The Cards Don't Lie: Tarot as a Therapeutic Tool

Presenters will discuss the use of tarot and oracle cards as part of the therapeutic process. These decks of cards convey numerous 'messages' using select imagery and wording, and can be enormously powerful tools in the hands of a skilled mental health practitioner. Long associated with divination and fortune-telling, in truth these cards are excellent at encouraging reflection--both for the client personally and as part of a wider session--and generating topics of conversation. By bringing these colourful, often wonderfully artistic, objects into the working environment, practitioners open up a whole world of therapeutic potential. Instead of simply, "How does that make you feel?" suddenly they can ask, "How do you interpret that message according to where you are now?" Tarots and oracles really speak to the collective unconscious, and may be utilised according to just about any therapeutic modality--but we'll leave it to others to decide whether or not they can tell the future...

Learning Objectives:

1.By the presentation's conclusion, the audience will have a good understanding of the nature and purpose of tarot/oracle cards, and of their 'traditional' uses.

2.The audience will also gain a working knowlege of the underlying theories of how and why tarot/oracle cards can be so effective as part of the therapeutic process.

3.They will also, through the use of examples and case studies, gain the practical skills necessary to use tarot/oracles as part of their own client work.

4.Signposts will be provided to appropriate resources and further avenues of learning.