Emeritus Professor of Art Psychotherapy at Goldsmiths, University of London
Professor Diane Waller OBE is Emeritus Professor of Art Psychotherapy at Goldsmiths, University of London now working part-time at Regents University and the Royal College of Art. Whilst at Goldsmiths she pioneered training in art psychotherapy, group analytic psychotherapy and intercultural therapy. She did her PhD at Sussex University, a historical-sociological history of the art therapy profession in the UK. Since the early 1980s Diane has been active in supporting the development of art therapy in Europe.
She is Hon President of the British Association of Art Therapists. In 2007 she was awarded the OBE for Services to Health. Her research has focussed on the sociology of professions, on the influence of culture on aesthetic preferences and on developing a body of evidence about the potential of the arts and arts therapies to improve the health and well-being of different client groups, latterly people with dementia, and recovering from stroke.
Her other main interests are in the ethnography of the Balkans (textiles, costumes and dance), contemporary design, sport and animal welfare. She has published extensively. With Sarah Scoble, Dramatherapist, Diane is series editor of the International Research into Arts Therapies Series, published by Routledge, of which there are now 4 volumes.
Based in Brighton, Diane is participating in a creative arts project in a primary care practice. The group – HERA – consists of artists who are running workshops in painting, photography, creative writing, dance and drama aiming to integrate the work of this group fully into that of a busy GP practice. The pandemic which began in 2020 has led the artists to seek creative ways to deliver their groups and to the necessity to work online.
