Newport Creative Therapies students to bring festive cheer to Bethlehem Orphans

STUDENTS from Newport's university are hoping their Christmas visit to Bethlehem will bring some festive cheer to Palestinian Orphans.

Final year students Sian Williams and Hannah Davies, both 24, will be using the skills learned in their BA Hons Creative Therapies in Education course to help children traumatised by the conflict through art.
They will be joined by final year photography student Tom Bond, 25, course leader Les Petrie and music therapist and UWN lecturer Liz Coombes.


Liz Coombes, who went to Bethlehem in 2009 on a similar visit, paints a stark picture of the ordeals many Palestinian children go through: "The situation for a child living in Israel and the Palestinian Territories is hard for us to imagine. Children regularly witness violence and the horrific injury or killing of friends and family members."


"An important factor contributing to a child’s recovery from these traumas is the opportunity for expression, attachment and trust that comes from stable, caring and nurturing relationships with adults.


"This therapy can provide the necessary tools to help achieve this.


The team will drive to Luton airport on Thursday 9th Dec and fly to Tel Aviv, then making their way to Bethlehem on the West Bank.


The group will be staying at the SOS Children’s Village and School, a complex for orphans in Bethlehem ran by orphan's organisation SOS children.


Mr Petrie said they didn't anticipate any problems getting across the border to the West Bank “as the situation is pretty stable at the moment.”


Mr Petrie adds the visit is a great opportunity not only to help the Palestinian children but to expand the students' skills. "A visit like this helps them to adapt to difficult circumstances and to show they can work anywhere."


The visit is a milestone for the School of Education as the students going to Bethlehem are among the first to complete the BA Hons degree in Creative Therapies; a course of which Mr Petrie says: "There is nothing like it the UK," adding "the University is set to become a centre of study for Creative & Therapeutic Arts and the therapies in Wales and the West of England."


* You can also follow progress of the team's visit by going to the blog at southwalesargus.co.uk/bethlehem


• By Martin Wade » South Wales Argus » NEWS

'Working Ethically with Children and Young People' - Peter Jenkins

Counselling Seminar Announcement:

'Working Ethically with Children and Young People'

Friday 12 November 2010, 1.30 - 4.30

Caerleon Campus, University of Wales, Newport

Speaker: Peter Jenkins

This is a seminar for those working therapeutically in this complex field

which provides an opportunity to network with fellow practitioners

and to learn from Peter Jenkins, the leading authority on working ethically and within the law

with children and young people.

You will be joining students on the new Masters in 'Counselling Children and Young People' 

and the BA(Hons) 'Creative Therapies' programmes.

You will also experience the University of Wales, Newport which has a long established reputation for training counsellors, is recognised for producing ‘World-leading’ research in this field

and is fast becoming a centre for therapies training

throughout the west of Engalnd and Wales.

Peter Jenkins profile:


        • The Author of ‘Counselling, Psychology and the Law’ (2007)
        • Senior Counselling Lecturer at Salford University
        • UKCP Ethics Committee Member
        • Extensive experience of training practitioners about the legal aspects of practice.

Limited places are available so book now to avoid disappointment.
Tickets are £30 each.

To book a place please contact

Eliza.jones@newport.ac.uk / 01633 432520

Bridget gets stuck in on 'Play for Life' Discovery Day!

Playschemes throughout the borough of Bridgend and Cardiff met together

for a "Play for Life" celebration day during the summer vacation

and Creative Therapies student

Briget Evans

was also there to work with the children.

As part of the Discovery Day, children were encouraged and enabled to make dens, rope bridges and other exciting activities for each to experience. Sculptures made from cooled melted wax were also created as a tactile experience and the day was capped with a visit from the Ospreys rugby team.

The Creative Therapies team are keen to encourage students to become involved with working with a wide range of groups in order to broaden their experience and understanding while on the CTIE programme.

BREAKING NEWS!...BREAKING NEWS!...BREAKING NEWS!...Final Year Creative Therapies students fly to Bethlehem to work with Palestinian orphans...

During December this year, Les Petrie & Liz Coombes will be taking two final year Newport University BA(Hons) Creative Therapies students to Palestine to work therapeutically with Palestinian orphans in the 'SOS Village & School' in Bethlehem. Liz (Music Therapist & Creative Therapies tutor) has been working in Palestine during the last year and the 'SOS' organisation is keen to forge further links with the Creative Therapies programme at Newport University. This is not only a great opportunity for the students to gain experience of working with people from another culture but also to experience working within the culture first hand. This will clearly strengthen students'  personal profiles as they seek professional appointments during their last year of the programme.

 The work in Bethlehem will add to the learning gained from two of the Creative Therapies modules which deal with diversity related to culture. It will also help to prepare them for their final Placements which will begin after the Christmas vacation and add further quality to their final research dissertations.

