Art therapy is a medium which uses art to enable children to express their thoughts and feelings through art. Art therapy for children can be used to help a child cope with a major life event, such as a serious medical illness, loss of a parent, or the death of a loved one. Children do not need to be good at art making to be able to engage in Art Therapy.

 

Art therapy is known to:

These online sessions are free of charge and designed for children aged between 5-16. The children will be divided into different age groups and the sessions will be tailor-made according to age.

The program is made up of a total of 10 weekly sessions (Jan-Mar 2021) and each session is 75 mins long. The sessions will be virtual and will be held on the digital platform ‘zoom’. Days and time are yet to be confirmed.

 

 

Ms Stef Savona Ventura is a warranted health psychologist working at the Psychology Department at Mater Dei Hospital and a lecturer at the University of Malta, while also forming part of the team at Karl Vella Foundation. Ms Savona Ventura is currently furthering her studies by reading for a PhD at the University of Malta in health psychology, specialising in creative art therapies in childhood and adolescence.

Ms Savona Ventura has been working with children and adolescents at Mater Dei Hospital for the last 7 years and has developed a special interest and passion in creative therapies and techniques that help the child or adolescent deal with any arising issues that may be present. As a practicing artist herself, she believes that art provides a window to the internal status of an individual and together with other modalities such as mindfulness and psychotherapeutic interventions it can be an effective tool to create balance and wellbeing. Her passion for mindfulness and creative practices has led her to a certification with the Yoga Alliance International as a kid’s yoga instructor through which she is able to help children by guiding them on how to creatively cope with their inner emotions.

 

Ms Noelle Camilleri is a registered Art Psychotherapist. In art therapy, Ms Camilleri desires to provide supportive opportunities for personal growth, increased well-being and healing through the use of the creative process. She is passionate about art and believes in its healing potential. Therefore, she decided to bring together art and her previous experience in the psychology field. Ms Camilleri studied Psychology at the University of Malta and later read for a Masters Degree in Art Therapy at the University of Derby (UK). Art Psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art as the principal medium of expression and communication. Within this context, art is not used as diagnostic tool but as a medium to address emotional issues which may be confusing and distressing. It is suitable for people of all ages and you do not need to be good at art making to be able to engage in Art Therapy. Ms Camilleri has experience working in the disability sector and in mental health, both in an inpatient and outpatient setting. Ms Camilleri also worked within the NHS (UK) in a Neuro-rehabilitation environment with people who experienced a traumatic brain injury. Therefore, she has worked with adults following physical and psychological trauma, PTSD, fatigue, depression and anxiety. She currently works with vulnerable adolescents and young adults who have been through traumatic experiences. Ms Camilleri is registered with the British Association of Art therapists (BAAT) and abides by the professional guidelines of PPBM (Malta, warrant number:0115) and HCPC.

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Do your children love to tell stories? This is an amazing opportunity for those who would like to become storytellers one day! During this program, we will learn:

 

And lots more...

 

This online program is free of charge and designed for children aged between 8-10.

The program is made up of a total 10 weekly sessions (Jan-Mar 2021) and each session is 75 mins long. The sessions will be virtual and will be held on the digital platform ‘zoom’. Days and time are yet to be confirmed. This program is supported by the Malta Social Impact Awards.

 

 

Ms Corinne Vella is a psycho-educator working with Karl Vella Foundation. She studied Psychology at the University of Malta. In addition, Ms Vella also spent some months at Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland to further her studies in the psychological field. Ms Vella has had training with young children and adolescents as an Applied Behaviour Analysis tutor. Therefore, she has worked with children who have behavioural and learning difficulties. Ms Vella strongly believes that children deserve full support, care and attention in order for them to reach their full potential.

 

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Shaping Dreams Together is a project co-funded by the President’s Award for Creativity, in collaboration with Arts Council Malta and Alka Ceramics.

 

This project is a great opportunity for children to learn how to use clay to express their thoughts and emotions. From a lump of clay, the children will be able to create different forms. This project also has a therapeutic aspect. A therapist will also be present during the sessions to help the children process any feelings or emotions that may be triggered whilst moulding the clay. During this project the children will:

This online project is free of charge and designed for children aged between 8-10.

The project is made up of a total of 10 weekly sessions (Jan-Mar 2021) and each session is 75 mins long. The sessions will be virtual and will be held on the digital platform ‘zoom’. Days and time are yet to be confirmed.

