"Something Shiny Just For Me" - A conversation with Megan Tjasink

Art therapy in healthcare settings has traditionally been used to support patients.

But it's also a practice being used with doctors struggling with burnout.

In this episode Dr Paula Redmond chats to Megan Tjasink, Lead Art Psychotherapist in Cancer and Palliative Services, at Barts Health NHS Trust in London.

She talks about her work with doctors and how art therapy and creative practice can help in coping with burnout.

Here are some of the resources Megan mentioned:

• Her paper on art therapy to reduce burnout in oncology and palliative care doctors: a pilot study
• "Coping through Connection and Creativity" blog (this is no longer being added to but is a historic resource for art therapy-based exercises and a gallery of clinician art work made as part of the initiative)
• Megan recently wrote a chapter called "The innovative use of Art Therapy with hospital clinicians" for Art Psychotherapy and Innovation: New Territories, Techniques and Technologies, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (due to be released July 21, 2022). The chapter contains more detail about much of what we discussed in relation to the way the work has developed over the past 2 years, including the ICU nurses clay workshops (with images) , the blog and the value of exhibiting and viewing art with/by other clinicians in work spaces.
• Jordan Potash's work in Hong Kong with hospice workers and an RCT with healthcare workers in Singapore
• The botanical drawing classes Megan was inspired by

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A full transcript of this episode is available here.