Online Workshop
Art for Wellbeing Workshop: Harnessing Painting For Health
Upcoming Saturday Workshops:
October 24, 2026
Facilitated by Aziza Balle
January 23, 2027
March 13, 2027
July 24, 2027
September 25, 2027
All workshops: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm EST
For physician assistants and other health-care providers
This workshop combines evidence-based didactic education regarding burnout, wellness, and art engagement with an experiential painting activity, process painting. Process painting makes the experience of painting more important than the outcome. The goal of process painting is the creative act itself, without concern for talent, skill, or accomplishment. No prior painting or art experience is necessary. This workshop is for educational and personal reflection purposes only. It is not therapy, counseling, medical care, or medical advice. Facilitators are participating in their role as educators, not as healthcare providers.
Online Painting is a way to cultivate wellness with a home painting practice with the support of a virtual community of healthcare providers from around the country. You’ll receive personal attention from our facilitators from The Painting Experience. There is no comparison or evaluation.
The Painting Experience is recognized by related professions that support and assist growth-related practices for vulnerable populations.
Our facilitators have a long history of supporting healthcare professionals and have provided continuing education credits for nurses, licensed therapists, and social workers for over forty years.
Adrian S. Banning, DHSc, PA-C, is an associate professor and dedicated physician assistant educator in the Butler University DMS-Bridge program. Her research explores the intersection of art and science in medical education, focusing on how integrating art appreciation and arts-integrated curricula—developed through collaborations like the Barnes Foundation—can foster clinical empathy, enhance communication, and mitigate burnout among students.
Nicole Cournoyer, MSPAS, PA-C, oncology physician assistant, educator, and founder of The Holistic PA Coach, supports PAs navigating the challenging landscape of medicine. Believing that the practice of medicine is a profound gift that can be sustained when a PA prioritizes their own well-being and wholeness, she integrates mindfulness meditation and creative engagement into innovative educational opportunities that offer practical somatic tools for resilience.
The Painting Experience has been authorized by the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for activities planned in accordance with AAPA CME Criteria. This activity is designated for five AAPA Category 1 CME credits. PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation.
Workshop Information (Click for more information)
Workshop Schedule
The workshop will take place from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST. Please plan to attend the full session to get the most out of the experience.
Workshop Fee: $350 (includes five AAPA Category 1 CME credits).
Continuing Education Credits
This activity is designated for five AAPA Category 1 CME credits (included in the workshop fee). PAs should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation. CE credits are also available for California MFT/LCSW/LPCC/LEP and RN for an additional $25.
Materials
Links to Materials:
Location
Online Workshop
Cancellation Policy
If you pay in full when you register, you will receive a full refund minus a 15% handling fee if you cancel at least 15 days before your selected workshop date. Cancellations made less than 15 days before your workshop are nonrefundable and nontransferable.
Why Paint for Process? (Click for more information)
The exhilaration of creating without the pressure to perform, produce or succeed.
The goal is free-expression. Process painting emphasizes the creative process rather than technique or expertise. No prior art experience is necessary. We all start from beginner’s mind.
The personal power that grows from being present in the moment.
Process painting offers an exceptional opportunity to inhabit the present moment. It’s an engaged spirituality — a practice of equanimity, presence, and learning to stay present in the face of whatever arises.
The beauty of letting yourself be led rather than grasping for control or attempting to plan.
Through listening to your intuition — the color that calls to you; the placement of the brush on the paper; the shape, the form, the image that wants to be born — process painting invites you to unleash your inner wildness.
The rewards that come from experiencing doubt and carrying on anyway.
One of the myths of art is that you have to feel inspired, have endless ideas or feel confident in order to create. But not-knowing allows innocence. Accepting imperfection yields compassion. Risking vulnerability opens the door to breakthrough and awe.
The healing that comes from true completion.
Completion is one of the greatest mysteries in process painting. It can be a moment of astonishing surprise and release. Completion is an inner state of freedom that you experience when you carry a painting through to its natural end.
The development of an awakened stance towards life that is centered yet expansive.
The meeting with yourself that occurs in the painting process is meditation in action — where the circumstances of your life are seen as potentials rather than problems.
