Meet & Greet Your Peers: June Art Therapist Spotlight!

Meet LIZ ALDAG, our art therapist in the spotlight for June 2017!

Name: Liz Aldag

When and where did you receive your degree?
I received my Masters in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009

What drew you to the field?
My passion for making and using art as a means of externalizing and processing difficult events, combined with my interests in psychology and social justice, made art therapy seem like a perfect fit for me.

What kind of work are you doing currently? (location, type of client, etc)
I am currently working as the Patient Engagement Coordinator for the PBMT Family Support Program at Duke Hospital in Durham, NC. In addition to doing direct art therapy work with the children, I coordinate all of the other inpatient and outpatient programming, including music therapy and a variety of other activities. My primary clients are hospitalized pediatric patients receiving blood or bone marrow transplants (ranging in age from 0-25), though I also get to work closely with the caregivers and siblings of the patients.

Are you creating your own art? Favorite media? Inspiration?
I am! I work primarily in clay, though I also take a lot of photographs and do painting and mixed media work from time to time. I am inspired by the process of working with clay (particularly wheel throwing), which is very meditative and serves as an excellent release from the emotional intensity of the work I do.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Outside of work, I try to spend a lot of time in the ceramics studio or outside with my dog, Darby, enjoying all of the hiking and people-watching that Durham has to offer.

What are your hopes for art therapy in North Carolina?
I would love to have official art therapy (and other expressive therapy) departments in the local hospitals, as there are in many parts of the country. I also hope to see NC offering licensure for art therapists in the near future.

Anything else? (favorite quote, etc)
“Everything is biographical, Lucian Freud says. What we make, why it is made, how we draw a dog, who it is we are drawn to, why we cannot forget. Everything is collage, even genetics. There is the hidden presence of others in us, even those we have known briefly. We contain them for the rest of our lives, at every border we cross.” - Michael Ondaatje

Contact information:
Liz.aldag@duke.edu
You can find my ceramic work at thelulubird.etsy.com and @lizaldag on instagram