phd creative arts therapy

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Creative Arts Therapy is where psychology and creativity meet to help us help others. Composed of two core disciplines, our programs prepare you to become a psychotherapist with art or dance movement as your modality. Through experiential and embodied learning and immersive clinical training, you'll discover the curative nature of the creative process and the healing potential of art.

We believe your creative and clinical practices are best developed together, each informing and improving the other.

Our faculty live this idea every day in their own work. Many are accomplished artists and continue to maintain both a creative and a clinical practice alongside their teaching roles.

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Expressive therapies.

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Apply research and creativity to spark individual and societal change.

Transform individuals and communities through creativity, scholarship, and collaboration. Enhance your practice and become a leader in expressive therapies through this low-residency doctoral program, which interweaves artistic expression and inquiry with a focus on research. Join with Lesley’s world-recognized faculty and other committed professionals to expand the theory and practice of expressive therapies, exploring new opportunities for research and global impact.

Lesley University’s doctoral program in expressive therapies provides you with the opportunity for in-depth study, artistic growth, and professional development regardless of your arts therapy specialization.

Guided by your own interests and experience, you’ll conduct relevant research and contribute new scholarship to the field. Whether you’re looking to further your career in higher education or become a leader in an arts therapy discipline, our program is designed to help you meet your goals.

The low-residency model provides a convenient format that allows you to expand your knowledge base in expressive therapies, while accommodating your work schedule and personal life. Complete a 2-week on-campus residency for three summers. During the residency, you’ll meet with your faculty advisor, attend seminars and classes, design research projects, and collaborate with other doctoral students. Between residencies, continue your work from home while staying connected with your faculty advisor and peers via online class sessions.

Program Structure

Low-Residency Doctoral Program

• To enroll in this program, you’ll need to show proof of: - An earned master's degree from a regionally accredited institution. - Certification or registration in one of the expressive therapies modalities (art therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy, expressive arts therapy, music therapy, play therapy, poetry therapy, or psychodrama). - Demonstration of good communication skills in the English language, both written and oral, at a level appropriate to doctoral study. - Demonstration of satisfactory performance on the GRE or the MAT examination. The Lesley University CEEB number is 3483 for the GRE and 1214 for the MAT. - A minimum of 3-5 years of professional experience as an expressive therapist.
• - Shifting Power Paradigms in Research - Arts Based Research I - Philosophical Foundations of Expressive Therapies - Critical Inquiry I - Research: Quantitative I - Research: Qualitative I
• - Critical Inquiry II - Research II - Research II: Qualitative II - Literature Review - Research II: Quantitative II - Arts Based Research II
• - Interdisciplinary Seminar - Leadership in Expressive Therapies - Professional Seminar
• Complete and defend your dissertation during your final years of study.

Low-Residency Format

Participate in one 2-week summer residency on Lesley University’s Cambridge campus for the first 3 years of your program. Between residencies, continue your studies online with Lesley faculty, devoting significant weekly time toward doctoral study. Your final years are dedicated to off-site, independent work on your dissertation with support from your faculty advisors. 

Innovators in the Field

Established over 40 years ago, we were the first graduate program in the U.S. to train professionals in this emerging field. Today our program is the largest of its kind and remains at the forefront of innovation. Our reputation and outstanding faculty—all practitioners in the arts—are what attract students from around the world.

Myriam Savage ’15

Expressive arts therapy can treat:.

How Creative Expression Can Benefit Older Adults

Mitchell kossak receives 'shining star' award.

Cambridge, MA

A nexus for higher education and mental health counseling practice and research, each year 250,000 students arrive to Cambridge from around the globe. The intellectual and cultural capital runs deep, and so do your opportunities addressing barriers to wellness. From Lesley’s location, access innovative community, hospital, and school-based mental health programs.

• Mental Health Therapist
• Music Therapist
• Art Therapist
• Drama Therapist
• Creative Therapist
• Dance/Movement Therapist
• Expressive Arts Therapist
• Universities and Colleges
• Mental Health Clinics
• Psychiatric Clinics
• Assisted Living Facilities
• Correctional Facilities

Professor of Expressive Therapies

Dr. Robyn Cruz’s clinical work has spanned populations such as adults with serious and persistent mental illnesses and children and adolescents with trauma and substance abuse issues. Her doctoral degree is in Educational Psychology with a specialization in Measurement and Methodology. She has worked as a research methodologist and research consultant, taught doctoral students since 1995, and has taught graduate courses in dance therapy, research methods, and statistics to students from many disciplines in the US, Europe, and South America.

Her courses reflect her interests in creative arts therapies research that uses the broad range of available methods and particularly, incorporating research thinking and resources into creative arts therapies clinical practices. Her teaching philosophy and practice are grounded in a professional collaboration model that reflects skills honed by teaching statistics to doctoral students from many disciplines at the University of Arizona. She uses a model based on the fact that students learn least from an instructor's oral recitation of information and most from engaging the subject matter themselves.

Robyn believes that policy and leadership go hand-in-hand with creative arts therapies and are important for the continued development and viability of these professions. She has devoted years of service to the University and to the Creative Arts Therapies community at large. She served as Co-Chair for the Lesley University Institutional Review Board from 2012-2021, and as IRB member from 2005 to the present. She was featured in the Lesley University 2012 Annual Report.

She is a past President of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA), serving four years as Vice President and four years as President of the organization. In these capacities she regularly visited Washington, DC to speak with lawmakers about creative arts therapies with respect to access for clients and licensing. As ADTA President, she introduced the Multicultural and Diversity Committee to the ADTA Board of Directors. This was the first new standing committee created in the organization in over 25 years.

Robyn also brought the Dance/Movement Therapy Certification Board, a separate credentialing body for dance therapy, and new credentials (R-DMT and BC-DMT) into existence during her presidency, creating new professional opportunities and oversight for professional dance therapists. She is a former editor of American Journal of Dance Therapy, and served as Editor-in-Chief of The Arts in Psychotherapy from 2002 to 2015. She is past Chairperson of the National Coalition for Creative Arts Therapies Associations.  

Michele Forinash

Professor, Director of the PhD in Expressive Therapies

Dr. Forinash is Professor and Director of the PhD program in Expressive Therapies at Lesley University. A graduate of Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia, Dr. Forinash completed her master’s and doctorate at New York University. She is a past president of the American Music Therapy Association and a past chair of the National Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies (NCCATA). She has published articles and chapters on qualitative research, supervision, feminist music therapy, and LGBTQ awareness and has presented internationally on these topics. For ten years she served as the North American Co-Editor for the online international music therapy journal Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy ( www.voices.no ). She is also an associated supervisor for the doctoral program in music therapy at Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.

Jason Frydman

Associate Professor, Expressive Therapies

Jason S. Frydman, PhD, RCT/BCT, NCSP is associate professor of expressive therapies at Lesley University where he teaches in the doctoral expressive therapies program and co-chairs the university's institutional review board. He is a registered drama therapist/board certified trainer with the North American Drama Therapy Association, a nationally certified school psychologist with the National Association of School Psychologists, and licensed psychologist (GA). Dr. Frydman is the founder and lead researcher of the Collaborative for Creative Arts Therapies in Schools (C-CATIS), based at Lesley. He serves as the associate editor for general topics for Translational Issues in Psychological Science and sits on the editorial boards of Drama Therapy Review and School Psychology Review. Research interests include creative arts therapies in schools, research issues in the creative arts therapies, mental health literacy, and school-based trauma-informed practices. He has served as NADTA conference co-chair, communications chair, and is immediate-past research chair. He is an invited and initial member of the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative and served on the advisory board for the Foundation for Jewish Camping.

Professional service

Jason is active in professional service, including

• Co-chair of the North American Drama Therapy Association Conference (2012)
• North American Drama Therapy Association Communications Chair (2012-2015) and Research Chair (2019-2021)
• Guest co-editor of the Drama Therapy Review (DTR) special issue: Drama Therapy in the Schools (5.1)
• Current editorial boards include the Drama Therapy Review, School Psychology Review , and Translational Issues in Psychological Science

Mitchell Kossak

Professor/Coordinator of Expressive Therapies

Dr. Mitchell Kossak , LMHC, REAT is a professor in the Department of Graduate Expressive Therapies at Lesley University. He served as Department Chair from 2006 to 2013. He was the President and Executive Co-Chair for the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA) 2010-2016. He has been a licensed mental health counselor, since 1994, and is a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT).

He is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Arts and Health and Co-Chair of the Institute for Arts and Health at Lesley University. His clinical work combines expressive arts therapies with body-centered approaches with a variety of populations addressing issues such as chronic pain, recovery from trauma, depression, anxiety, life transitions and relationships. In addition he has worked extensively with autistic children and adults. Mitchell has trained in a variety of mind body modalities including Polarity Therapy, Craniosacral Therapy, Deep Tissue Massage and Bioenergetics. In Expressive Arts Therapies he has training in music therapy, experimental theater, psychodrama, and authentic movement. He studied Sound Healing with innovators in the field of sacred sound and transformation of consciousness, such as Dr. John Beaulieu author of Music and Sound in the Healing Arts and Silvia Nakkach director of the Vox Mundi Project. In addition to this training, he has studied and practiced energy based healing forms such as Tai Chi, Chi Kung, Vipassana meditation, and Iyengar yoga for over 30 years. He earned his doctorate from the Union Institute and University in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy and transpersonal psychology. He has written about and presented his research on rhythmic attunement, improvisation, psychospiritual and community-based approaches to working with trauma and embodied states of consciousness at conferences nationally and internationally. He is the author of Attunement in Expressive Arts Therapy:  Toward an Understanding of Embodied Empathy. He is the Associate Editor of The Journal of Applied Arts and Health and Co-Chair of the Institute for Arts and Health at Lesley University. 

Mitchell Kossak is also a professional musician, performing for the past 30 years in the Boston area.

Kelvin Ramirez

Associate Professor/Coordinator of Art Therapy

Dr. Kelvin Ramirez is a Board Certified Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC) and core faculty member of the Department of Graduate Expressive Therapies . Kelvin is a Board Member of FNE International, a 501(c)3 organization that partners with communities in developing nations to identify opportunities to advance housing, health and education. With that international experience, Kelvin continues to collaborate and develops programs with educators, clinicians, and community leaders in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and India. He has developed academic curriculum that build and reinforce initiatives in Nicaragua, The Dominican Republic, Haiti and India.

Prior to joining Lesley, Kelvin was the vice principal of a high school in the South Bronx where he developed and incorporated art therapy within educational systems to enhance student’s personal and academic growth. During his 9-year tenure as vice principal, art therapy was infused throughout the academic and therapeutic approaches of the school, increasing retention and shifting behavioral approaches to enhance students' socio-emotional development.

Kelvin has taught for the Counseling Division at the College of New Rochelle and the Clinical Art Therapy Program at Long Island University C.W. Post.

His current areas of interest and research include:

• The development of international art therapy initiatives that conform to the specific needs of communities
• Contemporary social justice issues
• How art therapy addresses or ignores systemic oppression
• The underrepresentation of people of color within the field of art therapy and the implications of this on theory and practice
• The connections between horticultural therapy and art therapy to transform communities

Teaching is important to Kelvin, because it is through this act of service that people are prepared to direct their destinies and author their own stories. It is a profession that entrusts educators with the malleable minds of the future. Kelvin holds fast to the unwavering ideals that brought him to education, including that social injustices can only be remedied by an educated populous, that an educated mind is a mind called into action for the betterment of all human kind, and that through educating our future generations, our positive influence on the world will continue long after we expire.

