Therapeutic Art: Reclaiming Power through Symbolic Image-Making with Dr. Nisha Gupta
We have a special workshop planned for Wednesday, May 25th at 7 pm ET! In this therapeutic art workshop, psychologist and artist Nisha Gupta will invite participants to create symbolic art as a vehicle for self-empowerment. First, she will invite participants to describe a specific experience in their lives in which they “reclaimed power.” Then, she will guide them to create symbolic visual art based on this experience, and finally to interpret their images in order to gain a deeper understanding of the power that lives inside them.
Dr. Nisha Gupta is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of West Georgia, where she works as a liberation psychologist, arts-based phenomenological researcher, and creativity scholar. She disseminates research about lived experiences of oppression and empowerment through art for social advocacy and community healing. Her work as a researcher, artist, and educator seeks to embrace the creative process as a vehicle for building solidarity across difference, evoking empathy and compassion, and fostering joy and empowerment. Nisha was also trained clinically as a psychotherapist for eight years, with a focus on trauma therapy as well as liberation psychotherapy with queer people of color.
Visit phenomenologicalart.com to see a gallery of artwork created using the method (called “arts-based phenomenology”) that Nisha will be teaching for the workshop.
Sign up for the workshop using our recurring workshop link below, and check out the newly added to YouTube interview from our #UnitedAgainstSilence podcast archive featuring Nisha.
Recurring Workshop Signup: https://buff.ly/38DkzPN
Nisha’s Interview with Seema Reza on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BomAJpqwWss
- Supplies List for Nisha’s Workshop
- Writing utensils (pen/pencil)
- Several sheets of paper
- Drawing/painting utensils (colored pencils, markers, or paints)

CBAW Marketing & Communications Manager
Rob Haney is an artist, writer, and graphic designer with a passion for making slick-looking and fun images that catch the eye and draw viewers in. Rob worked for over 10 years in retail banking and management in their previous life, before returning to school and earning an Associates of Arts with Honors from Rock Valley College in 2012. An early addict to Twitter, Rob enjoys liking and resharing cool stuff and interacting with people who hold similar interests on the internet. When not online, Rob writes and reads poetry, creates both physical and digital artwork, and watches British mystery shows.