Art Psychotherapist presented with Churchill Medallion

Our Senior Art Psychotherapist Janice Lobban has been awarded a Churchill Medallion at a prestigious ceremony in London.

It was presented to Janice to mark the successful completion of her overseas research as a Churchill Fellow. Last year, she travelled to the US to investigate art therapy provision for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. She’s since used the knowledge gained to help former servicemen and women in the UK.

Janice said: “Art therapy for veterans really matters because not everyone is able to express the effects of trauma through words alone. Art-making gets to the heart of the matter. Once expressed, experiences can be made sense of and losses grieved.

“My travels overseas gave me new ideas for how we can improve the treatment we offer to veterans in the UK, where art therapy is a rare resource. Being a Churchill Fellow was a life-changing experience because it opened up international perspectives and possibilities.”

This year’s Churchill Medallions were presented by world-renowned photojournalist Nick Danziger, whose career began with a Churchill Fellowship that took him across Central Asia in 1982. The biennial Churchill Fellows Award Ceremony was held last month at Church House in Westminster, Winston Churchill’s temporary office during the Second World War.

The Fellowships were set up in memory of Sir Winston Churchill on his death in 1965, and more than 5,400 Fellowships have been awarded since then.