Jason Butler

Professor of Drama Therapy, Department Chair of Graduate Expressive Therapies

Dr. Jason D. Butler  is a Registered Drama Therapist, Board Certified Trainer, and New York State Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. Jason is a former President of the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) and previously served on the NADTA Board of Directors as President-Elect and Communications Chair. He is the editor-in-chief for  The Arts in Psychotherapy and the former training director for DvT Montreal, a satellite of the Institute for Developmental Transformations.

Prior to joining Lesley University, Jason was a professor in Creative Arts Therapy at Montreal's Concordia University, serving for a portion of that time as the graduate program director for drama therapy and a member of the Arts in Health Research Collective.   Jason is an internationally known drama therapist, having presented on drama therapy in many countries, including the Czech Republic, China, Hong Kong, South Africa, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at Lesley University and at New York University and was one of the first recipients of the NADTA Teaching Excellence Award in 2012. 

Prior to being a full-time professor, Jason was the director of Goddard Riverside Community Center’s The Other Place, a psycho-social program and drop-in center for homelessness and mental illness in New York City. Prior to finding drama therapy, he was a high school theatre teacher. His publications include articles and book chapters on drama therapy education, arts therapies pedagogy, schizophrenia, developmental transformations, and role theory. His current research includes an exploration of the drama therapy student experience as well as the application of drama therapy theory to experiential learning.

• Low-Residency
• Tuition $1,150/credit x 45 $51,750
• Fees PhD Matriculation Fees $12,000 Registration Fee $40 Comprehensive Fee $1,125

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Expressive Arts Therapy

Specialty Program

Develop the theory and technique to integrate the therapeutic use of expressive arts within your counseling practice.

Add Creative Exploration To Your Practice

Explore a variety of expressive arts modalities while developing your unique professional identity as a mental health professional who uses the creative arts as a therapeutic tool for growth and healing.

• Visual arts
• Movement-based creative expression
• Sound/music
• Creative writing
• Nature-based practices

Discover You’re Inner Source of Creativity

You’ll discover your inner source of creativity, using your personal artistic experience as a tool for self-discovery and self-expression as you learn to identify appropriate expressive arts modalities when working with diverse individuals, families, and groups.

The specialty consists of:

• 100% online courses in our time-tested virtual format
• Supervised internship
• Final portfolio project

Registration as an Expressive Arts Therapist

Our EXAT specialty program is designed to meet the educational requirements to become a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT) with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA). Please see the post graduate requirements at www.ieata.org . Program graduates must independently apply for registration through the IEATA.

Chart Your Course

The online Expressive Arts Therapy specialty seamlessly integrates into each CACREP-accredited Master of Arts in Counseling concentration, both online and in person.

Learn more about our Expressive Arts Therapy faculty, students, and alumni.

As an educator, I aim to provide my students with a relational learning environment that stimulates engagement, encouragement, and creativity. …

I am passionate about helping students as they learn and grow. I have an excitement for life, and I enjoy …

Required Courses

Please refer to our course catalog for the most up-to-date course requirements.

Upon completion of the program, students will have mastery over the following:

• Theory and Technique: Describe the theories, techniques, and functions of multimodal expressive arts therapy, emphasizing cross-cultural contexts of creative expression.
• History and Context: Describe the historical uses of the expressive arts in different cultures and the evolution of contemporary expressive arts practices.
• Foundational Principles: Demonstrate understanding of the basic principles of different expressive arts modalities, such as art therapy, dance therapy, psychodrama, and music therapy, and how these principles can be applied through a multimodal approach.
• Professional Perspective: Apply the expressive arts through a systemic lens to address diverse clinical, social, and cultural issues that present in clinical and community-based practice.
• Adlerian Psychology: Demonstrate how Adlerian theory can inform the application of the expressive arts through conceptualization and technique.
• Artistic Expression and Mental Health: Conceptualize the relationship between artistic expression and individual mental health, including assessment, treatment planning, and techniques, as applied to selected client disorders within a cross-cultural context.
• Multimodal Approach: Apply a multimodal approach of the expressive arts, including visual arts, movement, music, creative writing, and nature-based practices to foster the mind-body-spirit integration.
• Ethical Consideration: Identify possible professional and ethical issues when using the expressive arts.
• Inclusive Understanding and Ability: Identify and apply appropriate expressive arts modalities when working with special populations and diverse individuals, families, groups, and systems to help foster healthy self-expression and movement toward mental health wellness.
• Personal Growth: Demonstrate personal and professional growth through the expressive arts.

Next Steps?

It’s time to take the next step in your journey. Choose yours below.

Contact the Admissions Office

Shawn Larson, MS

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IEATA International Expressive Arts Therapy Association ®

EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY RESOURCES (MULTI-MODAL)

Doctorate Degree

*Please note this information is not being updated. A new education and training directory is being created with  searchable function to view: ​ https://ieata.memberclicks.net/profession

UNITED STATES

LESLEY UNIVERSITY

CAMBRIDGE, MA Ph.D. in Expressive Therapies ​

CONTACT [email protected]

617.349.8300 www.lesley.edu/phd_exth.html

SAN DIEGO UNIVERSITY FOR INTEGRATIVE STUDIES

SAN DIEGO, CA

PhD in Psychology with a Specialization in Expressive Arts Therapy

Online Program

CONTACT [email protected]

[email protected]

www.sduis.edu

EUROPEAN GRADUATE SCHOOL

SWITZERLAND Doctoral Program in Expressive Arts:

Therapy, Coaching, Consulting and Education, Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding

Low-Residency Program During Summers

CONTACT www.expressivearts.egs.edu

+41 27 474 99 17

+41 27 474 99 18

Note: Affiliated with Appalachian State University (Keith M. Davis at  [email protected] ). Programs exchange/transfer academic credits. In Europe, affiliated with Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Hamburg, Germany(Gabriele Bastians at [email protected] )

NORTH AMERICA

APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Doctorate in Educational Leadership with a concentration in Expressive Arts, Leadership, and Inquiry  

The concentration in Expressive Arts, Leadership, and Inquiry will equip doctoral students with enhanced discernment and imagination that enriches leadership work across the spectrum of pK-20. Students in this concentration will become leaders using multi-modal expressive arts theory and inquiry to promote human flourishing,

View Graduate Bulletin for more details about course requirements.

For further information about the expressive arts program and other related resources, please visit www.expressivearts.appstate.edu or email us at [email protected]

Dr. Audrey Dentith

Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership Director and Professor Phone: 828-262-8382 [email protected]  

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

MAKAWAO, MAUI, HI PhD in Expressive Arts Therapy (two to four years, depending on Academic Study Plan and preparation of Doctorate Dissertation)

Program established in 1994 includes multi-modal expressive arts and exploration of each modality

CONTACT Elise Kert, Registrar, 800-806-0317, 808-573-7722 fax

[email protected] ,  [email protected] OR  Alessandra Colfi, Assistant to the Director, Expressive Arts Therapy Department

[email protected]

www.iups.edu

UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA SCHOOL OF CREATIVE ARTS THERAPIES

199 Aba Khoushy Av. Mount Carmel, Haifa, 31905, Israel

Two year training in Hebrew, offering MA in Creative Arts Therapies with a concentration in Art Therapy, Drama Therapy, Psychodrama, Music Therapy, or Dance/Movement Therapy. PhD at the School of Creative Arts Therapies

Webpage:   http://hw.haifa.ac.il/en/art-home

Phone:   +(972)4.824.9750

Contact: Dr. Hod Orkibi, PhD,  [email protected]

The International Expressive Arts Therapy Association® (IEATA®) provides these resources as a courtesy for those interested in exploring the expressive arts. IEATA® assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of this information. IEATA® is not connected with any listed organization and does not endorse any educational institution as an official expressive arts training program. Individuals seeking a career in the expressive arts are encouraged to seek appropriate counseling from the institution of their choice. IEATA® and its representatives are not able to provide recommendations for any of these programs. If you know of a program or school that could be added to our listing, please contact the  Educational Resources Committee

Creative Arts Therapies Explained: 18 Best Courses and Ideas

In ancient Greece and Rome, participation in theater acts was “prescribed” for individuals with depression or anxiety.

Likewise, tribal communities around the globe have been using dance, music, and painting in healing for millennia (Degges-White, 2011).

If you’re interested in taking the next step in your career to become a creative arts therapist, look no further. In this article, we’ll give you a basic introduction to the field of creative arts therapies, recommend some training options, and point you toward our favorite resources you can use with your art therapy clients today.

Before you continue reading, we thought you might like to download our three Grief Exercises [PDF] for free . These science-based tools will help you move yourself or others through grief in a compassionate way.

This Article Contains:

What are creative arts therapies, a brief history of creative arts therapies, how to become a creative arts therapist, training options: 9 courses and degrees, 5 best online programs to consider, how to use creative arts in counseling, top 4 activities and ideas for your sessions, helpful resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message.

Creative arts therapies (CATs) involve

“the implementation of an arts intervention by a trained, credentialed creative arts therapist; the presence of a systematic psychotherapeutic process; and the use of individualized treatment interventions.”

Bradt & Goodill, 2013, p. 970

Like other therapies, CATs address patients’ specific therapeutic issues and include the phases of patient assessment , treatment, and evaluation. Further, CAT interventions can consist of a broad range of artistic practices, including (Bradt & Goodill, 2013):

• Dance/movement
• Expressive writing
• Psychodrama

CAT differs from more general art-related healthcare practices in that CAT practitioners should be licensed and accredited.

Another difference is that more general art-related healthcare practices encompass a broad continuum of care, and the patient may play a more or less active role in the performance or creation of the art.

For instance, a performance put on by a group of artists for a patient would fall under the broader umbrella of general art-related healthcare but not be considered CAT, which centers around patient involvement as part of a targeted psychotherapeutic intervention.

When did it begin?

Founded in 1855, St. Elizabeths Hospital’s Department of Behavioral Health in Washington, D.C., had pioneering campuses in the therapeutic fields of art, music, dance, bibliotherapy, and psychodrama, and is widely considered to be the birthplace of CAT.

Marian Chace, a dancer and therapist born in Rhode Island, believed that dance was a powerful medium through which humans could meet their essential need for communication and understanding (Winerman, 2005). She is recognized as one of the first to use dance to meet the needs of patients with severe mental health challenges, practicing at St. Elizabeths Hospital in the 1940s after observing the positive effects that movement could have on symptoms of trauma (Sandel, Chaiklin, & Lohn, 1993).

A key figure in the founding of the American Dance Therapy Association, Chace ultimately became the Association’s first president and has left a long legacy of dignity and compassion in her work.

Arleen Hynes, a librarian and bibliotherapist at St. Elizabeths, discovered that inviting her patients to relate to poems resulted in evocative and creative responses that expressed their inner lives (Winerman, 2005; Rossiter, 2004). She began focusing on literature that stimulated the imagination rather than on narratives and trained herself to conduct therapy with poetry (Lamb & Friday, 2006).

Download 3 Grief & Bereavement Exercises (PDF)

These detailed, science-based exercises will equip you or your clients with tools to process grief and move forward after experiencing loss.

