Alison Harriot

We made sure the individuals responsible for our transition from Marylhurst knew WE ALL wanted to be together at Lewis & Clark. They tried to transfer us away from each other, because it was “their duty.” They were trying to lead us to other schools that would be inconvenient for everyone. So, in a nutshell, what led us to Lewis & Clark was our determination.

My story goes back to when I was a junior in high school (mind you I’m only 24 now, so not that long ago). I job shadowed a pediatrician who gave me some pamphlets, because she could tell I wasn’t interested in the medical field. These pamphlets led me to Adam Graves at Marylhurst University. I job shadowed Adam, and was hooked. I have been pursuing art therapy before I graduated high school. I’ve had old pals from high school message me saying how they’ve been wondering if I was still pursuing art therapy, and they were happy to see that I was (and that my program got picked up haha). People remembered that about me, that’s pretty special.

Social justice means being patient in helping others think and act more equitably towards others.

I hope to help others really think about their perceptions, without forcing them to change. I’ve found that aggressively arguing for change never results in genuine change. It also makes people close their hearts to you, because they fear being scrutinized for their perceptions.

Currently, I am at CDM Caregiving Services for practicum. Every week I run two, one hour art groups with clients of varying levels physically, cognitively, and emotionally. My goal is to provide art directives that help clients feel successful and accomplished. Throughout the year I have been working on creating art directives that can meet a variety of needs and facilitate creativity. More recently, I have been asking more cognitive clients what they would like to do for an art directive in group, which has been integrating client’s cultures. This provides a unique space for group cohesion and education and respect for another culture.

My cohort

Probably the pressure to be a professional that has a massive responsibility to care for others. Ethics. In the beginning, self-care was the hardest part. Now, its easier but still work.

A timeline of growth.

Kris Bella pushes me in a gentle way that really makes me think about the topic. Mary Andrus inspires me to really make a difference in the art therapy community. Greg Crosby, who is not an art therapist, but has been so good at integrating how we learn as art therapists into our curriculum. What a wealth of knowledge in that man! He truly demonstrates how to meet people where they are - person-centered approach.

I bring open-mindedness and I’m very observant.

Art therapy, duh! Yes, I intended this to be my career path since I was a junior in high school.

In response to the prompt provided by Kris Bella, list all the populations you could not work with, I realized after creating my list that I did want to work with them, because I wanted to work with Trauma. All populations have some form of trauma, which changed my “not going to work with” list to none.

I’ve lived here my whole life. I know Portland is hyped up to be some big, inclusive city. In reality, it’s just your average city. Oregonians can be very rude sometimes, most of the time actually, because they don’t like change or outsiders. We value our way of life, and fear outsiders will try and change it. I mean, look at how it’s developed over the last few years. We have a homeless crisis that no one can seem to solve, which is absurd to me. Yes, we have some pretty great food and nightlife, but doesn’t every city? Of course, it’s special to me, because it’s my home, so I don’t mind people moving here. I welcome them, and show them my genuine self and my culture’s values so they respect them.