 

 

Ms Joan Haber is ceramic artist who has been working in ceramics full time since 1980. She studied art in Gozo and trained in ceramics under her husband, ceramic graduate and artist Paul Haber. Together with her husband she set up a ceramics factory Alka Ceramics, where a fully structured ceramics program is held throughout the year. Clay Club at Alka gives participants have many different opportunities for team building sessions, school outings, pottery birthday parties, sculpture classes and pottery online sessions. Ms Haber teaches and organizes workshops and events related to ceramics, sculpture and hands on experiences for children, students and artists. At Alka Ms Haber accepts students for internships, job shadowing, and work experience. She has also participated in many creativity related projects such as Kreattiv and Premju tal-President ghal Kreattivita.

 

Ms Jessica Quirolo is a trainee Gestalt psychotherapist, who is currently in her final year of studies of Master in Gestalt Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Training Institute of Malta. She also holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Malta. Ms Quirolo has experience working in the field of disability, specifically with children and adolescents on the autism spectrum disorder. She is also working in the mental health field with adults, adolescents, and children experiencing medical and physical health conditions. Ms Quirolo has a special interest in working with children and adolescents and has in fact been involved in Scouting as a leader for 7 years. During the past two years, she has worked as a support staff member, a group facilitator, and a trainee psychotherapist at KVF. In her therapeutic work, Ms Quirolo enjoys getting creative and using varied artistic modalities to support the therapeutic process.

 

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Wrinkles & Twinkles was an Erasmus+ intergenerational project led by the Karl Vella Foundation (Malta) in collaboration with Prisms (Malta) and two international partners, namely; Anima Vita (Slovenia) and IAAD (Turkey). The project brought young together people experiencing a serious illness or loss within their family. The youngsters interviewed a number of elderly persons and asked them to share with them some of the most important stories of their lives - stories that fostered the youngsters with human values and coping skills. Following the interviews, the children chose ten themes and created a doodle story for each of them.

 

Today, children and adolescents can benefit from these interesting and creative toolkits. During the programme we will be watching the doodles videos and discuss themes such as; compassion, resilience and self-confidence in a creative way.

 

Wrinkles & Twinkles will:

This online project is free of charge and designed for children aged between 8-13. The children will be divided into different age groups and the sessions will be tailor-made according to age.

 

The project is made up of a total of 10 weekly sessions (Jan-Mar 2021) and each session is 75 mins long. The sessions will be virtual and will be held on the digital platform ‘zoom’. Days and time are yet to be confirmed. This program is supported by the Malta Social Impact Awards.

 

 

Ms Corinne Vella is a psycho-educator working with Karl Vella Foundation. She studied Psychology at the University of Malta. In addition, Ms Vella also spent some months at Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland to further her studies in the psychological field. Ms Vella has had training with young children and adolescents as an Applied Behaviour Analysis tutor. Therefore, she has worked with children who have behavioural and learning difficulties. Ms Vella strongly believes that children deserve full support, care and attention in order for them to reach their full potential.

 

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Sometimes we can find it challenging to connect to others because of the restrictions and limitations in place during the pandemic. There are other times where it is our own emotions and ways of expression that stop us from connecting. If we stop for a moment, we can notice how these limitations - amongst others - can also affect how we connect with ourselves and stop us from noticing when we are angry, sad, anxious or excited. We often rush to push these feelings away by distracting ourselves instead of understanding and coping with what is going on inside.

 

This group is intended to bring these two fundamental aspects of connection - to ourselves and to others - to light in a safe and therapeutic space. During these online sessions we will explore topics such as emotions, coping strategies through discussions, music, art and movement as forms of expression and connection. I hope that this group will give a space to each group member to explore and experience different ways of connecting whilst also being supported by the group setting. The group also aims to help raise awareness on personal challenges and strengths and find ways to use our strengths and coping strategies to face our challenges, connected to ourselves and to each other.

 

This online project is free of charge and designed for children aged between 11-13.

The project is made up of a total of 10 weekly sessions (Jan-Mar 2021) and each session is 75 mins long. The sessions will be virtual and will be held on the digital platform ‘zoom’. Days and time are yet to be confirmed.

 

Group Facilitator

 

Ms Elena Felice is a warranted Counselling Psychologist and Gestalt Psychotherapist. She currently works with a variety of persons of all ages with issues relating to mental health and overall well-being. Her work with children has varied over the past 8 years from working within residential settings, schools, mental health settings and also delivering Yoga for Kids sessions as KVF. Ms Felice is passionate about helping individuals and families reach their full potential in safe and creative environments.

 

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