Download 3 Free Grief Tools Pack (PDF)

By filling out your name and email address below.

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The requirements for becoming a CAT will differ between countries and states.

The minimum qualifications for conducting any form of therapy involve different supervised internship hours and accreditation requirements.

To learn more, be sure to look at our dedicated article How to Become a Therapist: Requirements, Degrees, & Experience  or consider purchasing our in-depth guide, On Becoming a Therapist .

The standard pathway for becoming a CAT typically proceeds as follows (New York Health Careers, n.d.):

• Complete a bachelor’s degree that includes coursework in both creative arts and psychopathology.
• Complete a master’s degree in CAT from a registered/accredited program.
• Complete a minimum number of supervised internship hours (e.g., in New York, this is 1,500 hours).
• Undergo accreditation to practice therapy in your country or state.
• Pass a CAT test/exam, such as the Art Therapy Credentials Board, the Certification Board for Music Therapists, or the New York State Case Narrative Exam.

Interested in being trained as a creative arts therapist? Here are some of the degree options around the world.

Bachelor’s degrees

The following bachelor’s programs are recommended entry points for learning about CAT. They do not fully prepare students for licensure or certification to practice CAT, as this requires a minimum of a master’s degree.

The University of Tampa – Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy, USA

This BA program gives students a well-rounded introduction to the therapeutic arts, teaching its applications for working with a range of intrapsychic phenomena.

Particular applications include the use of arts for personal growth, rehabilitation, and self-awareness .

The program includes topics on the following art mediums:

• Printmaking

You can learn more on the program’s website .

University of South Wales – Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Creative and Therapeutic Arts, Australia

This bachelor’s program allows students to develop their future practice as a CAT in community and educational settings.

Across three years, students will learn innovative creative and therapeutic arts methods through art practice placements and theory-related skill building from leading experts.

Placement opportunities include those in community settings, such as women’s centers and children’s play therapy settings.

Find out more on the program’s website .

Ikon Institute of Australia – Bachelor of Arts Therapy, Australia

This undergraduate program gives students a broad knowledge of psychotherapy and therapeutic skills while emphasizing the processes of art therapy.

In particular, students will practice the artistic modes of:

• Visual arts
• Storytelling

For electives, students can choose topics including eco-psychotherapy, art and social action, indigenous approaches to health and wellbeing, and dreams and symbols.

Master’s degrees

The following is a sample of accredited master’s programs designed to prepare students for licensure and certification as a CAT.

Pratt Institute – Creative Arts Therapy Graduate Degrees, USA

New York’s Pratt Institute is a global leader in higher education, offering two accredited graduate degrees in CATs.

The Master of Professional Studies in Art Therapy and Creativity Development is an accredited 60-credit program synthesizing creative, aesthetic decision-making and psychotherapeutic practice and theory through experiential learning.

The Master of Science in Dance/Movement Therapy is structured similarly but emphasizes dance/movement as the means for therapeutic change based on the healing processes proposed by psychodynamic theory .

You can learn more about these programs on the institute’s website .

Leeds Beckett University – Master of Art Psychotherapy Practice, UK

This program, run in partnership with Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, is designed to meet the national training criteria to practice and register as an art therapist or art psychotherapist in the United Kingdom.

Training focuses on developing students’ ability to deliver safe and effective care using visual art and image making. It also gives students access to work placements in a broad range of settings, including general hospitals, disability services, and forensics.

You can learn more on the program’s website or by viewing the program’s course overview .

University of Melbourne – Master of Creative Arts Therapy, Australia

This two-year degree program provides an overview of theories related to health treatment involving the arts, which can be applied in a range of contexts.

Students will learn about contemporary practices in the field of art therapy and explore the similarities, differences, and differing effects of various art forms.

Several Australian licensure bodies accredit the program for CAT and connect students with a broad range of placement opportunities.

You can learn more on the University of Melbourne’s website .

Doctoral programs

Note that the following doctoral programs are designed to help students pursue a nonclinical career or expand on other programs’ clinical licenses. They do not prepare graduates for clinical licensure or certification.

Saybrook University – PhD in Psychology: Creativity Studies Specialization, USA

In this doctoral program, students will discover the value of nurturing creativity to help achieve health and organizational outcomes.

In particular, students will learn to analyze and conduct psychological research while strengthening their skills to work in a range of public, private, and nonprofit sectors, such as the arts, health, consulting, and social transformation.

To learn more, visit the program’s website .

Florida State University – PhD or EdD in Art Education: Concentration in Art Therapy, USA

The art education PhD or EdD at Florida State teaches students the skills to make substantial academic contributions to the field of art therapy, with many of this program’s students making major contributions to the literature in faculties and colleges around the United States.

In particular, students of this program will gain the skills to teach, lead research teams, publish and present findings, engage in advanced clinical practice, and develop art therapy education programs.

To learn more, visit the program’s website or view the College of Fine Art’s handbook .

University of Haifa – School of Creative Arts Therapies Doctoral Programs, Israel

Israel’s School of Creative Arts Therapies at the University of Haifa offers creative arts therapy PhD programs with the following specializations:

• Art therapy
• Music therapy
• Dance/movement therapy
• Drama therapy

These programs are designed to train students in the skills to forward research in CAT, focusing on theory development, evidence-based practice , and basic and applied research.

You can learn more about these programs and get contact information by visiting the program’s website and downloading their information leaflet .

For even more programs and information, be sure to take a look at the American Art Therapy Association’s website .

If you’re looking to complete a university-level qualification in CAT, know that many programs have online or blended modes of instruction. To get the latest information on the availability of these online options, we recommend reaching out to advisors at your chosen college or university.

Edinboro University – Master of Arts in Counseling, USA

Edinboro University in Pennsylvania is one of the few universities worldwide offering a 100%-online master’s program in art counseling.

The program is accredited and provides students with a solid theoretical and practical foundation upon which to build your own art counseling practice.

Students are invited to select a practicum opportunity and internship in a specialty area of their choice in their local community. This course can also be taken as an abbreviated post-master’s certificate by those who already have a master’s in a related field and are looking to expand an existing skill set.

You can learn more about this program and its offerings on Edinboro University’s website .

Certificates and diplomas

If you’re looking to dip a toe in the field of creative arts therapy or expand an existing skill set, consider the following online training options:

• College for Educational and Clinical Art Therapy (CECAT) Servicing over 30 countries via its online offerings, CECAT offers a range of certificates, diplomas, and introductory courses in English, German, Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, and Arabic.
• Healing With the Arts ( available on Coursera ) The activities in this four-week course offered by the University of Florida draw on dance, visual arts, music, and writing to help students discover their inner artist and promote physical, spiritual, cognitive, and emotional healing within themselves.
• Therapeutic Art Life Coach Certification ( available on Udemy ) With a focus on tools about releasing pain, finding meaning, and accessing intuition , this course supports licensed therapists and coaches looking for new tools and ideas to integrate into their practice.
• Positive Psychology Art Coaching ( available on Udemy ) This course teaches coaching that supports children’s self-esteem , confidence, and wellbeing using arts and can be adapted for a combination of one-to-one and online group coaching sessions.

Just as the arts have taken hold in therapy, there are many avenues to apply the arts in counseling. Further, there are often many advantages to doing so.

Here are just a few ways you might use creative arts to support the clients of your counseling practice (Degges-White, 2011):

• The arts are universal and can help a diversity of people across cultures and demographics.
• Visual arts can aid people with limited verbal ability or in situations with language barriers.
• Music therapy has been shown to benefit individuals with age-related diseases/disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
• Movement through dance can help people with physical disabilities stretch and gain mobility.
• Expressive writing is accessible to people of different abilities through tools such as dictation and specialist keyboards.

Overall, creative arts can help counselors move beyond simply talking to discover innovative pathways to achieving a client’s goals.

For more useful resources, look at the books Integrating the Expressive Arts Into Counseling Practice by Suzanne Degges-White and Nancy Davis and The Creative Arts in Counseling by Samuel Gladding. Also check out our article Expressive Arts Therapy: 15 Creative Activities and Techniques which is specifically dedicated to Expressive Art Therapy.

Art as empowerment: the virtue of art therapy – Ann Lawton

For useful ideas for your next creative arts therapy session, consider the following free worksheets:

• 3-Month Vision Board This worksheet encourages your clients to set three-month goals by drawing pictures of their ideal future in eight life domains.
• Honesty: Why, How, and What As a learning exercise rather than a specific therapeutic intervention, this worksheet begins with a series of questions and reflections about honest versus dishonest behavior and concludes with an activity inviting children to illustrate their understanding of honesty by creating a poster.
• Drawing Your Fears This exercise invites children to identify a scenario that is causing them anxiety and draw different ways the scenario might unfold to result in different outcomes.
• Gratitude Gifts This activity invites children to reflect on things or people for which they are grateful. They are then asked to draw what they are grateful for in a series of gift boxes.

For even more ideas, be sure to check out our dedicated blog posts exploring therapy via the visual arts , movement , narrative , drama , and music.

17 Exercises For Grief & Bereavement

Apply these 17 Grief & Bereavement Exercises [PDF] to help others process difficult emotions, leverage self-compassion, and find balance following painful loss.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

For even more useful ideas, consider checking out the many resources available through the Positive Psychology Toolkit© . This toolkit contains over 400 carefully developed tools to support your therapy or counseling practice, with many templates centering on the creative arts.

Here, we illustrate one activity from this resource as an example of the way color and creativity can be used to strengthen understanding of links between the body and one’s emotions.

Visualizing the Bodily Experience of an Emotion

This exercise aims to increase emotional awareness by inviting clients to explore and draw their emotions in the body.

• Materials Colored pencils, watercolor paints, crayons, or textas; blank silhouettes/outlines in the shape of a body, printed on sheets of paper.
• Introduction Have you ever noticed that different emotions manifest differently and in different areas in your body? For example, when we are angry, we might feel heat rush to our heads, chest, and fists; when we are sad, we might feel a heaviness in the chest and tired all over. In this exercise, you will explore and draw where you feel your emotions in your body.
• Activity Steps First, choose an emotion. This could be an emotion you have been struggling with recently or one you are experiencing presently, such as anxiety, anger, or happiness. Next, take two of the pieces of paper with the outline of a body. On one template, use the different colors and materials to represent which parts of the body feel most activated (i.e., sensations feel stronger or faster) when you are experiencing this emotion. On another template, indicate which parts of the body feel most deactivated (i.e., sensations feel weaker or slower) when experiencing this emotion.
• Wrapping Up Complete the previous steps for any other emotions that you are curious about, pleasant or unpleasant. Doing so will allow you to become more aware of and familiar with your emotions and recognize them in your body when they arise.

For a done-for-you version of this activity, including facilitation instructions and printable templates, be sure to take a look at the Positive Psychology Toolkit© .

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others move through grief in a compassionate way, this collection contains 17 validated grief and bereavement exercises . Use them to help others find balance as they attempt to make sense of a life that has been irrevocably changed.

CAT is a well-established yet growing practice, and demand for therapists trained in CAT may well increase.

At the core of creative arts therapy is a focus on the act of creating art rather than the final product. By emphasizing this focus, practitioners can give clients opportunities for self-expression and discovery of unseen parts of themselves, making the shift to a creative medium or mode often worth it.