The amazing thing about the Creative Therapies programme is that students, when they qualify, can choose to develop their therapeutic work in venues all over the world; never has there been so much need for this type of work. Creative Therapies tutors are now also looking towards Jordan and Portugal for the possibility of future student placement links within different cultures.

Ghanaian Music Workshops in Bristol with Ben Lawrence

Ben Lawrence has been teaching and performing for Ghanaian music for 20 years and studying annually with some of Ghana’s top musicians since 1992.

There are two spaces left on his performance group (Ghanaian drum and percussion) and two spaces for his Ghanaian Xylophone group.

If any one is interested telephone: 0117 9354132

Also, there are 5 places left for a weekend drum course on 24th - 26th September.

Ben Lawrence will help you to develop your music using instruments from Ghana, looking at traditional rhythms and improvisational techniques as well as developing a rhythmic sense and ability to play as a group. Ben aims to set people at ease, giving them confidence in their ability to understand, enjoy and feel the music, filling your head and body with rhythm.

Venue: Ben's Home - 52 Averay Rd, Stapleton, Bristol. BS16 1BH



Performance Group - Tuesday 6.45 - 8.15pm from September 7th 2010
Ghanaian Xylophone - Tuesday 8.30 – 10.00pm from September 7th 2010
Classes run for 12 wks to 7th December.
No class on 26th October & 16th November.
Cost £96 per class. Booking essential as places are limited.


For Bookings phone Ben on 0117 9354132 / 07977904195

MUSICIANS - a sound choicechoice sound!!

WANTED! WANTED! WANTED!

MUSICIANS of ALL AGES!
MUSIC...is a great art form with which to engage participants in individual and group work, therapeutically. Within the BA(Hons) Creative Therapies programme MUSIC has a high profile and students have been learning how to involve group participants in activities that raise their self esteem and benefit their personal wellbeing. From the rhythm of a beat to the colours of sound, MUSIC holds the capacity to reach out beyond race, creed, gender, age, culture, ability & disability and make a difference to people's lives - how they feel about themselves. If you're a musician who is trying to figure out the 'next step' in your career or 'life' path, why not join us & let's make a difference to the wellbeing of others - let them share in your passion for music...!
If you'd like to know more, send Jill Lawton an Email:
jill.lawton@newport.ac.uk or contact the Newport University Admissions Office for an application form

Creative Therapies Dance/Movement Tutor Batel Magen at the Brewery Theatre, Bristol

                       WED 7th - SAT 10th of JULY


About Neshima Dance Company:Artistic director Batel Magen leads new Bristol based dance company Neshima Dance Company in an exciting new project ‘Dancing in Tongues’, which includes two new pieces ‘See what you say’ and ‘Jigsaw’. Both pieces include highly physical and sensitive movement repertoire containing theatrical elements and voice. Musical scores for both pieces are originally composed and created by international, national and local artists.

Neshima, meaning ‘breath’ in Hebrew lives up to its name by incorporating and embodying the use and quality of breath in its repertoire. Neshima is a conceptual based company whereby it explores a range of concepts as the main stimulus for movement.


Dancing in Tongues offers the dancers and the audience the opportunity to delve into the physicality and complexity of Language, Non-Verbal Communication and Relationships.

Dancing in Tongues is currently touring in Bristol offering a 3 day education residency in 7 performing arts schools in Bristol and the surrounding area. Each residency will focus on the concept of the project title and conclude with Neshima making a curtain raiser with the participating students which will then be performed alongside the company during the performances at the schools. Each school will have an evening performance open to the public.

For more information about Neshima Dance Company email:   neshimadance@gmail.com  or go to Neshima Dance Company facebook group for photos and information.

Breaking news!! Wish to train as an Art Psychotherapist or Music Therapist? Newport University could be the place for you!

MA Art Psychotherapy & MA Music Therapy at Newport University in September 2011

INFORMATION EVENING

                                 - MA Art Psychotherapy
                                                  - MA Music Therapy

On July 15 an open information evening will take place at the University of Wales, Newport, Caerleon Campus from 5:30 to7 pm. This will give further details about the proposed commencement of the above courses in September 2011.

To book a place on this free event, contact:

John Roberts, Associate Dean of Planning and Development, School of Education
Email:   John.roberts@newport.ac.uk

Bethlehem Follow-Up Visit

My second visit to Bethlehem was focused on finding out how staff at SOS Village and School were making use of the therapeutic music techniques they had practiced during our initial visit.

I'm pleased to report that staff have been able to continue using music therapeutically, and have begun to develop their own style of leading these groups. It was fantastic to see that children we worked with on our first visit were still attending music as therapy groups, and also to see how much they had improved. We could see the development of their creativity, communication skills and self-confidence. All showed much greater concentration, and an enormous enjoyment of the experience.

