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The art/therapeutic relationship will be explored in this hands-on art-making workshop. Students will try out a number of typical art therapy activities and role-play client and therapist. The course will cover development of treatment goals, dealing with resistance, encouraging art expression, understanding art expression, and relating to the client around the art expression.
Image making in a group can both reflect group dynamics and advance them, as members view each others' expressions and share their own. Depending upon the nature of the group, treatment goals can vary from personal and group insight enhancement to socialization to increased self-esteem. In this workshop students will try out art activities appropriate for different kinds of groups composed of various populations and role-play their participants.
The nature of the art materials used influences the nature of the resultant art expression. Some materials are good introductions to art-making, and some should be used only by more experienced art makers. Students will study the potentialities, ease, difficulties, and limitations of a number of kinds of art materials, from the conventional to the more exotic. They will learn about how much guidance to give in their use and when a particular material might be appropriate to use or not. The issue of giving the client choice of media versus selecting a medium for the client will also be explored. Various art therapy projects and their purposes will be introduced. This is a hands-on workshop in which students will try out the various media in order to understand their use from personal experience.
Course Materials:
RECOMMENDED PREREADING: Wadeson, H.: Art Therapy Practice, Part III, John Wiley Publisher (2000) Wadeson, H.: The Dynamics of Art Psychotherapy, chapters 2, 4, John Wiley Publisher (1987)
Exploring Self Image Through Art Therapy ART_THER 328-0
Feelings about the self are the core of emotional problems and, therefore, an essential issue in therapeutic intervention. Art therapy is an especially useful means of exploring this central factor in treatment and positive growth. In this course, students will examine a number of ways to express and process feelings about the self through art-making activities, such as childhood expectations, contrasts between inner and outer perceptions, "shadow" images and persona, ego ideal, body image, and changing perceptions over time. The class will be primarily experiential art-making, discussion, and reflection.
This course will highlight art therapy interventions as critical aspects of treatment in addressing the psychological effects of trauma in children and adults. Traumatic events overwhelm ordinary coping systems that give people a sense of control, connection, and meaning. Such events often involve threats to life or bodily integrity, including encounters with violence or death. The trauma may evoke feelings of terror and helplessness, destroying one's sense of autonomy and relation to others. Since the core experiences of trauma are disempowerment and disconnection from others, special attention will be paid to the art therapy relationship.
Art Therapy Clinical Supervision Seminar ART_THER 330-0
A group supervision class for students participating in art therapy practicum work at a variety of service settings. This class will build upon clinical skills acquired in previous art therapy internships and/or clinical work and will advance students' knowledge and skills in art therapy assessment and treatment with individuals and groups. Ethics, standards of practice, and cultural dimensions of treatment will be emphasized, in addition to appropriate use of materials and verbalprocessing of art therapy products with clients from a wide range of settings and populations.
Additional Information:
The course format will consist of lectures, discussion of required Readings, experiential activities, case presentations, mid-term and final project presentations. Class time will be divided between a)discussion of advanced clinical, professional and career issues as they arise in the context of the internship, b) discussion of assigned readings,c) experiential art activities designed to develop advanced knowledge and skill in art therapy materials/process.
Tuition:$795.00
This course is not currently being offered.
Child and Adolescent Art Therapy ART_THER 331-0
This course will cover developmental stages from early childhood through adolescence, including the practical applications of art media at each stage in the service of the therapeutic process. Other areas of focus will be appropriate boundaries, confidentiality, developing children's self knowledge, play, and ethical issues. How trauma and anger impact children's self perception will also be an important area of study. The class format will include discussion and experiential art-making activities. No experience is necessary.
The Creative Process in Art Therapy ART_THER 333-0
The creative process is an essential component of art therapy treatment It is an empowering experience that offers clients an immediate alternative to passive resignation in life circumstances, such as trauma, loss, medical or psychiatric illnesses, and interpersonal dysfunction. Problems and strengths encountered in one's creative process often parallel patterns in external life, providing an additional lens for viewing emotional struggles and a manner for resolving them. For many individuals across cultures, the process of creating art is also a transpersonal experience, enabling children and adults to express the spiritual meaning of their lives. This course will use art and writing activities, cross-cultural myths, nature metaphors, references from depth psychology, and other sources to explore the creative process as it is utilized in art therapy.
*Schedule Notes:
Class will meet from 9:00am-4:00pm on Saturdays, and from 9:00am-4:00pm on Sundays. Specific class dates are 1/9, 1/10, 1/23, 1/24, 2/6, 2/7.
Course Materials:
Required Book: "Trust the Process, An Artist's Guide to Letting Go", McNiff, Shambala, 1998 Recommended Reading: "Life, Paint, and Passion: Reclaiming the Magic of Spontaneous Expression", Cassou, Cubley, G.P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1996
Understanding and Working with Images ART_THER 335-0
In this course students will strengthen their ability to understand and work with images created by art therapy clients of all ages. Art products will be viewed from multidimensional levels, including symbolic, metaphorical, developmental, kinesthetic, and phenomenological perspectives. Imagery will also be considered through the client's interpersonal schema and within the relational context of short and long-term art therapy. Responding to images utilizing various methods, such as dialogue, narrative exploration, personification, and art responses created by the art therapist, will be taught as a way to expand one's understanding of client art images and to develop the capacity to facilitate meaningful connections for clients to their internal and external worlds. Students will be encouraged to bring examples of client artwork to class. Students will also work with case examples presented by the instructor and with their personal art expressions.
Transformational Aspects of Storytelling and Myth in Art Therapy ART_THER 338-0
The course will cover techniques that incorporate the use of traditional myths, folk, fairy tales and other stories in art therapy practice with children and adults. Participants will learn how listening to stories may stimulate the imagination process for clients, which may enhance expressive depth, meaning and connection to their art. Writing stories based upon the client's images may also facilitate assessment information and transformational potential.
An understanding of the historical and theoretical background of art therapy enhances its application in therapeutic and educational practice. This course will explore the evolution of art therapy, its pioneers and early theorists, with an eye to developing an understanding of art therapy's relationship to major psychological concepts. Through case presentation, lecture, reading, discussion, and experiential art-making activities, participants will learn how art is used to facilitate healing in work with various populations.
*Schedule Notes:
**Class will NOT meet on Tuesday, March 30, 2010**
Art for Professional Processing ART_THER 341-0
Although art therapists and therapists using art readily encourage their clients to make art to advance their therapy, they may be less familiar with various ways art can be used as an aid in professional self processing. In this course, students will try out various art methods to help them gain insight into their therapeutic relationships, formulate treatment plans, deal with the emotional load they carry in treating people in need, explore professional goals, and express feelings about the work environment. Methods for using art for self soothing when under stress and to prevent burn-out will also be presented. Although the purpose of this course is to provide tools that can be employed on an ongoing basis, students may find that they finish the course with a much clearer view of their own work situation.
