Cronulla’s Penelope James has met with United States second lady Karen Pence to talk about the benefits of art therapy – following a special gathering in Sydney.
Mrs Pence, wife of US vice president Mike Pence, is an advocate for art therapy and recently visited Australia with her husband and two daughters.
As part of her trip, she met with a group of people all involved in art therapy in Australia at the Art Gallery of NSW. Ms James, from Cronulla, was among those invited and said it was a great experience.
“I felt privileged to be part of this very encouraging meeting and was enlivened by the sincerity and comprehensive understanding that Mrs Pence has of art therapy,” she said.
“[Mrs Pence] is committed to building awareness of the value of art therapy, as she has the understanding that art therapy is more than arts and craft and is a valuable treatment for people with mental illness.”
Ms James said the gathering included people working in the field from around Australia and each person had the opportunity to share about their work.
Ms James is an award-winning art therapist and currently works at a psychiatric hospital, facilitating art therapy for people with mental illness.
Mrs Pence posted on Twitter after the gathering last Friday: “Great to listen to the art therapists in Sydney and learn how they are helping people through art therapy. They're doing great work!”