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Educator, Researcher & Presenter
Images are at the core of my practice and my philosophy of teaching. I work with a pedagogy developed from personal experience and the professional application of theory within a wide range of traditional and non-traditional art therapy settings. I like to say that if you want me to know something give me an article. If you want me to understand something, tell me a story. My teaching draws from decades of work as an artist, therapist, and activist, and is rooted in classic and contemporary approaches to treatment.
I employ art-based ways of knowing to foster critical engagement, solidify learning, and plumb new ways of understanding and communicating. From building models of theories of personality to making art to explore interpersonal dynamics in treatment, artmaking is the foundation of my teaching. It supports deep and multifaceted understanding.
I welcome opportunities for teaching, presentations and workshops. I am also an experienced program designer, tailoring to your organization's needs and interests.
Saint Mary of the Woods College
Master of Arts in Art Therapy
with emphasis in Counseling Program
Adjunct Professor
2017- Present
Courses include:
Lead Practicum Instructor
Group Dynamics in Art Therapy and Counseling
Provide ATR-BC supervision for select degree candidates
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Graduate Art Therapy Program
Adjunct Professor
1989 - 2019
Courses include:
Introduction to Art Therapy
The Creative Process as Art Therapy
Art Therapy Fieldwork Supervision
Ethical & Legal Issues in Art Therapy
Human Growth & Development
Child Art Therapy
Adolescent Art Therapy
The Use of Materials In Art Therapy
Introduction to Art Therapy
The Creative Process as Art Therapy
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Psychiatry
Visiting Assistant Professor
2008-2014
Visiting Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology: As part of the University Mental Health Policy Program and Center for Child Welfare Training, I evaluated, trained, and supervised those working in hospital and residential programs serving children who are wards of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
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Researcher
Image-based Narrative Inquiry
This original qualitative research method created for my doctoral research was presented at the conference of the American Art Therapy Association in 2006. It establishes the image as the subject of the interview and explores its life story (Fish, 2006).
Fish, B. J. (2017). Drawing and Painting Research. In P. Leavy, (Ed.). Handbook of Arts-Based Research. (336-354). Guilford.
Fish, B. J. (2013). Painting research: Challenges and opportunities of intimacy and depth. The Journal of Applied Arts & Health, 4(1),105-115.
Fish, B. J. (2013). Painting research: Challenges and opportunities of intimacy and depth. In S. McNiff. (Ed.). Art as Research: Opportunities and Challenges. (pp. 209-219). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Fish, B. J. (2012). Response art: The art of the art therapist. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 29(3), 138-143.
Fish, B. J. (2008). Formative evaluation of art-based supervision in art therapy training. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 25(2), 70-77.
Fish, B. J. (2006). Image-based narrative inquiry of response art in art therapy (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Dissertations & Theses database. (UMI no. AAT 3228081).
Presenter
The following are selected examples of presentations of my work. My interests focus on the uses of response art in all areas of art therapy including supervision, training and professional practice.
2020, Art-based Supervision: Deepening the Discourse. Workshop presented to the Southern California Art Therapy Association, Los Angeles, CA.
2019, Art-based Supervision: Local and At a Distance. A three-day seminar sponsored by the Art Therapists’ Association of Singapore and Workforce Singapore. Singapore.
2018, Art for Peace: An Art -based Community Response. Workshop presented at the annual conference of Mount Mary University and the Wisconsin Art Therapy Association, Milwaukee Wisconsin.
2017, Carrying the Story: Response Art Informing Art-based Research, Paper presented at American Art Therapy Association Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
2016, Art Therapy: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. Old Traditions, Modern Techniques and New Technologies, Conference of the Mississippi Black Professionals' Association. Biloxi, Mississippi.
Fish, B. (2006). Image-based narrative inquiry: An original qualitative research method [Abstract]. Proceedings of the American Art Therapy Association, USA, 107-108.