are persistently mentally ill.  I am also working on a paper examining the efficacy of art therapy at end of life with LGBTQ adults.

Meredith is available for supervision sessions and can be contacted:

Nadiah is a trained Art therapist from Brunei who completed her Masters degree at the University of Queensland in Australia. She is one of the pioneering Art Therapists in Brunei by exposing the value and impact of art and expression on the importance of mental health and recovery. She has been a practicing art therapist in the community but has mostly been focusing on individuals within a hospital setting, mainly working with those recovering from neurological issues, cancer, and chronic pain. She helps individuals utilise art of different forms and mediums to help individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities to express and understand the trauma developed within the hospital, the change in identity, and the grief and loss of self. 

*Advising listeners that Ed briefly discusses child abuse within the education system during this episode*

Ed Kuczaj is the former Head of the Department of Arts in Health and Education at Crawford College of Art & Design, Cork, Ireland which is part of Munster Technological University, retiring in 2017. He started as a course coordinator there in 2000 when it was a PG Dip in Art Th, moving to MA level in 2004. 

In 2013/ 2016 he helped curate, along with Louise Foott/ Anne Boddaert/ Maeve Dineen, the Outside In and Perceptions exhibitions, which showcased the work of artists from supported studio settings internationally.

Prior to the position in Cork, he worked in the NHS in the UK, as a clinician and Arts Therapy manager in the area of learning disabilities. He has published a number of articles and contributed to books in this area particularly around the area of loss and bereavement. During his time in the UK, he was a council member of the British Association of Art Therapists and also Vice Chair for a number of years. 

Since retiring he has been involved in the Cork/ BVI Art Therapy Initiative, which worked in the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, shortly after the occurrence of Hurricane Irma in 2017, working in schools and with community groups there. 

He was also chair of the Irish Association of Creative Arts Therapists in 2018 – 2020 and is still involved in the association's work. He also works as a supervisor and is an advisor for the Soearth Project in Kill, Co Kildare, as well as Academic Council Chair at the Children's Therapy Centre. He is also currently an external examiner of the MA in Art Psychotherapy at the University of Ulster. 

Ed also engages in his own creativity through photography/ painting and sculpture and exhibits occasionally in Cork and Co Waterford where he is based. 

Ms Meghna Girish is a qualified, trained and practicing Art Therapist and an Artrepreneur from Kerala, India. Presently she is a doctoral student and a research scholar at the University of Haifa, Israel in the field of Art therapy.

She successfully completed her MA in Creative Arts Therapies, from the University of Haifa, Israel and her Bachelor's in Psychology from Union Christian College, India. Post her Masters, she successfully completed a research thesis in association with a project at the University of Haifa.

She has worked with a Mumbai-based NGO, which fights against human trafficking as part of an art-therapy project for the inmates at the shelter home. Her expertise in therapeutic practice is in trauma and abuse. Meghna collaborates with various shelter homes spread out across India and also educational institutions taking art therapy workshops.

She's an Executive Board member of TATAI (The Art Therapy Association of India) which works towards credible practice and advocacy of the field of Art Therapy in India.

Along with workshops, seminars and private art therapy sessions for clients, Meghna is active on social media, specifically Instagram. She has an art therapy awareness page named Art From the Heart and runs an online art store called Beauty from Ashes where she sells her art. 

Michelle has worked as a registered art therapist across a variety of areas including General Medical, Pediatric Oncology, Palliative Care, and Bereavement Support. Over the last five years, Michelle has established the first specialized art therapy service in Qatar at Sidra Medicine, Women, and Children’s Hospital. The role involved promoting children’s mental health and included a pilot online art therapy research project with adolescents experiencing anxiety and depression. Currently, Michelle has started a new role as a museum liaison, developing programs and social content about the importance of children’s mental health. 

Hello and welcome to the Fat Moon podcast. My name's Kirsty and I'm the founder of Greene Moon Studios, an art therapy and yoga studio. I thought to share a little bit about myself and the inspiration for this podcast. I'm an art therapist working with adults in an acute mental health facility here in Melbourne, Australia. Prior to completing my art therapy masters, I worked as a nurse and have been nursing for over 15 years. in areas such as acquired brain injury, palliative care, forensic community, and homelessness. I've also been interested in the yoga philosophy for over 20 years and I studied yin yoga 10 years ago. I've been leading classes, workshops, and retreats here in Melbourne, Argentina, and Spain. I currently run a peer supervision group as well as a group art therapy for Art Therapist's container. And what I notice is when therapists are together, they're always curious about each other's pathways and studies, as well as their current workplaces, client populations, and their practices and approaches. This realization birthed the Fat Moon podcast, and I wanted to create a platform for therapists to hear about each other's experiences from around the globe. I use the term creative therapists in the platform because it's open to all. It includes art therapists, music therapists, drama therapists, dance therapists, and more. It's my hope that we can inspire and educate each other through conversation. I'm very excited to engage with you all and I would appreciate any recommendations of creative therapists, or therapists that I can interview. And you can reach me at greenemoonstudios@gmail.com. I'm currently funding this project. So if you feel like you have the capacity to support me, you can subscribe via Patreon, additionally, I've set up a subscription for people to be able to view the interviews on YouTube. So if you enjoy engaging visually, it's $20 a month, and any support is really appreciated. You can also support the show by giving it a like or a review on whichever platform you engage with it. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being curious and thank you for your support.