A genealogy of art therapy education in Australia

This presentation discusses Westwood's PhD research on art therapy education in Australia. It foregrounds the genealogical aspect of this study and the use of art as a method in this inquiry. This research provides the first organized view of art therapy education in Australia. It evolved from the authors immersion in the field as a migrant art therapy educator to Australia from the UK and a desire to be reflexive on this experience. The inquiry is positioned in the paradigm of personal knowledge and subjectivity and a bricolage of methods were used to gather and analyse information from several sources. The research questions aimed to discover the field of art therapy education in Australia. to find out what theories and practices were taught; and where the theoretical influences were coming from, in order to develop understanding of this emerging field. The findings revealed a diverse and multi-layered field of hybrid views and innovative approaches held within seven programs in the public university and private sectors. The significance of the genealogy of the educators, their backgrounds and influences is discussed to illuminate this topic and gain insight into the field.