We hope this article has inspired you to consider a career in creative arts therapy or to begin integrating artistic practices into the care you provide. If you know of any other resources or avenues for training in this field, be sure to let us know in the comments – we’d love to hear from you.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Grief Exercises [PDF] for free .

• Bradt, J., & Goodill, S. (2013). Creative arts therapies defined: Comment on “Effects of creative arts therapies on psychological symptoms and quality of life in patients with cancer”. JAMA Internal Medicine , 173 (11), 969–969.
• Degges-White, S. (2011). Introduction to the use of expressive arts in counseling. In S. Degges-White & N. Davis (Eds.), Integrating the expressive arts into counseling practice (pp. 1–6). Springer.
• Hynes, A., & Hynes-Berry, M. (2011). Biblio/poetry therapy: The interactive process: A handbook (3rd ed.). North Star Press.
• Lamb, Y. S., & Friday, W. P. S. W. (2006, September 15). Arleen Hynes, 90: Bibliotherapy pioneer. The Washington Post . https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/14/AR2006091401712.html
• New York Health Careers. (n.d.). Creative arts therapists . University at Albany, SUNY, School of Public Health. Retrieved from https://www.healthcareersinfo.net/creative-arts-therapists/
• Rossiter, C. (2004). Blessed and delighted: An interview with Arleen Hynes, poetry therapy pioneer. Journal of Poetry Therapy , 17 (4), 215–222.
• Sandel, S., Chaiklin, S., & Lohn, A. (Eds.). (1993). Foundations of dance/movement therapy: The life and work of Marian Chace . American Dance Therapy Association.
• Winerman, L. (2005). Express yourself! Psychologists are bringing creative arts therapies into the mainstream. Monitor on Psychology , 2 (36), 34–35.

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What our readers think.

Unfortunately this profession is not regulated here in Australia. It is a good overview, however, it is disappointing to see undergraduate programs listed, which are expensive and are not the international minimum standard to become an art therapist, and that you have left out The University of Queensland’s (School of Medicine/Department of Psychiatry) Master of Mental Health-Art Therapy, which is a highly regarded post-graduate program.

Thank you Karis to mention the Mater Program of Mental Health-Art Therapy in your country. I agree with you that the overview is fine and a help to get informed about the differenct landscapes of trainings. I am dissapointed that the announcement of the free “Grief PDF” turned out to be a salary promotion. I would not have given my email for that. Giving my email was a “thank you” to https://positivepsychology.com for getting more newsletter suscribers and potential users

Good day Freda,

My apologies in advance should have accidentaly received incorrect worksheets. Could you please verify whether the three free grief worksheets included the ‘Drawing Grief Tool’, ‘Objects of Connection’ and the ‘Prescription to Grieve Tool’? Which worksheet did you perceive as a salary promotion?

I will definitely look into this upon your feedback.

Annelé Venter Publisher

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EDITORIAL article

Editorial: the state of the art in creative arts therapies.

• 1 The Emili Sagol Creative Arts Therapies Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
• 2 The School of Creative Arts Therapies, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
• 3 Faculty of Fine Art and Music, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
• 4 The Graduate Art Therapy Program, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
• 5 Department of Creative Arts Therapies, Drexel University College of Nursing and Health Professions, Philadelphia, PA, United States

Editorial on the Research Topic The State of the Art in Creative Arts Therapies

Creative Arts Therapies is an umbrella term for healthcare professions that use the creative and expressive process of art making to improve and enhance the psychological and social well-being of individuals of all ages and health conditions. Creative arts therapies use the relationship between the client and therapist and among clients in group or dyadic therapy in the context of the creative-expressive process as a dynamic and vital force for growth and change. The creative-expressive process engages physiological sensations, emotions, and cognition; facilitates verbal and non-verbal symbolization, narration, and expression of conscious or unconscious conflicts and meaning-making through internal and external dialogue and communication between oneself and others.

The major objective of this Research Topic was to introduce, collect, discuss, and disseminate new clinical practices, scientific evidence, methodologies, theoretical concepts, and notions about Creative Arts Therapies. By publishing this open-access articles under this Research Topic we hope not only to distribute updated knowledge among the many clinicians in this field, but also to inform and convey the importance and significant therapeutic impact of this field, to scientists and clinicians from other psychological disciplines.

Creative arts therapists work in a variety of settings such as hospitals, educational institutions, community mental health facilities, prisons, hospices, and private practices, and include a variety of Professional specializations. Contributors to this Research Topic included experts in dance-movement therapy (DMT), drama-therapy and psychodrama, film therapy, music therapy, and art therapy. The topics of their studies vary from theoretical concepts and underlying mechanisms through methodology and up to evidence-based clinical studies and their review or meta-analysis. In the following paragraphs we summarized the 36 different contributions to this Research Topic, based on their artistic modality.

Dance-Movement Therapy

Seven articles contributed to the modality of dance-movement therapy.

Payne and Brooks , wrote a theoretical article “Different Strokes for Different Folks: The BodyMind Approach as a Learning Tool for Patients with Medically Unexplained Symptoms to Self-Manage” in which, based on research and their DMT practice with patients with medically unexplained symptoms, they proposed a new approach to treat this population: The BodyMind Approach. A description of the theoretical underpinnings and philosophy of the proposed alternative to current interventions is presented as well as a description of the suggested intervention which incorporates creative arts therapies and adult learning techniques for self-management practices.

In their article “How Do We Recognize Emotion from Movement? Specific Motor Components Contribute to the Recognition of Each Emotion” Melzer et al. , report a scientific study whose aim was to investigate the mechanism underlying DMT practices. In this study Melzer et al. , demonstrated that the specific Laban motor components which were found in their earlier study ( Shafir et al., 2016 ) to enhance specific emotions when moved, enable recognition of the same emotions when being observed, even when the mover didn't try to express any emotion. This study supports the notion of the existence of associations in the brain between certain movement components and specific emotions, a notion which can explain how internal simulation by the mirror neurons of observed movements can create empathy in the observer and help therapists to understand their clients' emotional state, by eliciting a similar emotion to that which is elicited in the client who moves with those movement component.

In another article: “How Shall I Count the Ways? A Method for Quantifying the Qualitative Aspects of Unscripted Movement With Laban Movement Analysis” the same group ( Tsachor and Shafir ) describe in details the methodology they had used in their 2016 study ( Shafir et al., 2016 ) to narrow down and select out of many movement components the ones they used as variables for the statistical analysis with which they determined which movement components enhance which emotion.

Another article which deals with methodology, although not methodology of the study but that of intervention assessment, is the article by Dunphy K. F. et al. , “Outcome-Focused Dance Movement Therapy Assessment Enhanced by iPad App MARA.” This article describes the applicability and benefits of using the iPad app MARA (Movement Assessment and Reporting App; Dunphy et al., 2016 ) to assess and report the progress of clients with intellectual disability as a result of a 16 weeks DMT program.

Three of the DMT articles reviewed the evidence for therapeutic effectiveness of this modality. While two articles reviewed the effectiveness of DMT on specific populations using mainly a qualitative synthesis: Karkou et al. , examined the effectiveness of DMT in the treatment of adults with depression, and Goodill examined accumulating evidence for DMT effectiveness in Cancer care, the article which was published last in this Research Topic summarized nicely the overall effectiveness of this field. In their paper “Effects of Dance Movement Therapy and Dance on Health-Related Psychological Outcomes. A Meta-Analysis Update” Koch et al. , conducted a very detailed meta-analysis (including a sensitivity analysis, assessment of heterogeneity, analysis of outliers and publication bias and analysis of follow-up data) on the effects of 21 DMT and 20 dance controlled intervention studies (2,374 participants) published between 01/2012 and 03/2018, on health-related psychological outcomes. They found in total a medium significant overall effect for dance and DMT intervention based on heterogeneous results. Since type of intervention was a significant source of heterogeneity, they explored the effects of DMT and dance separately and found that DMT consistently and with a high homogeneity significantly improved affect-related psychological conditions by decreasing anxiety and depression levels, and significantly increased quality of life and interpersonal and cognitive skills, whereas dance interventions increased (psycho-)motor Skills.

Drama Therapy, Psychodrama and Film Therapy

One drama therapy, one film therapy, and eight psychodrama studies are featured in this special topic.

Drama therapist Feniger-Schaal et al. report on the application of the mirror game to assess the embodiment of attachment in adulthood. Associating attachment scores with non-verbal movement interactions constitutes the first step toward validating the mirror game as a standardized assessment tool in drama therapy and dance movement therapy.

Azoulay and Orkibi report the results of a mixed method study on first year MA students' psychodrama field training experience in Israel. The results point out possible helpful and hindering factors in students' field training and trajectories in their perceived professional identity and suitability, all of which may inform the design of field training in psychodrama programs.

Cruz et al. conducted a systematic review of psychodrama techniques implemented in research and practice. The results provide an inventory of operationalized definitions of core psychodrama techniques that was confirmed through consensus by international psychodrama experts and will be of value to researchers and trainers.

Ron's case study of an open psychodrama group in a psychiatric inpatient ward in Israel highlights how the doubling technique and the group sharing phase reinforce empathy, relatedness, and support, which may offer psychiatric inpatients relief from distress and loneliness.

A study by Gonzalez et al. elegantly illustrate how to implement the mixed methods hermeneutic single case efficacy design to explore treatment effectiveness. The quantitative results generally suggest positive changes in clients' self-identified problem, symptoms, and spontaneity, while the qualitative results underpin the attribution of these changes to the treatment.

Bucută et al.'s mixed methods study probes how psychodrama methods and techniques can empower abused women and promote changes from their victim role. The findings and discussion may inform readers interested in psychodramatic gender violence interventions.

The quantitative results of Testoni et al. suggest that a death education course with psychodrama and movie making activities helped high school students in Italy to work through a case of suicide. Enhanced sense of life meaning and reduced death anxiety were among the findings related to the processing of death related trauma and grief.

Filmmaking was also used by Tuval-Mashiach et al. in their qualitative study on Israeli military veterans suffering from service-related trauma. The results indicate that the “I Was There” video therapy program contributed to alleviating participants' trauma processes and sense of agency and affiliation.

In his theoretical article, Yaniv draws on the neurocognitive concept of bottom-up/top-down processing to explicate the somewhat enigmatic state of spontaneity or “trusting the process” in psychodrama. He reviews the scientific evidence in support of J. L. Moreno's contention that all individuals can learn to let go of predetermined top-down conceptions and be open to bottom-up processing of experiences in the here-and-now.

Sang et al. provide a historical analysis of the spread and development of psychodrama in mainland China. This article identifies key actors and processes that led to the development of three major branches of psychodrama in that country.

Music Therapy

Two research studies were reported for music therapy. The first by Baker et al. was an interpretative phenomenological analysis of interviews with people with acquired neurodisabilities who had engaged in a songwriting program aimed at reconstructing a post-injured identity. Results of the analysis indicated that participants traveled through one of four recovery journeys. Some experienced their acquired injury as an opportunity for new beginnings, some were drawing on resilience from previous traumas to activate well-developed coping strategies, while others used the process of creating songs to identify new way of being in the world.

