Creative Arts Therapy Applications

Catalog description

Creative Arts Therapies are intermodal professions that combine the visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other creative processes to foster deep personal growth and community development. While AA 120N provides cursory knowledge with a brief introduction to expressive arts therapies, Creative Arts Therapy Applications is designed to introduce undergraduates to the depth and practical application of the creative arts therapies, using a variety of approaches to wellness and healing with diverse populations. There is a need to acknowledge the rise in mental health diagnoses and recognize the need for growth and acceptance of helping professions locally, nationally and globally. Professional therapists will explain the needs of their clients, the goals of therapy with these populations, and demonstrate their approaches. Art experiences, class discussions, case studies and study of artistic productions will be utilized to explore the relationship between the arts and healing. Students will relate material learned in class to their self exploration and community by producing a reflective, interdisciplinary course project that will address social or cultural needs through art making. The intellectual frameworks and methodologies of art and human development will be explicitly outlined and drawn upon within the course lessons. The main objectives of the course are to explore the scope and practical applications of the creative arts therapies, the arts and art making of multiple modalities, credentials and prerequisites for how to become a creative arts therapist, and how health and wellness can be impacted by the creative arts at the local, national and global level.