The Department of Psychology and Pedagogy of S. Toraighyrov Pavlodar State University held an exhibition of works by members of the Art Therapy Club.

The Art Therapy Club was established not long ago, on September 15, 2014. It is aimed at encouraging creativity, removing mental and emotional stress, and personal development through creative activities.

The idea to establish this club was put forward by members of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, namely, PhD, Associate Professor Nelli Pigovayeva, Senior Lecturer Murshida Nurgaliyeva, and Lecturer Samal Antikeyeva.

According to the exhibition organizers, any student or staff member of the University can become a member of the Club. Club sessions are held once a week in the Psychological Release Room of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy. Duration of one session (for any type of art therapy) is 60 minutes.

“Over the years of studying at university, we have got used to thinking about examination as something challenging and demanding. Needless to say that freshmen often have problems in the beginning - they feel stressed, depressed, and sometimes even have a nervous breakdown,” says Gulzhanar Kapuova, a 3rd-year undergraduate student. The Art Therapy Club offers such types of therapy as visual arts based therapy, handcrafting, knitting, embroidery, artistic reading of literary works, play therapy, dance therapy, etc.

On November 14, 2014, M. Nurgaliyeva and S. Antikeyeva held a presentation of the Art Therapy Club which was broadcast live at the regional radio station. This news aroused listeners’ interest, as this type of activities for relaxation and stress removal was previously unknown in our region.

According to Samal Antikeyeva, Head of the Art Therapy Club, all members of the Club attend sessions with great pleasure. There are plenty of types of activities. Besides, recommendations of session participants are always taken into account. She also emphasized that the number of students attending the Club rises significantly during examination periods.

“Many members of the Club also learn to apply the art therapy techniques outside our classroom. Evaluating the results of the Club's activities, we can definitely say that it serves its main purposes, i.e. working efficiency restoration, removal of physical and mental fatigue resulting from learning and professional activities, and prevention of emotional burnout syndrome,” said Samal Antikeyeva.

Photo by Rufina Torpischeva