I am currently in Kyiv, Ukraine giving art therapy training to psychologists and counselors who work with refugees, combat veterans and older adults. Art therapy is in an embryonic state here in Ukraine, but there is interest and need, so I hope to return to give this training again. I will be presenting my work on arts and aging at the National Center for Creative Aging Conference in a few weeks, and in the Fall I presented my work on creative aging at the Arts and Health Australia Conference.
In September, I will be presenting some new scholarship that I am currently working on at the ECaRTE Conference in Palermo. I am especially interested in this new work, as I am exploring how historical and cultural differences influence the training, research and practice of arts therapists working inter-generationally, with a comparative look at USA, Estonia, Australia and Ukraine. I have found the post-soviet intergenerational experience especially intriguing in this context.