Patrizia
Trafoier

My name is Patrizia Trafoier. I was born in 1980 in Merano/South Tyrol-Italy. After my secondary school education (foreign languages and tourism in Merano) and a further education in the field of cultural and nature tourism, I started to work (international marketing and sales in the wholesale sector).  In my freetime I started to work intensively with art. My art-making went hand in hand with constant self-taught further education, participation in numerous painting and drawing courses up to the completion of several correspondence courses in the fields of graphics, design and interior design. With the children's book "Muinz und Mizzi...in Meran", published by Provinz-Verlag in 2011, I ventured to write and illustrate a story for the first time. Inspired by this, several art projects were subsequently created that combined image and word. These works, whether in words, graphics or painting, were subject to history- and socio-culturally themed narratives, news and musings. In 2013, my debut novel, "Zerrissenes Zwillingsherz", was published by Athesia Publishing. 

In 2019, I completed a four-year training as a certified art therapist in Italy.I have been actively working in the field of art therapy since 2017 (first as an art therapy trainee - since 2019 as a qualified art therapist).As an art therapist, I work with children and adults, the latter increasingly with tumour patients, people with mental illnesses and people with disabilities.With the completion of my training as a theatre pedagogue in 2019, I have added theatre pedagogical projects to my work.Art still accompanies me in my everyday life, more than ever.

Before my training as an art therapist, I was aware of the profound effectiveness of art, because I used it subconsciously, but with little tangible effect.During my training as an art therapist, it was impossible for me to create my own art because the growing knowledge of the psychodynamic background of art creation and the continuous creation of art-therapeutic work analyses led to a personal blockade. Today I strive to combine my role as a therapist who uses the means of art to promote the health and and insightful communication with my clients, and the role of the artist, who remains a seeker in her personal art work.