Naomi is a researcher, clinician, and educator in the field of Creative Arts Therapy, with a strong foundation in clinical practice, academic teaching, and research leadership. Her PhD investigated the development and context of arts therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand and her academic work reflects a deep engagement with identity, professional practice, and arts-based research methodologies.
Naomi has a wealth of experience in tertiary education, including lecturing, curriculum coordination, and postgraduate supervision at both Whitecliffe and the University of Auckland. Her extensive clinical background spans work with children, adolescents, and adults across mental health, education, and community settings, including Oranga Tamariki, ACC, and private practice.
She is widely published in national and international journals and has contributed to key sector conversations through peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations, podcasts, and editorial work. Naomi is also a recipient of the 2024 Ako Aotearoa Tapatoru Professional Practice Award for Tertiary Educators, recognising her commitment to excellence in teaching and learning.
Naomi is a researcher, clinician, and educator in the field of Creative Arts Therapy, with a strong foundation in clinical practice, academic teaching, and research leadership. Her PhD investigated the development and context of arts therapy in Aotearoa New Zealand and her academic work reflects a deep engagement with identity, professional practice, and arts-based research methodologies.
Naomi has a wealth of experience in tertiary education, including lecturing, curriculum coordination, and postgraduate supervision at both Whitecliffe and the University of Auckland. Her extensive clinical background spans work with children, adolescents, and adults across mental health, education, and community settings, including Oranga Tamariki, ACC, and private practice.
She is widely published in national and international journals and has contributed to key sector conversations through peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations, podcasts, and editorial work. Naomi is also a recipient of the 2024 Ako Aotearoa Tapatoru Professional Practice Award for Tertiary Educators, recognising her commitment to excellence in teaching and learning.
Naomi is a sewer and weaver who lives in the beautiful Pūhoi, by the awa, in an intergenerational whānau.
Manners, A., Ruznic-Beyer, A., Shima, A., McGuinness, B., Harrington, B., Leigh, C., Mitchell, D., Cunnane, E., Csata, I., O’Byrne, J., Dobson, J., Morton, L., Weir, M., Pears-Scown, N., Barker, R., Heney, R., Foulkes, R., Moore, S., Jeong, S., & Corless, S. (2018). A living quilt: The journey of a cohort of emerging arts therapists in Aotearoa. Creative Arts in Education and Therapy, 4(2), 118-130.
Wang, Y., Green, D., Pears-Scown, N., Weir, M., Csata, I., Heney, R., McGeever, M., Lambert, R., & Marks, K. (2018). The arts of making sens/e. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Arts Therapy, 1(13), 112-130.
Pears-Scown, N. (2022). Pioneers and pilgrims: Finding invisible but felt ceilings and wondering what to do with them. Journal of Creative Arts Therapy, 17(1).
Pears-Scown, N. (2023). Intra-active identity stories: Weaving and troubling a creative arts therapist’s ecological and professional identities through a storm, a pine-needle basket, a waterfall, and a satellite. Journal of Creative Arts Therapy, 18(1). https://www.jocat-online.org/a-23-pearsscown
Pears-Scown, N. (2024a). A tale of tartan: Diffractive storytelling in response to educational policy for pākehā educators in Aotearoa New Zealand. Policy Futures in Education, 22(8). https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103241238046
Pears-Scown, N. (2024b). (Paper) weaving and poetry: Re-membering through Baradian theory. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 56(12). DOI: 10.1080/00131857.2024.2360203
Pears-Scown, N. (2024)c. The mattering and agency of (clinical): An collection of assemblage poems. JoCAT, 19(2). https://www.jocat-online.org/a-24-peasrscown
Pears-Scown, N. (2024d). Literature cartographies: Reimagining methodologies through geographical found-poems in arts therapy. Reconceptualizing Educational Research Methodology, 15(1), https://doi.org/10.7577/rerm.5623
Pears-Scown, N. (2024e). Harmonics: Frequencies of inheritance from Scotland to Aotearoa New Zealand. The Journal of Genealogy and Family History, 7(5), http://dx.doi.org/10.24240/23992964.2024.1234547
Pears-Scown, N. (2024f). Poetic inquiry explainer: Poets notice and leave traces. JoCAT, 19(2), https://www.jocat-online.org/e-24-pearsscown
2023: FAT Moon Podcast: Interview with Kirsty Greene about Creative Arts Therapy practice in Aotearoa
2023: JoCAT Podcast: Interview with Amanda Levy about Intra-active JoCAT article
