Vanessa Womack and Orliyah Israely
I remember my first experiential exercise with Shirley. She asked us to trace our hands, and then she said something to us that had the result of us decorating our hands expressing who we are. She had a way of motivating and inspiring without giving a direction that confined or controlled our response. She then made a hand of her own, and had us place our hands as a group on a sheet of paper. This was our group. She placed her hand, unassumingly to the side, carefully teaching us the meaning of where we placed our hands in the group. Every Tuesday when we entered the room, there our group would be, welcoming. As the year went by, I remember looking at the hand I made, thinking how I've changed, yet stayed the same, and seeing myself from different angles and with different meanings attached to the colors and shapes I used. The same would be with my fellow group (class) members, as I knew them better, I would see their hands.
When talking with my colleague Orliyah, who was in the 2003 graduating class with Shirley, she had a similar experience with hands.
I was fortunate enough to have Shirley for case consultation so not only did I benefit from her teachings, I also saw her in action! The client's progression through Shirley's interventions was unbelievable. I always held self-expression through journaling, painting and drawing in the highest regard but it was not until I watched Shirley apply what we read in books and practiced with each other that proved (to me )the power of the image, the impact of the confused therapist, and the importance of rapport established immediately within the relationship. One of Shirley's pioneering interventions is the "tracing of the hands." She believed in concretizing the relationship before moving on to anything else. I use this intervention with every client I have had -- from couples to adolescents to the mentally impaired and small children. HANDS speaks universally and has worked wonders to help me as a therapist, build rapport with even the most resistant and difficult clients. I thank you Shirley for lending your hand and am grateful for having met you as I take you with me as a guide throughout my professional career as a therapist. You will always be remembered and loved.
We thought it would be wonderful in honor of Shirley to make a permanent group of hands, expressing ourselves, and remembering her motivation and inspiration. A place where we could come together in a group, visually, with her, honoring her.
Ruth Subrin
In my tribute to Shirley Riley, I would like to express some thoughts that reflect my deep admiration, gratitude, and love for her.
Joan Halifax, a Buddhist teacher states “to die well, we must learn to live well”. My perceptions of Shirley are that she did live well – a full, loving, giving, interesting, compassionate and passionate life. Her life serves as a very positive role model for me.
I am so grateful that I was able to learn from Shirley over the past year. When I began the art therapy program last fall, Shirley was my first introduction to what doing art therapy with a client was all about. She fascinated me with her skills, compassion and creativity. Watching her do therapy with a client made me realize just how powerful this form of therapy is, and watching her skills set reassured me that I was going to love this profession.
In my second semester I was lucky enough to have Shirley for both the art therapy dynamics and application class, and as a supervisor in my traineeship at OPICA. In class, we would all be mesmerized by the creative and effective directives and theories behind them that she would present to us. She made the field come alive! At OPICA, I learned the joys of working with older adults afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. She showed me how to engage the members of OPICA in art therapy activities that promoted brain functioning and that consequently helped the clients build self-esteem.
Shirley is a great example to me on how to live life to the fullest. She taught, she guided, and she was curious and vital up to the end. In my belief system, death is a transition and the soul still exists. I picture Shirley looking down at all of us with a big smile and in her curious, engaging way saying, oh, this is what death is all about, how interesting.
To dear Shirley I would like to say Thank you for being such a positive part of my life. Your warm caring heart will always be with me. The wonderful energy, that I have been so fortunate to receive from you will always serve to guide me in my life, and especially as I pursue my new career.
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