Dr. Shiri Hergass
“When children experience trauma, or when we are living with trans generational or historical trauma, and words are not sufficient or available, art can help by giving the experience a shape and a colour.”
- DR. SHIRI HERGASS
DR. SHIRI HERGASS
Dr. Shiri Hergass is a Clinical Social Worker and Art Therapist. She has spent the over 25 years working with children and adults who have experienced trauma, and mental health professionals who work with them. Her work spans private practice, public facilitation and research.
Throughout her work, Shiri has found that that art is a wonderful tool in which children (and adults) can communicate a vast variety of feelings in a non-threatening way.
Shiri has worked with Ethiopian immigrants, Palestinian and Jewish social workers, mothers and their babies in jail, and remote preschools in outback NSW, Australia. Continually Shiri finds that art creates a bridge to reach people from different cultures and gives voice and colour to people’s individual stories.
In addition to individual therapy and running therapeutic groups for children and women, Shiri has spent the last few years refining a model for preschools, using creative groups.
These art, music or gardening groups give the children a safe space to non-verbally process their life story. Thereby giving them an opportunity to safely express and process traumatic events, which often leads to a reduction in ‘big behaviours’.
Simultaneously making space for the educators to process and understand the children’s behaviours. This equips them with more resources for combating vicarious dramatisation and burnout - common for those working with trauma.
Shiri is a strong believer in the power of relationships to heal.
Shiri was awarded the role of Reconciliation Ambassador to represent the Australian Association of Social Work and as an acknowledgement of her work.
Shiri holds a PhD, an MA in Clinical Social Work, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Art Therapy.
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