Creative Expression and Other Visual Tools for Bridging Divides

Go Back

Session Type: Concurrent Sessions

Session Capacity: N/A

Hotel: N/A

Room: Plaza B

Floor: Lobby Level

Each clinic class represents a collection of diverse students,who bring individual skills, opinions, biases, hopes, dreams, and fears. As clinicians, we are tasked with building bridges between their existing knowledge and where they need to go to represent clients effectively. This session will begin with a brief discussion of the ways in which clinicians must bridge additional divides (both positive and negative): between themselves and students, high achieving students and those who struggle, students and clients, clients and systems, cases in different stages and levels of complexity, and the style of learning that students are experiencing elsewhere in the curriculum and clinical methodology. It will explore how visual expression can enhance student learning and understanding. Integrating creative expression can also foster a sense of community and an appreciation for the creative parts of ourselves. This session will focus on the use of drawing and other exercises to encourage clinicians to think about ways they can encourage students to push their own creative thinking. The session will be co-presented by an American clinician and a clinician from the Czech Republic who has integrated the use of creative exercises and visual expression in the form of graphic recording and mind maps into her clinical teaching. Participants should come to this session prepared to stretch their creative muscles in a non-threatening, fun environment designed to make us think in a different way about our work. We will explore our experiences and share how our work influences student development and how each clinic class itself is a living organism with special features that can both inspire and challenge us. Participants can expect to laugh and to leave with a tangible expression of the experience to share with others.