DRAMA THERAPY & EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Photo by Matthieu Comoy
The Center for Creative Arts Therapy is one of the first organizations in the central region to develop an academic program leading to Alternative Training in Drama Therapy. Graduates of the program will have met the academic requirements for Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) and/or Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT). Once graduates are registered, they will be entitled to practice drama therapy throughout North America and expressive arts therapy throughout the world.
The Center for Creative Arts Therapy also offers CEUs for Registered Drama Therapists and Expressive Arts Therapists.
CORE COURSES
Expressive Arts Therapies (3 Credit Course)
Expressive Arts Therapies is a course that introduces the student to the use of the arts in healing. Art, music, drama, poetry and story telling are the creative modalities that will be explored. Emphasis will be placed on the creative process and the students’ personal experience within it. Creativity theories and principles will be addressed.
Principles of Drama Therapy (3 Credit Course)
An introduction to the theory and practice of drama therapy as a means of treating individuals and groups with emotional, physical, social, and developmental disabilities.
Therapeutic Theatre (1 Credit Course)
A practical application of the aims and principles of Therapeutic Theatre to the leadership of groups. Focus is on selected methods and theoretical frameworks. The Therapeutic Performance Initiative (TPI) Model will be explored.
Psychodrama/Sociodrama (3 Credit Course)
Theory and practice of psychodrama and sociodrama as a therapeutic tool with groups, families, couples, and individuals. Participants experience the roles of protagonist, auxiliary, and director. The efficacy of various warm-ups and techniques with different populations are examined. Development of psychodrama and sociodrama, practical applications and history of Jacob L. Moreno are explored.
Ethical Issues in Expressive Arts Therapy (3 Credit Course)
Gain working knowledge of the accrediting creative arts therapy bodies and the Counseling Association Standards of Ethical Practice
Creative Drama/Improvisation (3 credits)
This course is designed to develop students’ use of improvisations, games, and ritual to enhance creative thinking, problem solving skills, characterization, and trust within the therapeutic and rehearsal process
Drama Therapy with Special Populations (3 credits)
This course examines various clinical populations from the perspectives of pathology, sociocultural values and norms, developmental behavior, and the specific challenges they bring to the drama therapy setting. Populations discussed include children, adolescents, elderly people, and adults with post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, affective disorder, and substance abuse.
Research in Drama Therapy/Creative Arts (3 credits)
An examination of advanced drama therapy theory and research; new approaches that speak to the aesthetic and psychological dimensions of drama therapy.
ELECTIVES
Expressive Arts Therapies in Psychological Treatment: Guidelines for the Practicing Technician (3 Credit Course)
This course explores the use of expressive arts therapy in the assessment and treatment of specific issues commonly encountered in clinical work, such as trauma, severe and persistent mental illness, alcohol and drug use/ addiction, dual diagnosis, life transitions, and medical issues. It also looks at the application of expressive arts therapy with various populations (e.g., couples, families, children, youth, and immigrants) and within designated settings (e.g., community mental health, hospitals, schools).
Medical Art: Expressive Arts Therapy in Healthcare Settings (3 Credit Course)
Students explore the theoretical basis for arts integration and its therapeutic applications in a medical setting. Special populations associated with medical settings are covered including terminally ill, geriatric, pediatrics, physically disabled.
Drama Therapy with Adolescents (3 Credit Course)
This course addresses theoretical orientations to drama therapy, the role of the therapists, rights and responsibilities in therapy, the therapeutic process, the stages of therapy, and treatment techniques. Some of the most common treatment issues and concerns about adolescents who have experienced maltreatment are explored.
Healing Trauma through Play: Drama Therapy with Abused and Neglected Children (2 Credit Course)
Trauma-based drama therapy is the art and science of helping children make sense of their feelings, thoughts, and behavior and learn how to control their behavior and improve interactions with others. It is art because it calls on the therapist's creativity, intuition, and spontaneity. It is a science because therapy with abused and neglected children is based on theory, research, and clinical studies. This course addresses theoretical orientations to drama therapy, the role of the therapists, rights and responsibilities in therapy, the therapeutic process, the stages of therapy, and treatment techniques. Some of the most common treatment issues and concerns about children who have experienced maltreatment are explored.
Psychodrama and PTSD (2 Credit Course)
This course offers comprehensive training in psychodrama to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, designed for those who wish to learn or improve their therapeutic skills in working with people who are highly stressed or suffer from PTSD.
Drama Therapy for the Terminally Ill (1 Credit Course)
The therapeutic uses of drama in the development of creative imagination, self expression, and social relatedness with special populations such as clients who have a terminal illness.
Saying Goodbye: Creative Arts Therapy with Bereaved (1 Credit Course)
The therapeutic uses of the expressive arts in the development of creative imagination, self expression, and social relatedness with special populations such as clients who are bereaved.
Welcome Home: Reintegration of Soldiers and Families through Expressive Arts Therapy (1 Credit Course)
This course explores the use of expressive arts therapies with soldiers and their families after returning home from deployment. PTSD, adjustment disorders, and family therapy are covered to address multiple challenges effecting soldiers and their families.
Feel the Beat: Music Therapy with Developmentally Disabled Clients (1 Credit Course)
Through observation, and deeply listening to the personal and archetypal metaphor in a person’s life, students will be able to create music in the moment as an offering of nonverbal communication. Improvisation, musical and rhythmic conversations will be explored.
Beat It: Drumming for Oppositionally Defiant Adolescents (1 Credit Course)
Study of methods and techniques in music therapy for adolescents with oppositional defiant disorder and treatment methods utilized with adolescents in music therapy.
Telling My Story: Healing Through Words (1 Credit Course)
Multiple avenues of expression through written word are explored with various populations and settings. Journaling, playwriting, creative story telling, poetry, improvisational writing and techniques utilized in prompting creative writing are addressed.
REFUND POLICY
4 weeks notice: 100% refund
2 weeks notice: 50% credit towards future Creative Clinical Consulting trainings
THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS OR CREDIT WITH LESS THAN TWO WEEKS NOTICE
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information on tuition, program length, places to stay, online classes and local dining options.
Let us inspire and guide you towards healing the world through the arts.
The Center for Creative Arts Therapy's Training Programs offer certification and certificate programs in Drama Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, Therapeutic Performing Arts, Psychodrama, Sociaiodrama and Theatre for Change.
Whether you’re pursuing certification in Drama Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy or BOTH, you’ll experience innovatively progressive courses created to teach both practices and theories. As an Expressive Arts Therapy student, your curriculum includes in-depth study of multiple modalities of the creative arts (music, drama, dance/movement and art) and their integrative therapeutic nature. Drama Therapy students engage in clinical applications of theatrical techniques and theoretical implications of their uses.
For more information on the Center for Creative Arts Therapy training programs in the Chicago and DuPage County area, call us at 847.477.8244, email us, or visit us at 2600 Warrenville Road, Suite 205, Downers Grove, IL 60515.