The AATA aims to organise one conference per year. These annual conferences are held on weekends and begin on Friday afternoon with a general meeting of our professional association. We aim to keep the price affordable for members, including catering and accommodation. The preparation of the conferences is always done by members, which offers a great opportunity for an inspiring exchange and in-depth study of the respective topic. At the conferences we combine both theoretical content with artistic exploration. This enables a lively and enriching interaction between members and those drawn to the theme. Guest speakers might come from the wider medical and therapeutic field, such as medical doctors, psychologists or related therapists.
Over the years, we have worked on many different topics. We have explored a great variety of anthroposophic themes, such as the four ethers, the medical aspects of gold and how it can be used at therapeutic and artistic levels. We have worked with the anthroposophic understanding of the twelve senses and engaged more particularly with a deep dive into the sense of self or sense of I (Rudolf Steiner calls this the highest sense), which enables our therapeutic work and human development. Over a period of several years, we have worked with trauma from a wide variety of perspectives, for example; burnout, effects of childhood trauma, resilience or the concept of the shadow. Our methods of working are eclectic, using the arts together with other genres, like stories, embodied processing or sand tray. The confidential sharing of case studies is an important and inspiring aspect of many conferences. Please find below reviews of more recent conferences.
AATA conference 2019
“What we thought we knew, honouring and exploring our anthroposophic core values as therapists today”, explored what unites and defines us, of what shapes our identity and professional profile in a constantly changing and challenging world. Here is an article reflecting the conference “The Development of Anthroposophic Art Therapy with Particular Reference to the Visual Arts”.
AATA conference 2021
“All Real Living is Meeting” – The conference took the theme of the tree, as a way to imagine ourselves into our content of coming together and sharing what motivates, challenges and inspires us in our work with clients. The tree became an image of our biography as therapists and the clearing in the forest our picture of coming together and finding our common ground.
AATA conference 2023
“The truth and the Physical Body” - This was the first conference of a three-year cycle. All of the three consecutive conferences will be based on Rudolf Steiner’s lecture "Truth, Beauty and Goodness” given in 1923. A hundred years later, we started with a creative exploration of the Physical Body in relation to Truth. Next year we will continue with the theme of beauty, followed by goodness in 2025.
