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North London, NHS Foundation Trust
Drawing of female artist painting red canvas.

Trauma survivors develop course artwork

The original artwork featured in our new course has been created by trauma survivors – offering a uniquely authentic perspective on the subject matter.

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Our latest self-study course, An introduction to complex trauma (DAA040), includes a selection of original artwork, created by artists with lived experience of trauma.

The artwork was developed in 2025 as part of a project led by Nina Dogmetchi and Ines Mota, who were working as Art Psychotherapists in the Tavistock Trauma Service.

“We are often the sole witnesses of our patients’ hidden talents and their capacity to articulate their experiences eloquently and poetically”, they explain. “Patients share things with us that might never be seen by another, but they have much to share and contribute.”

Nina and Ines applied to the Tavistock and Portman Charity for funding to support current and former patients in creating artwork that could be used as part of the new course.

As well as helping to bring the course material vividly to life, the artwork served a therapeutic purpose too – acting as part of the service’s “phased” approach to trauma work by supporting empowerment, social connection and purpose.

“We felt this project could be an opportunity for patients to demonstrate their knowledge and experience through the arts. In the safety of the group, they can test their voice, show their work and own their story, their narrative. It can be a new beginning – bridging the difficult gap between the end of therapy and reintegration into the world”, they added.

Participants in An introduction to complex trauma (DAA040) will discover over 40 pieces of original artwork used throughout the course, including 26 developed as part of this project. Ranging from watercolours and pencil sketches to collages and mixed media, the artwork is used to illustrate and elucidate the learning, following thematic prompts such as ‘trauma and identity’ and ‘complex trauma and physical health’.

Course lead Laura Salter, who is a Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist in the Tavistock Trauma Service, commented: “Through its visual storytelling, the artwork both communicates the substance of the course and reflects its ethos of connection, collaboration and growth.”

Intrigued? Learn more

If you work with people who have experienced complex trauma, our new online course, An introduction to complex trauma (DAA040), is for you. Informed by psychoanalytic theory and lived experience, it is now open for bookings.

Learn more and book now

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