The challenge now is to support this emerging staff team so they can not only develop their own skills, but hopefully pass them on to other professionals.

Just as last time, people were unfailingly kind and welcoming. We visited the family home of the school social worker and met his children. His wife prepared a delicious lunch for us, after we had shopped for the ingredients in the local market. It was also great to see the children we stayed with last year. They had lots of photos of us and drawings on their walls.

Once again, and fantastic experience.

Project Bethlehem Follow-Up May 2010

On May 3rd, myself and musician Hannah McCabe are returning to Bethlehem in the West Bank for one week as a follow-up visit to our original 6 week stint in October last year. We have arranged to observe and give feedback on the Music As Therapy sessions the teachers and social workers we trained to begin leading.
We have had some lovely emails from our friends out there, who all have lots of questions about how to develop and sustain their work. We will be exploring with them how this can be done, and what our role now and in the future will be with this work.
I am meeting with the Overseas Volunteer Coordinator at the SOS Village and School, and hope to look in to the possbility of a field trip for students at some stage. I will let you know all about this when I get back.

The Shape of Things

I know that Les advised students of this exhibition currently on in Bristol City Museum. I myself visited it last weekend, and can thoroughly recommend it. The artists use items normally exhibited in the Gallery together with objects donated by the general public to explore common themes of memory, growth, life and death. The show as a whole is thought-provoking, and I think offers students studying on the course some interesting ideas that may be of use in their own work and placements.

Go on, give it a go - it's free!

---------STOP PRESS----------STOP PRESS---------

Newport University


MA   Arts Psychotherapy

Music Therapy & Art Psychotherapy

approved by

Health Professions Council!

The Health Professions Council, which approves & regulates the work of therapists & psychotherapists in the UK, have just signalled their approval of Newport University's new MA Arts Pschotherapy programme. This is set to place Newport University at the forefront of Music Therapy & Art Psychotherapy in Wales & the West of England. Subject to some minor adjustments to documentation and logistics, it is expected that this MA Arts Psychotherapy programme will accept its first cohort of students in October this year.

Currently there is no Art Psychotherapy training provision in the West of England, the West Midlands, the South West of England or Wales, so this MA Art Psychotherapy programme will provide a much needed source of training for those people from these areas who wish to become Art Therapists / Psychotherapists.

This MA Arts Psychotherapy programme will add to the work already begun with the current BA(Hons) Creative Therapies programme which offers pathways in Music, Art or Movement & Dance and now in its second year. Students on this programme are being trained to work therapeutically in a variety of settings, with the first cohort set to complete the programme in 2011.

WANTED! WANTED! WANTED!

MUSICIANS of ALL AGES!

MUSIC...is a great art form with which to engage participants in individual and group work, therapeutically. Within the BA(Hons) Creative Therapies programme MUSIC has a high profile and students have been learning how to involve group participants in activities that raise their self esteem and benefit their personal wellbeing. From the rhythm of a beat to the colours of sound, MUSIC holds the capacity to reach out beyond race, creed, gender, age, culture, ability & disability and make a difference to people's lives - how they feel about themselves. If you're a musician who is trying to figure out the 'next step' in your career or 'life' path, why not join us & let's make a difference to the wellbeing of others - let them share in your passion for music...!

If you'd like to know more, send Jill Lawton an Email:

jill.lawton@newport.ac.uk or contact the Newport University Admissions Office for an application form.

have you booked your place at Newport University Open Day - Saturday 6 February?

Want to know more about our exciting new BA(Hons) Creative Therapies programme? Come & see us on Saturday 6 February at our Open Day.

You can book by using the on-line booking form. Alternatively you can book by calling our University Information Centre on 01633 432432 or by emailing uic@newport.ac.uk

See you there!

Les Petrie - Programme Leader

Working with Diverse Populations

This module has just begun for the Second Years on this course, and promises to have lots of exciting content! I'm looking forward to sharing some of my experiences gained working in Palestine later on in the Module, particularly as my colleague Hannah McCabe and I have been invited back for one week later on in the year. We will be helping the trainees we worked with to hone their skills, and hopefully identifying new trainees so that the School and Orphanage have a solid team who can use music as a therapeutic tool.

Creative Therapies Students at the London Art Fair

STOP PRESS!!

BA(Hons) Creative Therapies Art - Art Form students will be attending the London Art Fair in Islington, London on Wednesday 13 January. If you wish to join us next year, make sure that you apply for your place on the Creative Therapies programme now!

Creative Therapies Tutor Liz Coombes on Radio Wales

Having just returned from working therapeutically with Palestinian children in Bethlehem, Creative Therapies Music Therapist tutor Liz Coombes will be interviewed by Radio Wales about her experiences on Tuesday 5 January in the morning - not to be missed!!