In 2026, Indigo Art Therapy facilitated a professional development and reflective practice workshop in Australia for mental health clinicians and therapists living and working under the ongoing impact of war, trauma and existential threat.
Led by Simona Weinstein, the session invited participants to engage in a non-verbal art-making process using watercolours, creating space for reflection, emotional expression and embodied awareness beyond words.
During a subsequent review of the artworks, Australian psychiatrist and trauma specialist Dr George Halasz observed a striking theme across the collection. While the paintings contained rich colours, imagery and symbolism, there was an absence of human figures throughout all ten artworks. This observation evoked a profound personal response, connecting him not only to the lived experiences of the therapists who created the works, but also to his own family history as the son of a Holocaust survivor.
In the testimony featured below, Dr Halasz reflects on how the experience illuminated the concept of absence, generational trauma and relational repair. He describes the safety created within the therapeutic space as enabling a deeply embodied encounter with long-dormant aspects of his own history, leading to what he describes as a life-changing experience.
This reflection highlights the unique capacity of art therapy to access experiences that may remain beyond language, particularly in contexts of collective trauma, loss, uncertainty and ongoing threat. It also demonstrates the importance of creating safe relational spaces for therapists themselves, recognising that those supporting others through trauma are often carrying their own lived experiences at the same time.
Participants in this discussion:
• Dr George Halasz – Psychiatrist, psychotherapist and trauma specialist
• Simona Weinstein – Art Therapist and Founder of Indigo Art Therapy
• Dr Vicki Gordon OAM – Clinical Psychologist
• Erica Frydenberg – Psychologist, researcher and author
Duration: 2 minutes
Workshop Location: Australia
Year: 2026
Facilitator: Simona Weinstein, Indigo Art Therapy
“The absence triggered something of an absence in me that I’ve never attended to… The safety that you provided enabled a relational repair for my generational rupture.” — Dr George Halasz