A study by Clark et al. of people living with dementia and their family caregivers focused on how therapeutic group singing enables these community dwelling older people to flourish. Interviews with participants revealed that the singing groups not only enhanced relationships between person with dementia and his or her family carer, but facilitated the development of new relationships with others attending the group. Participants also reported feeling more socially accepted and confident, experienced a lift in mood and an enhanced sense of purpose.

Art Therapy

Thirteen articles, a third of all of the peer-reviewed articles represented in this Research Topic of The State of the Art in Creative Arts Therapies , focused on art therapy. Many of the articles, recognizing the need to invest in and develop robust yet quite varied research agendas, were dedicated to how the arts, art meaning, and aesthetic interactions can bring about positive and sustained change. Gerber et al. relied on a robust qualitative research agenda to explore aesthetic and intersubjective phenomena in the creative arts therapies and how such therapeutic approaches can transform perception, behavior, relationship and well-being. Their study “Arts-based research approaches to studying mechanisms of change in the Creative Arts Therapies” relied on a “…deductive thematic analysis of written accounts of simulated arts therapies experiences…” to determine the potential for complex transformative phenomena “that occur in the nexus of art-based expression, reflection and relationships.”

Focusing specifically on the need for empirical evidence on the therapeutic potential of art materials, Haiblum-Itskovitch et al.'s article, “Emotional response and changes in heart rate variability following art-making with three different art materials,” addressed how three different art materials that varied greatly in levels of fluidity–pencil gouache, and oil pastels–elicit various emotive responses and changes. This important scientific study relied on a combination of data from self-reports and an electrocardiogram device to inform their findings. Another empirical study, Zeevi et al.'s “The efficiency of art-based interventions in parental training” differed in tone and focus. The authors, in providing 87 parents two questionnaires before and after 10 months of art therapy treatment for their young children, while the children and 14 art therapists completed two questionnaires, assessed the difference between those parents who received parental training with art-based interventions, verbal training or no training at all. Also focusing on the relationship between parents and their children, Gavron and Mayseless's “Creating art together as a transformative process in parent-child relations: The therapeutic aspects of the joint painting procedure,” employed a qualitative method–as part of a much larger mixed-methods study–in which to ascertain the specific benefits of engaging in a specific art task to positively affect the relationship between 87 mother-child dyads.

Huss and Samson instituted a large-scale qualitative method to clarify the relationship between coping and art therapy, particularly the components of meaning, manageability, and comprehensibility, for those experiencing health-stress from cancer. In their study, “Drawing on the arts to enhance salutogenic coping with health-related stress and loss” they discovered that the arts naturally embodied the mechanisms that enhance and contain these components. As a natural extension of these positive results, they provide a protocol in how art can be used to enhance coping with such stressors. Nagamey et al. relied on an interpretive phenomenological analysis of semi-structured interviews and drawings to explore “Perspectives on social suffering…” specific to Palestinian adults who must cross a particular checkpoint into Israel for school and work. While regionally focused, their results could lead to a greater understanding of the social stressors by those experiencing political conflict around the world.

In addition, Binson and Lev-Weisel , relied on a phenomenological methodology to explore the benefits of applying experiential learning to facilitate personal and professional growth in doctoral students in Thailand attending academic lectures. As indicated in their article “Promoting personal growth through experiential learning…” they discovered that “…the experiential learning element within the course contributed to their personal well-being, improvements in their family and spousal relationships, enhanced social skills, as well as a changed self-perception in roles as lecturers and therapists.”

There has been ever increasing debate over the years of the benefits of examining the formal elements within the art over content as assessable indicators. Pénzes et al. relied on a constructivist grounded theory approach to examine how art therapists may use the formal elements of a drawing to better understand the mental health of their client. In their article “How art therapists observe mental health using formal elements in art products: Structure and variation as indicators for balance and adaptability” the authors interviewed eight art therapists and determined that rather than contribute to an understanding of a client's symptoms or diagnosis, such characteristics inform the balance and adaptability of the artist. However, in their article “Associations between perception of parental behavior and ‘Person Picking an Apple from a Tree’ drawings among children with and without special education needs,” Or et al. relied on the symbolic content of the Person Picking an Apple from a Tree drawing. Long associated with the Formal Elements Art Therapy Scale, rather than focus merely on how the drawings were completed, the authors relied on the content elements to quantitatively determine children's perceptions of parental behavior, which seemed much more revealing with those children with special needs.

It is imperative that research endeavors in art therapy be reexamined to ensure rigor, application of current theories as well as efficacy and viability of methodological approaches. In “Effectiveness of art therapy with adult clients of 201–What progress has been made,” Regev and Cohen-Yatziv examined the last 27 published studies in the field that examined the efficacy of art therapy with adult clients among an array of seven specific categories. In doing so, the authors have continued the necessary dialogues instrumental in furthering our own examinations within the field. Feen-Calligan et al. , in “Art therapy, community building, activism, and outcomes” provided a descriptive study that examined the interrelationships that developed amongst graduate art therapy students who were tasked to prepare undergraduate service-learning students as part of their research class with the directors of six community agencies preparing for such students. Noting the growing trend of such hands-on practice in the community, the authors recognized the value of such an examination to inform other art therapy programs who hope to rely on service-learning to teach research.

As we continue to advance research in the field of art therapy, there has expanded a greater acceptance of the need to think outside the box, to go beyond the limitations of just our field, to rely on new innovations and push the envelope to provide the best services. In her article “Summary of twenty-first century great conversations in art, neuroscience and related therapeutics,” King emphasized the need for transdisciplinary collaboration to best understand the complexity of mental and physical disorders. Proposing that this article serves as a potential missing link to fill the gap amongst varied fields, King recounts a symposium at her home institution that brought together several divergent thinkers from a wide array of fields who were tasked to help develop a common language in which to advance the interplay of the creative arts therapies and neurosciences. And finally, in “The principles of art therapy in virtual reality,” Hacmun et al. take us well-beyond the boundaries of our physical reality and offer various perspectives on the potentials and challenges of using virtual reality in the therapeutic milieu, outlining much needed principles of its use.

Multiple therapies

Two articles reviewed the effectiveness of interventions using different modalities of arts therapies. Lo et al. reported a qualitative systematic review of 11 (six music therapy, three visual art therapy, one DMT, and one applied literature therapy) creative arts-based intervention studies for stroke survivors. The authors identified five analytical themes: functional restoration, psychological support, social engagement, spiritual experience and short-comings and barriers, and concluded that overall art-based therapies have demonstrated strengths in addressing psychosocial needs for stroke survivals and that different art modalities are perceived to be useful in achieving different therapeutic goals.

Dunphy K. et al. examined the outcomes of four creative arts modalities (art, dance, drama, and music) interventions for older adults experiencing depression. In their review they also payed attention to the processes documented in those studies as contributing to the change, as well as the mechanisms considered to underlie these processes. Their analysis of 75 articles (17 art, 13 dance, 4 drama, and 41 music) indicated mostly significant qualitative or positive qualitative findings, where the mechanisms considered to contribute to the reduced depression included physical (e.g., increased muscle strength), intra-personal (e.g., enhanced self-concept; processing and communication of emotions), cultural (e.g., creative expression, aesthetic pleasure), cognitive (e.g., stimulation of memory), and social (e.g., increased social skills and connection) mechanisms.

Taken separately, each of the articles in this Research Topic provides a glimpse into the unique, complex, and far-reaching endeavors of members of our field. Together, the articles reflect not only the increasing evidence for the effectiveness of arts therapies interventions, but also the increasing diversity of perspectives as well as methodological sophistication in the field of arts therapies research, offering directions for how we might build on these foundations in the future.

Author Contributions

All authors contributed to writing up the editorial.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Dunphy, K., Mullane, S., and Allen, L. (2016). Developing an iPad app for assessment in dance movement therapy. Arts Psychother. 51, 54–62. doi: 10.1016/j.aip.2016.09.001

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Shafir, T., Tsachor, R. P., and Welch, K. B. (2016). Emotion regulation through movement: unique sets of movement characteristics are associated with and enhance basic emotions. Front. Psychol. 6:2030. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02030

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Keywords: dance movement therapy (DMT), art therapy, music therapy (MT), drama therapy (DT), psychodrama, creative arts therapies research

Citation: Shafir T, Orkibi H, Baker FA, Gussak D and Kaimal G (2020) Editorial: The State of the Art in Creative Arts Therapies. Front. Psychol. 11:68. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00068

Received: 31 October 2019; Accepted: 10 January 2020; Published: 05 February 2020.

Edited and reviewed by: Changiz Mohiyeddini , Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, United States

Copyright © 2020 Shafir, Orkibi, Baker, Gussak and Kaimal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Tal Shafir, gahl@umich.edu

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Be Licensure Ready in as Little as Two Years

Begin a rewarding career in art therapy with the CAAHEP-accredited Master of Arts (MA) in Creative Arts Therapy Counseling at Hofstra University. Our program features new and refined courses in ethics, diversity, aging and development, career counseling, and experiential learning, including a first-year practicum. Hofstra prepares you for licensure in New York State as a Creative Arts Therapist and as a registered and board-certified Art Therapist. Attend full-time and finish in as little as two years or attend part-time and complete the program in three years. No GRE is required, and scholarships are available for qualified candidates.

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Program Highlights

Expert Faculty

CAAHEP Accredited

Diverse Electives

Real-World Experience

Exceptional Location

Competitive Tuition

Program details.

• REQUIREMENTS

Visit the Hofstra campus or connect with the graduate admission team. We will answer your questions and put you in touch with program faculty or degree candidates to learn more. Contact us at [email protected] , or call 516-463-4723.

To be considered for the MA in Creative Arts Therapy Counseling program, you must have completed an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution. You must demonstrate competency in art by presenting slides, original artwork, or a CD presentation; have 18 semester hours minimum in studio art, including drawing, painting, and 3D art; and 12 semester hours in psychology, including developmental and abnormal.

Start your application online where you can upload the following documents:

• Transcripts from all previously attended colleges and universities. You may initially submit unofficial copies of your transcripts for your application review, but official transcripts will be required once you are accepted into the program.
• Three letters of recommendation .
• Personal statement describing your professional intent and pertinent background.
• Personal interview with the program director.

Visit the creative arts therapy counseling program page to learn more.

The preferred application deadline for the fall semester is August 15 and for the spring semester is January 15. All others will be reviewed based on available space.

The MA in Creative Arts Therapy Counseling is awarded to students who successfully complete 60 hours of coursework.

Deepen your education by getting involved in professional art therapy and related organizations, including:

• American Art Therapy Association (AATA)
• Art Therapy Credential Board (ATCB)
• Global Alliance for Arts and Health
• International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA)
• Global Art Therapy Resources
• Creativity and Madness
• Art Therapy : Journal of the American Art Therapy Association
• The Arts in Psychotherapy
• Arts & Health
• The Canadian Art Therapy Association Journal
• Journal of Creativity in Mental Health
• Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
• School Counseling and Mental Health Counseling
• Marriage and Family Therapy
• Rehabilitation Counseling

Faculty Profiles

Morgan gaydos.

Morgan Gaydos, MA, LCAT, ATR-BC, serves as the Program Director for the graduate Creative Arts Therapy Counseling program at Hofstra University, in addition to teaching as an Adjunct Assistant Professor. Ms. Gaydos currently practices clinical art therapy on an inpatient child and adolescent behavioral health unit with a foundation in psychodynamic theories and mindfulness.

