Multiclt Cnslng & Theraptc Rel

Catalog description

This foundational course focuses on the dynamic experience of the therapeutic relationship through a multicultural and expressive arts lens.In this course students will explore the basic tenets of the therapeutic encounter learning the knowledge and skills required to communicate therapeutically with clients of diverse backgrounds. We will focus on the foundational "micro skills" that comprise the building blocks of basic therapeutic communication.The class emphasizes a relational-cultural, constructionist approach to therapeutic communication, deeply rooted in an understanding of the role and influence of larger sociocultural forces in shaping not only personal and familial experience but also the therapeutic relationship. Students will have the opportunity to explore how their own personal histories and cultures of origin might play out in shaping the therapeutic relationship both across apparent differences as well as across apparent similarities in background.The class uses a combination of didactic, experiential practice and process techniques including discussion, readings, demonstrations, simulations, guided practice, role- playing, self-inquiry and expressive arts processes. Through engagement with the material students will embark upon a course of discovering and developing their own voice and style as a mental health clinician and expressive arts therapist. RESTRICTED TO EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY STUDENTS