THE CREATIVE COUNSELLOR: INTEGRATING THE EXPRESSIVE ARTS INTO YOUR THERAPEUTIC PRACTICE By Jannah Tudiver, MA, CCC, LPC & Catherine Fawcett, MA, MSW, RSW.

THE CREATIVE COUNSELLOR:

INTEGRATING THE EXPRESSIVE ARTS INTO

YOUR THERAPEUTIC PRACTICE

By Jannah Tudiver, MA, CCC, LPC& Catherine Fawcett, MA, MSW, RSW

INTRODUCTIONS

& WARM-UP ACTIVITY

WHY USE THE EXPRESSIVE ARTS IN YOUR PRACTICE?

• New tool for your “toolkit”• Address client issues• Well suited to brief therapy• Stay inspired & avoid burnout• Practice self-care

CREATIVE EXPRESSION & MENTAL HEALTH

1800’s to the 1900’s:

• Arts as adjunct to medicine & psychiatry

• “Moral therapy” for mental illness

1920’s:

• Joseph Moreno: psychodrama• Florence Goodenough: art

assessment for cognitive development

• Margaret Lowenfield: foundations of play therapy & sandtray therapy

1930’s and 1940’s:

• Expressive therapies more well known

• Self-expression as “alternative” to talk therapy

• Major psychiatric hospitals include arts in treatment

1950’s ONWARDS… (abridged version)

• Professional associations & standards developed• Expressive therapies integrated into medical, mental

health, & rehabilitative settings

WHAT ARE THE “EXPRESSIVE THERAPIES”?

“The use of art, music, dance/movement, drama, poetry/creative writing, play, and sandtray within the context of psychotherapy, counseling, rehabilitation, or health care” – Cathy Malchiodi, 2005

TYPES OF EXPRESSIVE THERAPIES:

• Art Therapy• Music Therapy• Drama Therapy• Dance/Movement Therapy• Poetry Therapy• Play Therapy• Sandtray Therapy• **Expressive Arts Therapy

Each discipline has its own association, qualifications, & professional standards

COMMON THEMES AMONG EXPRESSIVE THERAPIES:

• Sensory-based• Creativity• Aesthetic focus• Action-based/body-based

WHAT IS “EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY”?

• Arts-based psychotherapy• Interdisciplinary• Integrates the arts eg. imagery,

dance, music, drama, poetry, movement, & visual arts

• Goal: wellness & healing

BACKGROUND OF EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY:

• Newest arts-based therapy• Began in 1970’s at Lesley

College Graduate School

ALTERNATE NAMES FOR EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY:

• “Expressive Therapy”• “Integrative Arts Therapy”• “Intermodal Expressive

Therapy”• “Multimodal Expressive

Therapy”

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet…”

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY:

• Reclaims our innate capacity for creative expression

• Creative expression is a healing, ‘growth producing’ process

• Therapeutic transformation possible through expression

GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY:

• The arts are for everyone• Low skill/high sensitivity• Depth-oriented• “Layering” of modalities

KEY THEORISTS IN EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY:

Natalie Rogers: “creative connection”; person-centered

Shaun McNiff: “therapy of the imagination”; “art as medicine”

Paulo Knill: arts are “within each other”; “de-centering process”

APPALACHIAN STATE’S PERSPECTIVE:

• Natural world as model for creative process

• Reclaiming ancient integration of arts & life & healing

• Dream-work emphasis• The ‘person of the therapist’

ASSOCIATION & REGISTRATION

• International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA), 1994– Registered Expressive Arts

Therapist (REAT) & Registered Expressive Arts Consultant/ Educator (REACE)

• Additional Resources: – Creative Arts in Counselling

Chapter, CCPA– See Resource List

WHAT POPULATIONS WILL THIS WORK WITH?

The expressive arts are used with a variety of populations & presenting issues including:

• Psychiatric disorders• Developmental disorders• Cognitive disabilities• Issues including: addiction,

trauma, grief, anxiety, & depression

EXPRESSIVE ARTS ARE UTILIZED WITH:

• Clients of all ages• Clients with diverse backgrounds• Individuals & families• Groups• Outreach programs

Expressive Arts Therapy is practiced & taught in many countries eg. Peru, Israel & Switzerland

WHO USES EXPRESSIVE THERAPIES?

Approximately 30,000 practitioners in the U.S. are formally trained in therapeutic use of the arts

Arts-based interventions have been integrated into fields such as medicine, social work, counselling, psychiatry & psychology

CURRENT RESEARCH Recent research topics on the therapeutic use of expressive arts include:

• Creative writing in prevention & psychotherapy

• Music therapy in hospice & palliative care• Creative therapies in treatment for PTSD• Dance therapy for women survivors of

sexual abuse• Increasing counsellor empathy through

theatre exercises• Guided imagery & relaxation for women in

early stage breast cancer• Promoting positive mental health through

art therapy• The use of the arts in grief & loss

A HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

SIMPLE WAYS TO INTEGRATE THE EXPRESSIVE ARTS INTO YOUR THERAPEUTIC PRACTICE…

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE:

• Try the activity 1st yourself • Focus on process over product• Respond to art with process

comments; avoid likes & dislikes• Counter negative statements eg “I

can’t do art”• Explore when to participate versus

when to be a witness• Create openings & closings

FURTHER RESOURCES

QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

THANK YOU!

Our Contact Information:Jannah Tudiver: [email protected]

Catherine Fawcett: [email protected]