Eva-Marie Stern
artandmind
psychotherapist, art therapist, educator
Nothing
matters more
than relationships:
they make us and break us
and re-make us
I offer psychotherapy, art therapy, supervision and consultation at my studio-office and online.
A relational approach informs all my work -- relationships are the most potent medium we have for creating a richer, safer and more fulfilled life. I use my relationship with my clients/patients/people to address whatever concerns they bring.
Over 25 years of clinical experience in hospital and private practice ground my perspective.
Projects
I'm thrilled to teach and write within the Continuing Professional Development program and the Health, Arts & Humanities theme at the University of Toronto where I'm a Specialist in Arts-based Education and I serve on the Board of Advisors. As Adjunct/Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, I'm a recipient of the 2016 Psychotherapy Award of Excellence in Postgraduate Supervision.
For the past 15 years I've been designing and presenting seminars, teaching, writing, and collaborating on research and on graphic medicine projects. I'm a Harvard Fellow in Art Museum-Based Health Professions Education, where I further developed my Art is Patient seminars.
I'm a founder of the Women Recovering From Abuse Program (WRAP) at Women's College Hospital, where my team and I designed and grew the Trauma Therapy program for over 20 years. The Art Not Violence project, which includes an online gallery of artwork made in the midst of trauma therapy, was one of my initiatives at WCH.
In 2008 I created the SpeakART-AGO group, a clinical-cultural collaboration between the Hospital and the Art Gallery of Ontario. SpeakART is a specialised art therapy group model which pays special attention to the richness, delicacy and power of witnessing each other. I'm a proud first recipient of the hospital's annual "Eva-Marie Stern Award for Creativity and Innovation in Trauma Therapy".
I've introduced art as medicine for trauma to various spaces: from 2020 to 2023 I taught the SpeakART model to the Montreal Jewish General Hospital's Trauma-Focused Therapy program. The Toronto Native Men's Residence invited me to lead a SpeakART group for its residents during the Fall of 2021. I've led many arts-based workshops for groups of people interesting in exploring their personal and/or professional values.
I'm passionate about Art Hives of every kind, and my own version, Material Sundays, takes place semi-regularly. I host Making It Together (MIT), a regular hybrid happening where colleagues spark one another's spirits by showing and telling about the things we're making.
Credentials
In 1995 I earned my Master's Degree in Art Psychotherapy at the University of London, Goldsmith's College.
Since then, I've earned level 1 certification in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for resolving trauma, and trained in Visual Thinking Strategies and in Teaching for Transformation.
I'm Registered with the College of Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO # 003000), a Member of the Ontario Society of Registered Psychotherapists and of the International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. I also belong to the Canadian Association for Health Humanities.