New York Expressive Arts training
EXPRESSIVE ARTS TRAINING PROGRAMS


"Exploring our innate wisdom through the arts"

Consider our many options for Expressive Arts training! To jump to our 2008/09 training dates, click here.

The art-based training available through NYEA can help you return to the roots of your practice. Recent research illustrates the effectiveness of integrating movement, visual art making, story telling and poetry into all areas of social work practice and  especially in Hospice, trauma, addiction recovery and across all ages. The arts are also a powerful tool for caring for yourself as you care for others.

NEW FOR 2008! NYEA ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COLLEGE OF ST. ROSE
After a year of exploratory dialogue with the Counseling Dept and the Department of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education at The College of St. Rose in Albany, New York Expressive Arts will offer its professional Expressive Arts Training Program in partnership with the college beginning in September 2008. The course will be offered as a continuing education program, and will continue to be held in the studio space of NYEA on Central Ave in Albany. Admission requirements and curriculum content will follow the present model; we will continue to offer the Level I program for practicing professionals in related fields as well as the option for advanced study in Levels II and III. A European study option at the European Graduate School in Switzerland also will be available.

Intensive ExA training prograMS: one to three years of study
Bring imaginative, solution-focused feeling and thinking into your work in new and interesting ways by exploring either the three-year program on eight weekends of each year or the option of a one-year overview program designed for professionals working in related fields such as social work, education, occupational therapy and others.

Affiliation with EGS
In affiliation with the European Graduate School (EGS) in Switzerland, our three-year intermodal training program in expressive arts, coaching, and consulting is an intensive form of personal and professional development, giving students broad opportunities to hone creative, interpersonal, and supervisory skills in an arts-based context. The program offers something different from traditional instruction: arts-based learning that generates enough chaos to keep the creative self vibrant and enough structure and balance for the creative process to yield authentic results.

Much of the training is experiential. The work, often playful, also honors academic requirements. Using the expressive arts, students move into the imaginal realm and gain proficiency in leading individuals and groups through often-complex processes. Through readings and discussions of theories and principles underlying the expressive arts, students also gain a personal, intellectual perspective. Participants in any expressive arts experience are encouraged to see their artistic creations not as products to be evaluated, but rather as aesthetic arenas for self-exploration. Emphasis is less on technique and more on the creator, and as much on process as product.

The training program gives students an increased capacity for moving comfortably through several creative modalities. This allows them in turn to meet others in their comfort zone, using music, dance, poetry, painting, and other creative media. The expressive arts philosophy emphasizes low skill, high sensitivity in as many art forms as possible. Students should have expertise in one or more art forms.

The expressive arts method is an inclusive approach to the arts, based on anthropological studies that see the arts as embedded in culture and as the birthright of all, not just the formally trained. Historically, the arts have been a powerful way to respond to suffering, to celebrate joy, and to express our humanity. Today, this emerging field is being used with a wide range of populations, in educational settings, corporate boardrooms, hospitals and nursing homes, and in wellness and adult learning programs.

Our training program evolved into its current form when an academic affiliation with the European Graduate School was initiated in 1995. EGS is one of only a few accredited expressive arts graduate programs in the world, offering a Master of Arts degree, a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS), and a Ph.D. in Expressive Arts. EGS is prepared to accept students from New York Expressive Arts, depending on overall qualifications.

Structured training
Training is conducted at the studio of New York Expressive Arts, in New York State's Capital District. Classes are held one weekend a month, during hours that accommodate out-of-town students and students who hold traditional jobs. During each of the three years, students meet as a group, over a series of eight weekends from September through June. Students are also required to supplement the weekend training sessions with internships, readings, journaling reflection, group and/or individual therapy and supervision, studio time, portfolio presentations, and independent research.

The training program, which leads to a certificate in expressive arts, coaching, and consulting, has graduated professionals prepared to work in the field and to pursue more advanced studies. Some of our graduates have gone on to earn Master's degrees, Certificates of Advanced Graduate Study, and Doctorates in this emerging field. Others have incorporated expressive arts into their current professions.

The training program consists of Levels I, II, and III, corresponding to one year of training each.

Level I: Level I introduces students to expressive arts principles and practices – such as intermodal theory and how it translates into practice – and provides a solid theoretical and practical foundation for work in expressive arts. Extensive studio work and reading of the writings of major figures in expressive arts are part of the curriculum. Students are asked to keep a journal, tracing their own development as artist/student/therapist. Entering students are not expected to be proficient in all art forms, although they should be sensitive to the creative process. Because it is essential to keep nurturing and developing the artist within you, students are required to spend regular time during the training program in the studio to develop their own artistic ability.

Level II: In Level II, the emphasis shifts toward beginning work with others. Students begin a practicum or internship in a community setting, and deepen their understanding of basic principles such as creating safety and devising clear frames. Students also conduct practice sessions among themselves. The importance of grounding is emphasized, and centering techniques are taught. Other themes include: holding the space, resistance, quieting inner noise, de-centering, enlarging play space, the role of the witness and the judge, the aesthetic response, trusting the process, chaos theory and the self-organizing principle, and creating community art.