Deborah L. Elkis-Abuhoff

Dr. Deborah Elkis-Abuhoff, Associate Professor of Counseling and Mental Health Professions, holds both psychology and creative arts therapy licenses in New York state. Her research interests bring together behavioral medicine and creative arts therapy/medical art therapy, allowing her to bring diverse, up-to-date information to students. Her recent research includes the use of clay manipulation with individuals diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

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Nisha Sajnani

Associate professor and director, drama therapy program; co-director, jameel arts & health lab, music and performing arts professions.

Nisha Sajnani, PhD., RDT-BCT is the Director of the Program in Drama Therapy and  Theatre & Health Lab ; founder of the Arts & Health @NYU and Chair of the NYU Creative Arts Therapies Consortiu m . In her capacity as founding co-director of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab , established in collaboration with the WHO, Dr. Sajnani leads a Lancet global series on the health benefits of the arts. An award winning author, educator, and advocate, her body of work explores the unique ways in which aesthetic experience can inspire equity, care, and collective human flourishing across the lifespan. 

Dr. Sajnani is a lso on faculty with NYU Abu Dhabi where she developed a trans-disciplinary course entitled  Can Art Save Lives?  which unites current evidence for the health benefits of the arts with practice and policy.  She is a faculty advisor in the Rehabilitation Sciences Ph.D .,  Educational Theatre Ed.D and Ph.D. program  and co-teaches  Improvisation and Leadership in the Management Communication Program and the Executive Education program in NYU Stern . She is also on faculty with the Harvard Program in Refugee Trauma where she lectures on the role of the arts with people who are forcibly displaced. 

Nisha Sajnani is the Principal Editor of  Drama Therapy Review , and on the editorial boards for the Arts in Psychotherapy and the Journal of the Applied Arts & Health . She is the co-author of three books, including Intercultural Dramatherapy: Imagination and Action at the Intersections of Difference  (Routledge, 2023), The Participant as Artist: Care and Co-Production in the Arts & Health (under contract, Cambridge University Press), and an Introductory Guide to Research Methods for Drama Therapists (under contract Intellect). She is the co-editor of  Trauma-Informed Drama Therapy: Transforming Clinics, Classrooms, and Communities  (2014/2024) and The Psychological and Physiological Benefits of the Arts   which was listed amongst the top 20 most-downloaded ebooks of 2022 by  Frontiers in Psychology .

Dr. Sajnani has been published in the Lancet , Journal of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Art s , Frontiers in Psychology , the Arts in Psychotherapy, the Journal of the Applied Arts and Health, Canadian Theatre Review, Europe Now, and Canadian Women's Studies  and her work has been featured in the  Boston Globe ,  NPR , This Day Nigeria , The Art Newspaper , Arab News , magazine of the University Hospitals of Geneva , and the EU Parliament Magazine . Through the Arts + Health @ NYU, Dr. Sajnani collaborated with WHO Europe, Culture Action Europe, University of Oxford, and University College London on the first WHO policy concerning the role of the arts with forcibly displaced persons.   

Nisha is also a curator and producer. She is the series creator of Drama Therapy as Performance , a series of films documenting drama therapy theory and practice, and producer of Behind Blue Sky , which won Best Short Documentary at the Feel the Reel International Film Festival (IFF), Best Black Lives Matter Film at the Amsterdam IFF, and an honorable mention at the Prague IFF.  She co-produced the documentary film  Fostering Democracy Through Theater  and curated  Assemblage , an online exhibit on the arts and displacement. With the WHO, she produced Visions and Voices for a Healthy Planet , the first WHO panel on the role of the arts in addressing climate change for the 2022 World Health Day Campaign and co-emceed the Healing Arts Concert in celebration of the 75th birthday of the WHO at Victoria Hall, Geneva. Prior to the founding of the Jameel Arts & Health Lab, Dr. Sajnani co-produced the launch of Healing Arts New York  and symposium in partnership with the Culturunners, the MET Museum, and the World Health Organization Arts & Health initiative .

Dr. Sajnani is a founding member of the  World Alliance of Drama Therapy and is affiliated with KenVak (Dutch Arts Therapies Research Consortium), and the Interdisciplinary Research-Based Theatre collective at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She was a research fellow  with the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UK) and remains a faculty research fellow with the NYU Aging Incubator . Dr. Sajnani served as part of the official Canadian delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in 2006.

Her scholarship, teaching, and leadership has been recognized with several awards including the NYU Steinhardt Teaching Excellence Award . She was awarded the Gertrud Schattner Award , the highest recognition from the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) for distinguished contributions to the field of drama therapy in education, publication, practice, and service and her efforts to promote research and diversity in the field. Dr. Sajnani was also awarded the Corann Okorodudu Global Women's Advocacy Award from the American Psychological Association (Div. 35) and the first Diversity award from the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. 

Before joining NYU, Dr. Sajnani held professorial positions at Lesley University and was Director of Community Health at the Post Traumatic Stress Center in New Haven and a past president of the NADTA. Dr. Sajnani received her Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies uniting graduate training in Drama Therapy and Community Economic Development from the School of Community and Public Affairs from Concordia University in Montreal. Read an interview with Dr. Nisha Sajnani.

Selected Publications

• Sajnani, N, Jones, P. Gopalakrishna, M., Adewale, K., Ho, R. (under contract). Participants as artists: Co-production of care in arts, health and therapy. Cambridge University Press. 
• Sajnani, N., & Johnson, D.R. (Eds.) (2014/2024). Trauma-informed drama therapy: Transforming clinics, classrooms, and communities . Charles C. Thomas.
• Dokter, D., & Sajnani, N. (2023) Intercultural dramatherapy: Imagination and action at the intersections of difference . Routledge.
• Sajnani, N., Muhungi, W.M., Yee, J., Mercer, K., Butler, K., Jones, L., Neira, N.L., J, Matining, M. (2012). Decolonizing “social justice” work: Stories to support organizations, facilitators, and youth working against oppression. Girls Action Foundation.
• Selected Articles
• Sajnani, N., Williams, B., Low, M.Y., Edwards, J., Dixon, S., Stevens, D.F., Morris, M., Li, S., Rodriguez, I.G., Ikram, S., Bell, W., Perez, C. (2023). Turbulence: Arts-based participatory action research on the experience of creative arts therapists and creatives who identify as Black and people of colour. Drama Therapy Review , 9 (1). 129- 154. https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr_00123_1  
• Sajnani, N. Willemsen, M., Butler, J. (2023). Scoping review on the observed benefits of Developmental Transformations. Drama Therapy Review, 9 (2), 273-315. doi.org/10.1386/dtr_00133_1
• Orkibi, H., Keisari, S., Sajnani, N. L., & de Witte, M. (2023). Effectiveness of drama-based therapies on mental health outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts . https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000582
• Feniger-Schaal, R., Orkibi, H., Keisari, S., Sajnani, N., Butler, J. (2022). Shifting to tele-creative arts therapies during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international survey on helpful and challenging factors.  The Arts in Psychotherapy .  doi: 10.1016/j.aip.2022.101898
• DeWitte, M., Orkibi, H., Zarate, R., Karkou, V., Sajnani, N., Malhotra, B., Ho, Rainbow., Kaimal, G. Baker, F. A., & Koch, S. C. (2021). From therapeutic factors to mechanisms of change in the creative arts therapies: A scoping review.  Frontiers in Psychology , 12(2525), 1-27.  doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.678397
• Keisari, S., Sajnani, N., & Harel, D. (2021). Creative arts therapies to enhance mental health over the course of aging: Research and implications. Innovation in Aging, 5(Supplement_1), 567-567.
• Sajnani, N., Mayor, C., & Tillberg-Webb, H. (2020). Aesthetic presence: The role of the arts in the education of creative arts therapists in the classroom and online.  Arts in Psychotherapy , 69, doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2020.101668
• Sajnani, N., Mayor, C., Burch, D., Davis, C., Feldman, D., Kelly, J., Landis, H., McAdam, E. (2019). Collaborative discourse analysis on the use of drama therapy to treat trauma in schools.  Drama Therapy Review , 5 (1). 27-47.
• Dunphy, K., Baker, F., Dumaresq, E., Carroll-Haskins, K., Eikholt, J., Ercole, M., Kaimal, G., Meyer, K., Sajnani, N., Shamir, O., Wosch, T (2019). Creative arts interventions to address depression in older adults: a systematic review of outcomes, processes and mechanisms.  Frontiers in Psychology .  doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02655
• Sajnani, N. & Gopalakrishna, M. (2017). Rasa: Exploring the influence of Indian performance theory and technique in drama therapy,  Drama Therapy Review , 3:2, 225-239.
• Sajnani, N., Marxen, E., Zarate, B. (2017). Critical perspectives in the arts therapies: Response/ability across a continuum of practice.  The Arts in Psychotherapy . 54. 28-37.
• Selected Chapters
• Sajnani, N. (2023). Rasaboxes in the training of drama therapists. In R. Bowditch, P. M. Cole, & M. Minnick (Eds). Inside the Performance Workshop: A sourcebook for rasaboxes and other exercises. Routledge.
• Sajnani, N. (2021). Drama therapy in the context of psychiatric care. In U.Volpe (Ed.) Arts therapies in psychiatric rehabilitation. Springer.
• Sajnani, N; Mayor, C; Boal, J. (2020) Theatre of the Oppressed. In D.R Johnson and R. Emunah (Eds), Current Approaches in Drama Therapy (3rd edition), Charles C. Thomas.
• Johnson, D.R., Sajnani, N., Mayor, C., Davis, C. (2020). The Miss Kendra Program: Addressing toxic stress in the school setting. In D.R Johnson and R. Emunah (Eds), Current Approaches in Drama Therapy (3rd edition), Charles C. Thomas.
• Sajnani, N., Beardall, N., Chapin Stephenson, R., Estrella, K., Zarate, R., Socha, D. Butler, J. (2019). Navigating the transition to online education in the arts therapies. In R. Houghham, S. Pitruzella, and S. Scoble (Eds.) Traditions in transition in the arts therapies. University of Plymouth Press.
• Sajnani, N., Salvatore, J., Sallis, R. (2019). Three arts based researchers walk into a forum: A conversation on the opportunities and challenges in embodied and performed research. In P. Duffy, C. Hatton and R. Sallis (Eds.)  Drama research methods, provocations of practice . Rotterdam, Sense.
• Sajnani, N. Cho, A., Landis, H., Raucher, G., Trytan, N. (2018) Collaborative discourse analysis on the use of drama therapy to treat depression in adults. In A. Zubala & V. Karkou & A.  Arts therapies in the treatment of depression . Routledge. 
• Sajnani, N. & Dokter, D. (2017). An experiential framework and approach to teaching cultural response/ability. In R. Houghham, S. Pitruzella, and S. Scoble (Eds.)  Cultural landscapes in the arts therapies.  University of Plymouth Press.

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Master of Arts in Expressive Arts Therapy

Embracing the power of the arts for healing, growth, and social change.

In this Section

Program overview, 3 - 5 years, 60 (mft) or 69 (lpcc), our approach.

The Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy is a BBS-approved, part- or full-time low-residency degree program for California residents. The pedagogy provides an engaging online, hybrid curriculum that weaves multimodal expressive arts, such as visual and digital arts, music, dance and movement, poetry, spoken word, and drama, into all courses.

