Meet Tayler...
Expressive Arts and Art Therapy to reach the parts of ourselves we never knew about it.
“I appreciate how extensive art therapy can be. We can start to look towards art therapy being reflected in ceremony, and on the land, and using traditional art materials. There's so many ways that you can be creative in the space and access healing.”
- Tayler Schenkeveld, WHEAT Instructor
“There is a noticeable gap in having Indigenous art therapists out there. I really want the indigenous students to feel supported and able to do this work. I would love to support them to their fullest, to be within this field and know who they are.” - Tayler Schenkeveld, WHEAT Instructor
TAYLER'S EXPERIENCE WITH WHEAT...
“What is unique about WHEAT is that it’s a therapeutic arts training institute. It’s a school dedicated to offering programs with a focus on social justice and decolonized and anti-racist ways of working, which is beautiful to see. An education that includes these aspects trains well-rounded, adaptable, responsive therapists to go into situations and provide the best possible care for people. The world is shifting, and WHEAT is meeting a need for a new world vision.”
At WHEAT, Tayler shares with us that she has the opportunity to learn and grow alongside her students. The students at WHEAT are intelligent and curious, and she loves it when she is challenged to see things from a new perspective, giving her an opportunity to integrate new learnings into the ways she works and teaches in the future.
WHAT DOES EXPRESSIVE ARTS MEANT TO YOU?
“Working from an Indigenous and relational approach, I align with my clients to create safe and sacred spaces for healing and growth. My art therapy practice is unique, as I integrate culture into sessions whenever possible such as ceremony, smudging, beadwork, natural and traditional art material and storytelling into my practice. I am particularly interested in working with Indigenous peoples presenting complex trauma, loss of culture, and mental health obstacles.
Words aren't always available. Art therapy has a way of reaching parts of ourselves that we never knew about. You do not have to be an artist to benefit from art therapy. The emphasis is on the process and self-expression, not the final product.
TAYLER'S ANCESTRAL STORY
My paternal grandparents were Dutch and Slovakian, and my grandmother kept her European traditions alive through large family gatherings and food.
I was born in Treaty One Territory in Southern Manitoba. My maternal grandparents are Metis. They were disconnected from their culture because of the Sixties Scoop and placed in residential schools. They emerged from this system with a level of shame, and we never spoke about it. I would have loved to have had someone there tell me it's okay that you're disconnected. It's okay that you don't know your culture. Let's figure it out together. I recently discovered I am from the Bear clan. They are the traditional medicine people of the nation. My grandparent's shame and my genetic roots in the healing Clan of the Bear explain why I am in the healing arts.
