Training and research: Art Therapy for social justice. A keynote address

This presentation is about decoloniality and reflective practice in relation to arts therapy training, research, and social justice. I assert that practising our profession is a great responsibility and attempt to align that practice with the broader conversations happening within the Global South. A few more assertions are made from this initial one: firstly, that reflexivity ensures that we learn from ourselves, our past, and then move forward with an openness to being critical. Secondly, I acknowledge that social justice may not necessarily be achieved on a grand scale with reflexivity alone, therefore, a more systemic approach may be necessary. Lastly, by acknowledging that social justice in South Africa is a continuation of the fight against apartheid and its legacies of violence, educators and students are invited to contribute to decolonising the ways they engage with training and practice materials in the classroom. The presentation concludes with a suggestion made in collaboration with other applied arts practitioners that education should move toward a critical contemplative pedagogy that encourages the transformation of destructive emotions for skilful action.