This whetted her appetite for further study and she progressed to do a Level 4 in Counselling, followed by a Foundation Degree and MSc degree in Art Psychotherapy. She is currently in the final year of a full-time multi-disciplinary PhD research project, incorporating psychology, social sciences and the arts. She also works part-time as a counsellor and arts therapist and delivers neurodiversity training for universities and FE Colleges.
Her advice to anyone interesting in learning something new is simply ‘go for it’.
“It’s a cliché but it’s so true,” she said. “It’s never too late and you’re never too old so just go for it. I love my job and I feel privileged every day to be invited into people’s lives, hearts and minds."
Claire explained that she thought about going back into education when her own children were teenagers and she found herself with more time on her hands.
“As I wanted to work with children in some capacity, I enrolled at the College’s Newtownabbey campus to do a Level 3 Childcare diploma. I was really drawn to the psychology of child development and was interested to learn more, so I did a Level 4 course in Counselling, followed by the Foundation degree at the College in Ballymena.”
In the third year of the Foundation degree focussed on psychotherapy and Claire was introduced to art therapy as a new and creative way of working with clients in therapy, which set her off on her current career path.
She continued: “I joined the Northern Ireland Group for Art Therapists (NIGAT) and attended their summer schemes and day meetings where I met art therapist and counsellor Dr Caryl Sibbett. I discovered that Ulster University would be offering art therapy training for the first time in 2018 and was fortunate to be among the first cohort of students to be accepted on the new MSc in Art Psychotherapy. The research for my MSc dissertation highlighted gaps art psychotherapy which I’m now exploring further as my doctorate research.”
Arts therapy is becoming increasingly popular in Northern Ireland with growing opportunities for suitably qualified practitioners. Arts therapists work with children and adults in a variety of settings, including hospitals, day centres, hospices, schools and in the private sector.
During her visit to the College in Ballymena, Claire spoke to Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4 Art and Design students. She outlined her own career path and highlighted the benefits of arts therapy when dealing with young people and adults who have had to deal with trauma in their lives.
Art lecturer, Paul Wilson said the students got a lot out of Claire’s visit:
“It gave them a fantastic insight into the benefits of art therapy and the potential career opportunities, and they thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Claire’s own journey.
“A number of our students are interested in a career as art therapists and Claire gave a good overview of the different techniques used, as well as the different pathways to a successful career.
He continued: “The feedback from the students about Claire’s talk was amazing but one quote that stood out for me was: “You must get amazing satisfaction from the help you give others. It’s great that you went to Northern Regional College too as it shows what can be achieved. I would love to be able to help young people like me some day."