Re: Just One More Thing

Dear Monica,

It's great to have such a proactive participant in the forum. I in concord with your high expectations for this site. I also understand your confusion about the site's professional orientation, and it is to this area that I would like to address myself. I think there is a misunderstanding as to the purpose, techniques, theoretical orientation, and training of creative arts therapy professionals. Let me say here that I am going to offer an overview as a departure point for discussion and hopefully other therapists in the creative arts therapy field (for example, Cathy Malchiodi, ATR), with more experience than I, will offer their insights.

First of all, the moniker "creative arts therapy," in the context of this site,covers a lot of territory. It is inclusive of art therapy, music therapy, drama therapy, dance therapy, sandtray therapy, expressive therapy, and of course, creative art therapy. I'm sure there are others and I invite those involved to add their specialties to the list.

Secondly, training takes place on the graduate and doctoral levels, as well as on the undergraduate. However, professional status is achieved only with a master's degree or higher. In thefield of art therapy, in which I am trained, professional registration (ATR)is only achieved with 1000 hours of supervised postgraduate professional work with clients. Furthermore, in order to add the BC (board certified) credential, an ATR must sit for an exam, and in order to maintain it, they must continue taking addtional credits in the field on a yearly basis.

Thirdly, and very importantly, CREATIVE ARTS THERAPISTS ARE TRAINED AS THERAPISTS who use the arts as therapeutic modalities, often in addition to traditional pscyhotherapeutic verbalization, and as such are highly qualified to treat clients in both the paychiatric and medical millieus. Many arts therapists continue their postgraduate educations specializing in areas that you yourself might also pursue.

It is important to know that those techniques you picked up from the bulletin board are not just a bag of tricks anyone can use; to use them well, it is necessary to have an understanding of the creative process and the psychological import of materials, color, shape, sympbol, note, sound, voice, gesture, movement, facial expression, speech, and so much more. This knowledge is only acqired through personal experience as an artist and as a therapist. Remember, we are image based creatures, we use images before we can talk; sometimes words can only express a small part of our experience.

I hope this information is helpful and inspires more discussion. I look forward to your reply and those of others.

Thank you. Best wishes, Elissa

Replies:

Re: Just One More Thing, by Monica, 3/20/00 Re: Just One More Thing, by Elissa Bromberg, 3/21/00 Re: Just One More Thing, by Monica, 3/21/00

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