Art Psychotherapist & Psychologist: Rebecca Hetherington

I trained as an Art Therapist in Bologna, following a 4-year course at Art Therapy Italiana and am registered in the UK as an Art Psychotherapist and in Italy as an Art Therapist and as a Psychologist. I am also trained in Sensorimotor Art Therapy specifically for healing trauma and I work using Guided Drawing and the Clay Field. I am currently training in Somatic Experiencing. I have found the addition of somatic techniques to my art therapy practice has added new potential, promoting awareness of change within the body’s physiological states. This helps with emotional regulation and is especially useful for anxiety as well as the physiological effects of traumatic events and psychological abuse. I have published research on this with IJAT and AATA (International Journal of Art Therapy, and American Art Therapy Journal). I have a private practice in Bologna where I offer Somatic Art Therapy for adults, teenagers and children. I mainly do individual sessions but I also offer therapy for couples and run an art therapy group for adults (in Italian). Areas of experience include: trauma, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and difficulties with sexual intimacy. My practice is LGBTQIA+ friendly (I myself identify as LGBTQIA+) and I have specific experience in helping teenagers and young adults who are feeling confused about their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. I have published 3 articles raising awareness about unintentional microaggression on minority identities and teach on training programs for improving therapists and supervisors sensitivity to LGBTQIA+ issues. I also work with psychiatric patients with diagnoses such as borderline and other personality disorders. During my training, I undertook 4 years work experience with the Mental Health Centre in San Lazzaro with both children and adults. From 2016 to 2020 I ran art therapy groups at the International School of Bologna (3 – 9 year olds) with children with complex international identities, and I am a member of three research groups: art therapy with children aged 0-6 yrs old, art therapy in the field of adoption and foster children and art therapy in prisons. I have held groups with unaccompanied minors (child refugees) and I do volunteer work as a therapist with Bologna’s Woman’s Refuge Centre and survivors of domestic violence. Currently, I run an annual art therapy group in the female section of Bologna’s adult detention centre. From 2014-18, I ran the first art therapy group in Italy to be dedicated to LGBTQIA+ service users.

I was born and brought up in the UK but I have spent all of my adult working life in Italy, having moved here in the year 2000 at the age if 23. Therefore, my own life experience has posed important questions as to what creates identity: family heritage, mother-tongue language, lived experience? I believe that what is important to cross-cultural identity is not so much the answer to these questions (that will vary from person to person and may well change throughout one’s lifetime) but their exploration within a protected therapeutic setting. Sensitivity to these issues has been a key aspect of my work at the International School of Bologna where many children are living third-culture experiences.