Conferences, Courses
and Events

Regional Groups

Online Groups and Networking

Before the pandemic regional groups were meeting regularly if possible to share, collaborate and research subjects chosen by them. Now since the pandemic a lively exchange and cooperation has developed amongst AATA members and international contacts bringing expertise and interest together independent of the geographic location. These are theme based groups or study groups or projects amongst members.

Networking is enabled either through communication with the secretary or using the members's Forum in the member's area. Initiatives and activities depend on the active engagement of each member thus creating a vibrant culture of exchange and professional development. Every member is welcome to start an initiative.

For more information contact: info@aata-uk.org

Some Examples of Group Work

• Study group to engage creatively with Rudolf Steiner's lectures
• Working with plant colours
• Working with children
• Sculpture Therapy weekend workshops twice yearly
• We are currently updating our course offers

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 2026 (postponed from 2025)

We concluded our three-year exploration of the three qualities "Truth, Beauty and Goodness” based on Rudolf Steiner’s lecture. We felt these qualities to be more important than ever; in our therapeutic practice and personal journey, but also as a contribution to building a world worth passing on to the next generations. In 2023 we began with looking into truth in relation to our physical body. In 2024, we worked with beauty in connection with our formative life forces. In 2026, we explored the good and how it relates to our soul forces. This opened up many creative possibilities since Steiner describes the good as an inner force that is of the greatest importance as “a living seed for a spiritual world in the future”. When we started our conference cycle, it coincided with the hundredth anniversary of Steiner’s lecture. It was however, very important to us that we engaged with these qualities from a contemporary perspective. We therefore invited colleagues to share their work in case study presentations to facilitate learning from each other. Our keynote speaker, Karin Jarman addressed questions in her talk “Truth, Beauty and Goodness, in the Context of the Challenges to our Humanity today”. We then deepened the theme creatively with Johanna Berger’s fairytale approach.

AATA conference 2024

"Beauty and our Body of Formative Forces” in June at Ruskin Mill, Nailsworth was the second conference of our three-year cycle based on Rudolf Steiner’s lecture: "Truth, Beauty and Goodness”. The focus was on the theme of beauty in relation to the etheric body, also known as the body of formative forces. The program offered rich opportunities to work with visual arts, in particular clay, speech, fairy tales as well as eurythmy. We are currently in the process of preparing feedback, which can be found in due course on our News page as all other previous conferences.

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.

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 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”.