“Dancing at the crossroads and playing on the battlefields” – An Interview Stephen Levine and Ellen Levine, authors of Art in Action

“To focus on conflict usually means that individuals and groups get stuck in polarizing positions and are unable to see alternatives. Art-making, within an expressive arts framework, ‘decenters’ from the usual perspective and opens up new possibilities. It also makes us aware of resources that we might have otherwise overlooked in our focus on our difficulties.”

Reminiscence and Life Story Work – The Importance of Remembering Our Life’s Journey

“From infancy to old age, the recall of personal memories serves to establish identity, safeguard self esteem, assist communication, enhance relationships, and preserve and transmit personal, family and community history. By valuing memories people are helped to value themselves when developmental challenges, current circumstances, transitions, failing health and increasing age assail us.”

Danielle Turney on Relationship-Based Social Work

‘Placing the relationship at the heart of practice means recognising that, as we suggest in the Introduction, ”despite all the continuing upheavals in policy and procedure, social work [will] always begin and end with a human encounter between two or more people” and that this encounter, or relationship as it develops, is the medium through which the social work task can be carried out. Social work is never a neutral activity but can, at its best, offer a vulnerable or distressed person the experience of being valued, supported and understood – perhaps for the first time.’

Deborah Plummer on Imagework and Helping Children to Cope with Change, Stress and Anxiety

“When a child comes up with an image that represents how he feels about a situation, he is tapping into something that goes way beyond logical thought processes. And when he realises that he can ‘play’ with these images and be creative in forming new images, then he can begin to take more control. Imagework often triggers insights and shifts in perspective which may not come through logical thinking alone.”