Our program utilizes the strength of the arts as implements for human development and healing, social change, and empowered self-agency. Our emancipatory perspective explores individual, group, couples, and family therapy practices.

The program works on the innovative Scholar-Artist-Practitioner model that focuses on uniting academic knowledge, clinical practice, and community engagement. Throughout the program students engage with peers and faculty in a collaborative, liberation-focused, arts-based environment. We place a premium on co-learning between students and faculty by creating opportunities for rich, playful, and diverse conversations and experiences.

Career Paths

CIIS’ Expressive Arts Therapy program integrates a rigorous education in theories and methods of psychotherapy with intensive training in expressive arts therapy and counseling psychology. 

• Schools and education-based settings
• Community mental health, arts, and social justice organizations
• Hospitals and residential treatment programs
• Consulting and coaching
• Private practice

The training for this program meets the educational requirements for California's Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) license and California's Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) license. This program is also designed to meet the educational requirements to become a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT) with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA).

Hands-on learning through experiential coursework is emphasized. In the first and second years of study, students have the opportunity to integrate theoretical and expressive arts into practice through volunteering or incorporating these basic principles into their current job/vocation. Third year students engage in a year-long, supervised practicum, gaining direct client work experience. 

Classes are taught online in asynchronous and virtual synchronous formats. Students are expected to attend an in-person, one-week intensive that is held at the start of each fall and spring semester in the San Francisco Bay Area. Students work in clinical practice dyads and small groups to deliver collaborative assignments.

Intensive Arts-Based Seminar     Students, faculty, and advisors come together in residential seminars to engage in extensive, experiential, and intermodal arts-based learning. Up to a third of the coursework for the semester is completed in person, with the remaining coursework delivered in combined asynchronous, and occasional virtual synchronous learning formats to support clinical skill development.

Ongoing Arts Practice     Throughout the program, all students commit to ongoing engagement with new or existing arts practices. First semester courses allow students to employ modalities with which they are familiar, and provides exposure to new modalities as well. At the end of the first semester, each student outlines a practice plan that will promote their learning and preparation to become an expressive arts therapist. Plans are flexible and adaptive to respond to a student’s growth and changing needs over their time in the program. Expressive Arts Therapy courses offer frequent opportunities for art-making, response art, and arts-based inquiry through which students can apply their arts practices and experiment with new ones.

Students have the freedom to choose less formal, self-guided practices and/or those involving more structure, including guided training, presentations, publication, performances, and more. All costs and materials involved with a student’s individual arts practice are the sole responsibility of the student.

Personal Therapy Requirement

Students are required to complete 50 hours of personal psychotherapy with a licensed mental health professional (ideally an Expressive or Creative Arts Therapist).

License Ready

The Master’s in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy meets the educational requirements for MFT licensure in the state of California, and LPCC in the state of California with additional optional units. After graduation, students must complete a number of supervised client contact hours and pass the MFT licensing examination before becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist. This process takes, on average, 3 to 5 years post graduation.

Curriculum Highlights

EXA 5501 Psychotherapy Theories & Practice (3 units) This is an introduction to traditional and contemporary theories and practices of psychotherapy. We begin by situating the field in relation to its sociocultural, historical, and Indigenous roots. We go on to examine psychodynamic, Jungian, existential-humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, and collaborative approaches integrating feminist and multicultural perspectives, addressing intersections with the recovery model. Creative arts-based case examples for various approaches are woven into the fabric of the class.

EXA 6020 EXA & Trauma (3 units) This advanced-level class focuses on developing an understanding of what trauma is and how it functions on individual, community, and collective levels. You will critically explore theories and practical responses to the affective, cognitive, behavioral, neurological effects associated with trauma and crisis counseling. You will develop an advanced understanding of DSM definitions of trauma, differential diagnosis, and evidenced-based treatment strategies. You will additionally learn how to explore the ways that expressive arts and somatic psychotherapies can be effective as interventions in helping clients to recover from trauma.

MCPE 5606 & MCPE 6606 Family & Couples Dynamics I & II (3 units) This two-part course surveys a broad range of contemporary theories and practices within the field of family and couples therapy and their application in working with LGBT and heterosexual couple and family constellations across diverse cultures. You will be introduced to major contemporary approaches within the field, including structural, strategic, narrative, solution-focused, symbolic-experiential, EFT, and the Gottman Method. The course includes modules addressing issues related to blended families, interpersonal violence, migration stressors, divorce and separation, addiction, and illness. You will learn how to integrate the use of visual arts, music, movement, drama, and the language arts in family and couples therapy practice.

Hybrid MFT Track (60 units total)

Semester 1 | Fall

EXA 5501 Psychotherapy Theories and Practices (3 units)

EXA 6036 History and Foundations of EXA Therapy (2 units)

MCPE 6604 Multicultural Counseling and the Therapeutic Relationship (3 units)

EXAL 5602 Therapeutic Communication Lab (1 unit)

MCPE 5201 Human Development and the Family (3 units)

Semester 2 | Spring

EXA 6064 Psychological Assessment and Creative Arts Therapy (3 units)

EXA 6088 EXA Approaches: Module I (1 unit)

MCPE 5634 Group Dynamics and Therapy (3 units)

MCP 5108 Psychopathology & Psychological Assessment (3 units)

MCP 6106 Human Sexuality (1 unit) OR MCP 6102 Assessment and Treatment of Addiction Disorders (1 units)

Semester 3 | Fall

EXA 6089 EXA Approaches: Module II (1 unit)

MCPE 5606 Family & Couples Dynamics I (3 units)

MCPE 6403 Research Methods (3 units)

MCP 6502 Child Therapy (2 units)

MCP Intro to Community Mental Health & Recovery Model (2 units)

Semester 4 | Spring

MCP 5105 Professional Ethics and Family Law (2 units)

EXA 6055 The Arts in Therapy (3 units)

EXA 6618 EXA Approach: Narrative Expressive Arts and the Family (2 units)

MCPE 6606 Family & Couples Dynamics II (3 units)

MCP 6101 Human Sexuality (1 unit) OR MCP 6102 Assessment and Treatment of Addiction and Disorders (1 unit)

Semester 5 | Fall

MCPE 7604A Supervised Clinical Practicum Group (3 units)

EXA 5993 Expressive Arts Therapy Integrative Seminar I (1 unit)

EXA 6090 EXA Approaches Module III (1 unit)

EXA 6020 EXA & Trauma (3 units)

Semester 6 | Spring

MCPE 7604B Supervised Clinical Practicum Group (3 units)

EXA 5994 Expressive Arts Therapy Integrative Seminar II (2 units)

EXA 6853 Professional Development (1 units)

EXA 609 EXA Approaches Module IV (1 unit)

Entry Requirements

If you would like to learn more about this program, we’re here to help. Explore our program further with in-depth materials, discuss your personal and career goals at one of our open houses, or get in touch with our admissions counselors, who are ready to assist you in navigating the application process.

Online Admissions Application: Begin the application process by submitting an online application and paying the non-refundable $65 application fee.

Degree Requirement: An undergraduate degree (B.A., B.S., or B.F.A.) from an accredited college or university.

Minimum GPA: A GPA of 3.0 or higher in previous coursework is required. A GPA below 3.0 does not automatically disqualify an applicant. CIIS will consider a prospective student whose GPA is between 2.0 and 3.0. These individuals are required to submit a GPA Statement and are encouraged to contact the Office of Admissions to discuss their options.

Transcripts : Official transcripts from all accredited academic institutions attended where 7 or more credits have been earned. If transcripts are being mailed to CIIS, they must arrive in their official, sealed envelopes. Transcripts from institutions outside the US or Canada require a foreign credit evaluation through World Education Services (WES); CIIS will also accept foreign credential evaluations that are in a comprehensive course-by-course format from the current members of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) .

Short Essay Responses: Please write a series of brief responses, one for each of the following prompts in the order that they appear:

• Why are you interested in applying to CIIS specifically to study Expressive Arts Therapy? (350 words maximum)
• Describe the creative arts modalities you would bring with you into the Expressive Arts Therapy program. (350 word maximum)
• Please describe the direct human services experiences you have had in either employment  and/or through volunteering. (200 word maximum)
• What internal and external strengths and resources do you draw from to help you cope in your daily life? What social supports does this include? (200 word maximum)
• Our graduates are expected to be able to work with people from very diverse social, cultural, sexual/affectional preference, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds. What is your experience of relating across dimensions of difference? (200 word maximum)
• The low-residency program requires a high level of self-directed, autonomous work in addition to the ability to work in groups. Please describe your experience in: a.) working individually, and b.) working collaboratively in a group to meet a deadline. (200 word maximum)
• Due to the hybridized nature of our education delivery format, students must demonstrate the ability to work with/navigate online learning formats. Please describe a challenge you have encountered in working in an online learning environment and how you overcame (or imagine overcoming) the challenge. (200 word maximum)

Two Letters of Recommendation: Letters of recommendation will be accepted from academic advisors, professors, professional supervisors, or someone able to attest to your ability to undertake the work required for your program. Recommenders should use standard business format and include full contact information - name, email, phone number, and mailing address. 

Academic Writing Sample: A five-page sample of a piece of your academic writing (typed, double-spaced) that demonstrates your capacity to think critically and reflectively and demonstrates graduate-level writing abilities. You may submit copies of previous work, such as a recent academic paper, article, or report that reflects scholarly abilities. The selected sample must be five consecutive pages. A sample that uses outside sources must include proper citations. Please include the reference pages from this writing sample. (The reference pages are not included in the five-page limit.)

A Current Curriculum Vitae detailing your educational and professional experience.

Have the arts ever helped you through an emotional or life crisis? Have you ever used activities such as creative writing, painting, pottery, singing, dancing, or improvisational acting to feel a greater sense of aliveness? Are you looking for a career where you can integrate your passion for the arts with your desire for personal, relational, and systemic healing and social change?

At CIIS, we encourage you to combine academic rigor with personal experience to craft your own identities as Expressive Arts Therapists.