Level III: Level III consolidates training and encourages students to develop their own approach to the work. Students do more internship work and run practice groups with their peers while developing their own sensitivity to the arts and continuing to build skills. There is emphasis on group facilitation and on creating community art. Students are asked to articulate their own philosophy of intermodal expressive arts in a paper; oral presentations are also given in class, showing student understanding of principles and practices.

At the end of each year, faculty collectively determine each student's readiness to proceed to the next level. Upon completion of Level III, the student receives a certificate in expressive arts therapy, coaching, and consulting.

Graduate Degrees
Enrollment in the three-year training program is required to study for a graduate degree at the European Graduate School. Some of our students have taken the EGS 23-day graduate summer intensive concurrently with their New York Expressive Arts studies. We address these EGS requirements in the training program:

• expressive arts methods
• foundations of a phenomenological approach to expressive arts
• introduction to polyaesthetics (intermodal art, music, dance, poetry, drama)
• developmental psychology
• psychopathology
• group training and therapy
• professional ethics
• internship or practicum during Levels II and III
• internship/practicum seminar
• program review at the end of each semester

Additional requirements of both New York Expressive Arts and EGS programs, which students arrange individually in consultation with New York Expressive Arts faculty, include:

• individual supervision
• individual therapy during training
• group supervision
• studio/atelier in the arts and/or consistent personal studio time in at least one art form throughout the program

Admission
Admission applications to the New York Expressive Arts Training Program are reviewed on an individual basis. A one-hour interview is required, at no cost to the prospective student.

All applicants should have some familiarity, through personal experience, with the therapeutic power of the arts. We also recommend that applicants have undergone some personal psychotherapy. Each student is encouraged to develop at least one art form outside the training program to deepen his or her own personal process.

Most of our students have at least a Bachelor's degree on entering into the training program. For others, EGS offers a BA equivalency program.

Advanced EXA Training
Expand and deepen expressive arts skills and sensitivity in a collaborative, research-oriented and arts-based environment. This study/practice group is open to all who have had at least one year of expressive arts training at Glass Lake Studio or New York Expressive Arts, and are using or planning to use arts-based approaches in their professional work.

The 9-class program, which is facilitated by Denie Whalen and guest trainers, is offered one Saturday per month from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Attendance at eight sessions plus independent study is required for a Certificate of Completion. For those who desire continuing training in a supportive expressive arts community, a commitment to attend five sessions is requested. Each class follows a three-part format:

1. Didactic/lecture focusing on essential expressive arts theories and foundational philosophy.

2. Facilitated experiential work to deepen skills and sensitivity in using and appreciating the power of various art modalities and the art-making process. In addition to moving deeper into the familiar modalities of movement, painting/drawing, writing and music, there will be a chance to investigate the electronic arts, photography, Touch Drawing, puppetry, masks, sandplay and others of interest to the group. There will be opportunities for practicing facilitation methods within dyad and small group settings, and receiving feedback.

3. Application of expressive arts methods to specific populations and situations through brainstorming, case histories and role-playing. Additionally we will explore emerging areas of expressive arts practice such as social action.

Individual workshop certificates will be given for each session of study/practice. For those who wish to earn a Level II certificate or are considering the European study option at the European Graduate School, extra credit may be earned through independent study to augment attendance at eight of the nine classes.

2008/09 training dates

Introductory workshops
Are you ready to follow your creative urge? We periodically hold introductory workshops for those interested in learning more about NYEA's training programs. These workshops typically involve a minimal commitment of time, such as a weekend afternoon, and are a perfect way to "get your feet wet"! Watch our Newsletter for updates; currently we have three workshops scheduled for summer 2008:
Saturday, June 28, 1 to 4 p.m.
Sunday, July 20, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thursday, August 21, 6 to 9 pm.

Expressive arts training program: LEvel I and beyond
Applications are now being accepted for the 2008/09 Training Program, which begins in September 2008. The training in Year 1 may be used a stand-alone overview program in expressive arts; it is appropriate for practicing professionals in related fields who wish to bring arts-based approaches into their work. It may also be used as Level I in our three-year program, appropriate for those desiring further study and experience.

Here is the schedule of weekend classes for our 2008/09 program:
2008
September 13/14: Finding Ease with Poetical Writing
October 4/5: Psychodramatic Methods: From Playback to Psychodrama
November 8/9: Collage as a Metaphor for Life
December 13/14: Finding Your Authentic Voice
2009
January 24/25: From Movement to Painting and Back Again
March 14/15: Taking Play Seriously
April 18/19: Performance Art
May 16/17: Expressive Arts and Social Action; presentation of final projects

Advanced EXA training
We will again be offering an advanced study/practice group, open to all who have had at least one year of expressive arts training and are using (or planning to use) arts-based approaches in their lives. Level II certificate is available with additional independent study. The 9-class program, which is facilitated by Denie Whalen and guest trainers, is offered one Saturday per month from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Here are the dates for our 2008/09 program:

September 20, 2008
October 18
November 15
December 6
January 17, 2009
February 14
March 21
April 11
May 30

Contact us for more information regarding topics and fees.

sample Curriculum
Want a better sense of what it's all about? Download a sample curriculum and find out.

For More Information
For more information on all of our training programs, contact NYEA Director Denie Whalen or call (518) 434-2412.