New editorial board team announced for the International Journal of Art Therapy
We are pleased to announce our new Editorial Board team at the International Journal of Art Therapy. Read about our new editor-in-chief and deputy co-editors.
Dr Zoe Moula: editor-in-chief
Dr Zoe Moula is a lecturer in mental health at King’s College London, and a former research fellow at Imperial College and University College London. Zoe’s research is focused on school-based art therapy, building upon her experience of working with children and young people in both educational and therapeutic contexts in schools across Europe and Southeast Asia for over a decade.
After spending her childhood and adolescence in Athens (Greece), the city with the least green space per person across Europe, Zoe developed a life-changing connection with nature in her early 30s, which made her committed to developing a strong evidence-base of nature-based art therapy. The great response the journal received in the latest special issue on nature-based art therapy is a significant step towards this direction.
I am honoured to be stepping up as the new editor-in-chief (EiC), after almost five years of contributing to the journal’s editorial board as an early career research editor, deputy editor, and editor-in-chief designate. It is a huge privilege being in this position and I am thankful to be working with exceptional individuals in our editorial board, advisory board, and peer review network.
Dr Gary Christopher: co-deputy editor
Dr Gary Christopher is a senior lecturer at the Centre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University in Wales, UK. Gary’s area of expertise is cognitive ageing and, in particular, the emotional impact of dementia. He is committed to developing innovative approaches to help people cope with this condition and his research focuses on utilising nostalgia-based interventions to tap into the protective and therapeutic potential of cherished memories.
I am excited to explore the role of art therapy in improving the lives of older adults and those with dementia. I understand the profound benefits of art therapy, and I am committed to integrating art therapy with my research on nostalgia. This approach will provide a creative outlet and emotional comfort, potentially opening new ways to enhance the wellbeing and emotional resilience of our ageing population.
Dr Vicky Armstrong: co-deputy editor
Dr Vicky Armstrong runs a parent-infant art therapy service in Dundee Contemporary Arts, as well as being a researcher in psychology at the University of Dundee. Vicky has practiced as an art therapist since 2008, originally with children who had experienced early trauma, before developing the Art at the Start project to research art-based support for infant mental health.
I am very lucky in my current roles to get to combine clinical practice, service development and research, and to get lots of opportunities for public engagement so I can share why early art making is so good. I am also interested in arts in health more generally, the wellbeing implications from engaging with art galleries, how we can support under-served communities through art, and the benefits of making art in nature. I am very excited to be taking on this new role, and proud to be part of this great team.
Making everyone feel welcome
As the team embark on their new roles, their key value is to make everyone feel welcome.
From supporting new practitioners and early career researchers though the journal’s mentoring opportunities, to the annual peer review training and the annual adverts to join the editorial board team, we are striving to make everyone feel part of our journal’s community.
We are a friendly team so do reach out to discuss how you can be involved in our growing work. You can email Zoe at zoe.moula@baat.org.
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