• Malchiodi, C. A. (Ed.) (2005).  Expressive Therapies . New York, NY: Guilford Press. Dr. Cathy Malchiodi is a prominent voice in the field of Expressive Arts Therapies. Her publications have made these concepts and research in our field widely accessible to practitioners and the general public. Her most recent works focus on the healing principles of EXA when working with clients who have experienced trauma. This text offers a very helpful, efficient introduction of the major creative and expressive arts therapy disciplines.
• Bailey, S. (2021),  Careers in Creative Arts Therapy Careers: Succeeding as a Creative Professional . Routledge. This is a collection of essays written by and interviews with registered drama therapists, dance/movement therapists, music therapists, art therapists, poetry therapists, and expressive arts therapists. The book sheds light on the fascinating yet little-known field of the creative arts therapies – psychotherapy approaches which allow clients to use creativity and artistic expression to explore their lives, solve their problems, make meaning, and heal from their traumas. Featuring stories of educators in each of the six fields and at different stages of their career (including CIIS EXA faculty, Danielle Drake, PhD and Phil Weglarz, PhD), it outlines the steps one needs to take in order to find training in one of the creative arts therapies and explores the healing aspects of the arts, where creative arts therapists work, who they work with, and how they use the arts in therapy.   This book illuminates creative arts therapy career possibilities for undergraduate and graduate students studying acting, directing, playwriting, creative writing, visual arts, theatre design, dance, and music. 
• Afuape, T. (2011).  Power, Resistance and Liberation in Therapy with Survivors of Trauma: To have our hearts broken . New York, NY: Routledge. Dr. Taiwo Afuape's work is foundational to the pedagogy of the EXA Program. She has reconceptualized the concepts of power, resistance and liberation as co-creative acts that take place in therapy and in life for both clients and practitioners alike. Through liberation psychology, Dr. Afuape outlines a vision for co-create healing practices that honor the wisdom and agency of all involved in healing processes.
• Menakem, R. (2017).  My Grandmother’s Hands.  Las Vegas, NV: Central Recovery Press. This recent publication by Mr. Resmaa Menakem shifts the focus of racism to the body. This ground-breaking text is part of the required reading for the Family Systems course sequence in the EXA program.
• Hooks, b. (1994).  Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom.  New York, NY: Routledge. A classic in the field of education, Womanist activist/scholar/educator bell hooks' treatise on teaching as an act of rebellion in the name of freedom informs the foundational pedagogies of the Expressive Arts Therapy program. As a community of learners, we are all gathered together to become contributing Scholar/Artist/Practitioners in the wider field of Expressive Arts Therapy.
• International Expressive Arts Therapy Association 
• Expressive Therapies Summit 
• Critical Pedagogies in the Arts Therapies 
• The National Organization for Arts in Health 
• Creative Arts in Education and Therapy

Before entering the world of Expressive Arts Therapy as a graduate student, we recommend that you get involved in the community. Practical experience in human services and local arts are important early steps of the learning experience. Below are examples of how to gain experience:

• LGBTQ Support -  The Trevor Project 
• Youth Support -  List of Teen Helplines 
• Seniors and Mental Health -  National Coalition on Mental Health & Aging  
• OR, contact local agencies in your area to inquire about volunteer opportunities
• Suicide Prevention Hotline Information  
• Domestic Violence Hotline Information  
• OR, contact your local DV agency to inquire about hotline training opportunities.
• Attend arts performances, lectures, movies, or cultural events (please practice safety measures during COVID-19 - many events have gone online!)
• Ask a friend from a spiritual practice other than your own if you may worship with them
• Take a class that teaches you about cultures other than your own locations of identity
• Read books (see above for some suggestions)
• Study forms of art that are unfamiliar to you. If you are a singer, study painting. If you are a ceramicist, study singing. If you are a poet, study improv. The sky is the limit!

The professional practice of counseling is a regulated occupation in the state of California. Coursework in the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology program at CIIS and each of its five programs is approved by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) to fulfill educational requirements toward the marriage and family therapist license (LMFT).

Students also have the option to take additional coursework to fulfill the educational requirements of the professional clinical counselor license (LPCC). Students seeking the LPCC licensure also take courses for the MFT, enabling them to pursue either license and to work with couples, families, and/or children as an LPCC.

Students seeking licensure in California as an LMFT or LPCC must register with the BBS after graduation and successfully complete additional post-graduate supervised clinical associate hours and written examinations. See the BBS’ Statutes and Regulations PDF for additional information.

In many cases, our coursework and training is very similar or entirely portable to many states. However, each state has their own specific licensure requirements that include both academic coursework and clinical practicum hours that may differ from CA’s requirements.

In cases where this program does not meet the requirements for another state, additional coursework or practicum hours may be required. While licensure may be possible in another state, it is not guaranteed. Luckily, you will have the full support of the Director of MCP who will help you understand the specific licensing requirements.

Lastly, you should consult the licensing boards of the appropriate state of country for the most up-to-date licensing information outside of California.

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What Creative Arts Therapies Teach Us About DBT Skills Training

Bridging dbt with the arts for deeper understanding..

Posted April 15, 2024 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

• What Is Therapy?
• Find a therapist near me
• Research supports the effectiveness of combining DBT with creative arts to improve outcomes.
• Facilitators can teach wise-mind skills through drama therapy techniques.
• Action-based DBT utilizes storytelling and role-play to make skill learning more accessible and impactful.

In the ever-evolving realm of mental health, therapists are always exploring new and innovative methods to enhance traditional treatments. Creative arts therapists have led the way in utilizing art-based interventions to teach DBT skills.

Creative arts therapy combines visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing, and other creative processes to support clients in their healing process. Many mental health clinicians have embraced creative arts therapy interventions to improve their clients' health and wellness.

There is a growing body of research that indicates that therapists can utilize creative interventions to help clients learn and generalize DBT skills. In this post, I will provide a brief literature review of therapists who have been doing this integrative work and provide an example of how drama therapy can be utilized to teach the DBT skill of wise mind.

DBT and Art Therapy

Research indicates that integrating art therapy into established psychotherapy forms, such as cognitive-behavioral therapies, can have significant positive effects on client well-being. For example, a study by Monti et al. (2012) demonstrated the potential of mindfulness -based art therapy (MBAT) in alleviating emotional distress, highlighting the power of combining art therapy with the core feature of mindfulness in DBT. Though this study did not specifically discuss DBT, it demonstrated that implementing mindfulness, a core component of DBT, can assist individuals who are facing significant physical and emotional stressors.

Building on research that examined mindfulness and art therapy, several practitioners have contributed articles that specifically address the integration of DBT and art therapy within clinical populations. For example, researchers Huckvale and Learmonth (2009) led the charge by developing a new and innovative art therapy approach grounded in DBT for patients facing mental health challenges. Furthermore, Heckwolf, Bergland, and Mouratidis (2014) demonstrated how visual art and integrative treatments could help clients access DBT, resulting in stronger generalization and implementation of these skills outside of the session. The clinicians concluded that this integrative approach to treatment could reinforce skills, contribute to interdisciplinary team synergy, and enact bilateral integration.

Other notable examples from art therapists include Susan Clark’s (2017) DBT-informed art therapy, a strategic approach to treatment that incorporates creative visual exercises to explore, practice, and generalize DBT concepts and skills.

Expanding Beyond Visual Art Therapy

DBT has now been integrated with other expressive art therapies, including drama and music. Art therapists Karin von Daler and Lori Schwanbeck (2014) were instrumental in this expansion when they developed Creative Mindfulness, an approach to therapy integrating various expressive arts therapies with DBT. Creative Mindfulness “suggests a way of working therapeutically that is as containing and structured as DBT and as creative, embodied, and multi-sensory as expressive arts” (p. 235). These clinicians incorporated improvisation into their work, a tool that can be simultaneously playful, experiential, and grounding, ultimately producing substantial new insights for clients.

Moreover, music and drama therapists have recognized the benefits of multisensory skill teaching, expanding the creative techniques used to teach DBT skills ( Deborah Spiegel, 2020 ; Nicky Morris, 2018 , and Roohan and Trottier, 2021 ).

My Own Experience Integrating Drama Therapy and DBT

Personally, I am a big advocate of both dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and drama therapy. In fact, I love these modalities so much that I dedicated not only my master's thesis but also my dissertation to better understanding how to reinforce DBT skills through dramatic techniques. In the process, I developed a new approach called Action-Based DBT that uses dramatic interventions like storytelling, embodiment, and role-playing to create a supportive environment for participants to learn skills in a more personalized and embodied way. An expert panel review demonstrated that this format can effectively support skill learning, especially for clients who struggle with the standard format of DBT skills training. Additionally, mental health clinicians found the program easily adaptable across populations in both individual and group settings.

Embodying the Mind States

To illustrate this approach and its effectiveness, the following is an example of how drama therapy methods can teach the DBT skill of wise mind within the context of an action-based DBT group.

The facilitator begins the group session by reviewing general guidelines and introducing the targeted DBT skill for the day: wise mind. The group then participates in improvisational warm-up activities to promote creativity , positive social interaction, and group connectivity. Following the warm-up, the facilitator distributes the DBT mind states handout (Linehan, 2015) and provides brief psychoeducation on this skill. Three chairs are placed in the front of the group room, facing the semi-circle of clients. Each chair had a piece of colored construction paper taped to the front, reading as Reasonable, Wise and Emotion . The facilitator explains that each chair represents one of the three mind states: reasonable mind, emotion mind and wise mind. To encourage exploration of the mind states, the facilitator can assign a more specific role to each state of mind. For example, the reasonable mind is The Computer, the emotion mind is The Tornado, and the wise mind is The Sage. Group members are invited to think of a scenario in which they felt they had difficulty accessing their wise mind. Clients then take turns embodying each mind state by sitting in the chair and speaking from the respective role. When a client first sits in a chair, the facilitator aids in enrolling the individual by asking questions about the role (i.e. The Computer, The Tornado, The Sage). For example, the facilitator may ask about the posture, tone of voice, or a “catchphrase” for this role. The client then embodies the role and responds to questions from the group as the specific mind state. After the embodiment, clients engage in verbal processing. The wise mind directive supports clients in developing kinaesthetic awareness of the three mind states. Embodying these mind states within the context of a supportive group and engaging in verbal processing around the experience can increase awareness of the mind states, which is helpful for clients who are trying to understand their emotional response to lived events outside of the group setting.

The creative arts therapies offer a dynamic pathway to teaching and reinforcing DBT skills. Incorporating visual art, drama, or music in the process of learning DBT skills allows clients to engage with these concepts in a multisensory and embodied way.

In my personal experience, weaving drama therapy techniques into DBT skills training has proven to be profoundly impactful. The Action-Based DBT approach, with its emphasis on storytelling and embodiment, offers an immersive and experiential learning environment that can be especially beneficial for those who find traditional methods challenging.

Looking ahead, my next post will delve into how storytelling can be harnessed to teach DBT skills in a way that is both engaging and memorable.

To find a therapist, please visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory .

Clark, S. M. (2017). DBT-informed art therapy: Mindfulness, cognitive behavior therapy, and the creative process. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Heckwolf, J. I., Bergland, M. C., & Mouratidis, M. (2014). Coordinating principles of art therapy and DBT. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 41(4), 329-335.

Huckvale, K., & Learmonth, M. (2009). A case example of art therapy in relation to dialectical behaviour therapy. International Journal of Art Therapy, 14(2), 52-63.

Monti, D. A., Kash, K. M., Kunkel, E. J., Brainard, G., Wintering, N., Moss, A. S., Rao, H., Zhu, S., & Newberg, A. B. (2012). Changes in cerebral blood flow and anxiety associated with an 8-week mindfulness programme in women with breast cancer. Stress and Health, 28(5), 397-407.

Morris, N. (2018). Dramatherapy for borderline personality disorder: Empowering and nurturing people through creativity. Routledge.

Roohan Mary Kate, Trottier Dana George. (2021) Action-based DBT: Integrating drama therapy to access wise mind. Drama Therapy Review, 7 (2), 193 https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr_00073_1

Spiegel, D., Makary, S., & Bonavitacola, L. (2020). Creative DBT activities using music: Interventions for enhancing engagement and effectiveness in therapy. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Von Daler, K., and Schwanbeck, L. (2014). Creative mindfulness: Dialectical behavior therapy and expressive arts therapy. In L. Rappaport (Ed.), Mindfulness and the arts therapies: Theory and practice (pp. 107-116). Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Mary Kate Roohan, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist and drama therapist and the founder of Thrive and Feel, a therapy practice that supports clients in managing emotional sensitivity.

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