In Amman, Second Lady Karen Pence started her day with a visit to The Citadel, the site of ancient Rabbath-Ammon and excavations. The archaeological site is located on a hill, and from there Mrs. Pence admired beautiful views of the city’s incredible history.
After touring The Citadel, Mrs. Pence toured the Roman Amphitheater in downtown Amman where she learned of the theater’s rich history. Upon conclusion of the cultural visits, the Second Lady departed the historical sites of the downtown area to participate in an art therapy discussion.
The Second Lady met with an art therapist who told Mrs. Pence that art therapy is still an emerging profession in Jordan with only a few professionally trained art therapists in the country. Art therapy education programs do not exist in Jordan. The Jordanian art therapists have studied abroad to earn their degrees.
After the art therapy discussion, Mrs. Pence joined Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan for tea at the Husseiniya Palace. Afterwards, Mrs. Pence and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah attended the working lunch with the King of Jordan and the Vice President.
To stay updated on the Second Lady’s art therapy program visits and stories shared about the life changing treatment, follow the Second Lady’s Blog Page. To stay updated on her events, follow her on Twitter at, @SecondLady.
About Art Therapy
Second Lady Karen Pence chose one initiative to champion, and it is art therapy. She calls her initiative, Art Therapy: Healing with the HeART. According to the American Art Therapy Association, art therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship. Professional art therapists who are experts in human development, psychological, and counseling theories and techniques facilitate Art therapy. For more information about the art therapy profession, visit https://arttherapy.org/.
