Monday, June 9, 2014

Diploma in Expressive Arts Therapy 2014-2015, Chennai – Batch 4

 Women's Christian College and East West Center for Counselling and Training announces


Batch Four - “Diploma Course in Expressive Arts Therapy”

Training Calendar 2014 to 2015

Module One December 2014 (8th to 19th) (Psychodrama and Storytelling)
Module Two March 2015 (2nd to 13th) (Expressive Arts Therapy)
Module Three April 2015 (6th to 17th) (Dance Movement Therapy, Art Therapy, Counselling & Ethics)

The diploma will be issued only on completion of:
1.             100% Attendance
2.             Trainer's evaluation
3.             Assignments
4.             Final Project
5.             Written Exam (one)
6.             40 hours of personal (individual) therapy sessions
7.             Six Supervision sessions over Skype compulsory from June 2015 to
        November 2015

*****This Expressive Arts Therapy Diploma Program is the only academic based program offered in India*****

In addition to the Diploma, students will also receive certificates from the World Storytelling Institute, Dance Movement Psychotherapy Institute and Psychodrama Institute upon completion of this program.

Training Venue - Women's Christian College, Nungambakkam, Chennai

Trainers:
1            1.     Dr. Herb Propper, Ph.D., is the director for Celebrations of the Soul for psychodrama, sociodrama and sociometry in Vermont, USA.
             2.     Magdalene Jeyarathnam, a practicing counsellor and trainer, she is the Director of East West Center for Counselling and the Indian Institute of Psychodrama.
             3.     Dr. Veena Easvaradoss, Ph.D., is the Head of Department for Psychology at the Women’s Christian College, Chennai.
             4.     Dr. Karen Estrella, Ph.D., is the Expressive Arts Therapy Program Coordinator in the Expressive Therapies Division at Lesley University, U.S.A.   
             5.     Dr. Eric Miller, Ph.D., is the director of the World Storytelling Institute, Chennai.
             6.     Preetha Ramasubramanian is a Registered Dance Movement Psychotherapist trained in the UK.
             7.     Susan Ainlay Anand is a licensed art therapist and the treasurer of the Art Therapy Credentials Board in the U.S.A.
        
**For more information on our trainers, please scroll below**

Who should attend this training?
This is an intensive program for those in the helping profession - (open to men and women) Therapists, HR (psychology), Social Workers, Counsellors, Psychologists, Special educators, NGO workers and those who are working with children will benefit from this course.

How is this training delivered?
The training is divided into 3 modules lasting 10 days each and takes place entirely in Chennai. At the completion of each module participants will have to complete projects and assignments of 15 hours. Each participant apart from the class hours will complete 200 hours of project work/ assignments.

Course Fee - Rs 75,000/=
Application Fee - Rs 200/=

For further details:


Application forms will be available July 1st, 2014, with Ms. Lulua Mala at the East West Center for Counselling's office. Please email us at lulua@centerforcounselling.org or contact us at 9884700104.

Contact Course Coordinator - 9884700135

Center for Counselling - (044) 42080810/+ 91 9884700135

WCC - (044) - 28275926/28231676/ - ext 323 (Psychology department)



What is Expressive Arts Therapy?
Expressive Art therapy is a relatively new form of therapeutic practice that allows an individual to communicate their feelings and thoughts in a more visual and imaginative way. The establishment of this practice came way in the mid-1990s. Some researchers and psychologists believe that expressive therapy allows for a more holistic approach, which combines various forms such as imagery, dance, music, poetry, story-telling, dream-work, etc. In ancient times, the arts were used to celebrate and mourn the rites of passage in one’s life as well as to welcome the changes that one would witness; such as the annual seasons, the cycles of nature, and the movement of celestial bodies across the skies (Sourcebook in Expressive Arts Therapy, Atkins & Williams).

Expressive arts therapy uses creative processes in therapeutic, rehabilitative, community or educational settings to foster health, communication, and expression; promote the integration of physical, emotional, cognitive and social functioning; enhance self-awareness; facilitate change, including in the relation to personal growth and community development. It can be practiced with individuals, couples, families, and groups.
Expressive Arts therapy is holistic. Its goals are optimum health and well-being, rather than the diagnosis and treatment of disease and dysfunction. Even when expressive arts are used within the settings of traditional medical and psychological treatment, they are used in the service of learning, healing and growth.
Art making and creative expression are healing, growth producing processes in and of themselves; not adjunctive to traditional therapy. While reflection on process and product may be part of the work, the emphasis remains on the capacity for therapeutic transformation inherent in giving form to creative expression. The capacity for creative expression is a fundamental aspect of heath. Thus, healing and personal growth are possible through involvement in the creative process.
In expressive arts therapy, body knowledge, intuitive wisdom, subjective experience and emotions are expressed and honoured as valid ways of knowing, in and of themselves. Rational analysis is not required to validate these ways of knowing.
Expressive therapy is depth-oriented. Work in the arts provides access to emotions, experiences and insights often not reached through traditional psychological practice. Such work provides powerful access to unconscious material. It often involves the layering of modalities. Like all interdisciplinary work, it enlarges the capacity of both the client and the therapist to hold different perspectives, to speak many “languages” simultaneously.
The integrity of an expressive arts therapist is reflected in on-going personal use of creative expression for personal healing and growth. While the therapist may have expertise in one artistic modality, she seeks personal experience in other modalities as well.
In its broadest and deepest sense, expressive arts therapy is a spiritual practice. It offers the possibility for meditative practice and for entry into what may be described as an experience of universal consciousness.
                                    (Appalachian Expressive Arts Collective, 2003)
A more recent approach to the emerging ideas about and practice of expressive arts therapy is termed the Appalachian Approach. The four categories that make up the Appalachian Approach are developing a personal theory, nature as the model of creative process, dreams and imagination, and expressive arts in the community (Atkins & Williams). The four areas act as pillars that form the Appalachian Approach. It acknowledges that certain theories and practices have to be developed and applied towards the creative processes of the natural world. Dreams and imagination have to be interpreted in order to understand its underlying meaning and that the community plays an integral role in the acceptance of specific theories and approaches. (Appalachian Expressive Arts Collective, 2003)


About Our Trainers

Dr. Herb Propper – Psychodrama (December 2014)
Herb Propper, Ph.D., T.E.P.* is a trainer educator practitioner of psychodrama, sociometry and group psychotherapy, with 34 years’ experience in the field.  He is a member of the American Board of Examiners and a fellow of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama (ASGPP).  He is director of Celebrations of the Soul center for psychodrama, sociodrama and sociometry in Vermont, USA.  He is an associate member of the Bangladesh Clinical Psychology Society, and a 2009 Fulbright Scholar to Bangladesh.  He recently received the ASGPP J.L. Moreno Award for distinguished lifetime service to the field.

Magdalene Jeyarathnam - Counselling Skills and Ethics (December 2014)
Magdalene Jeyarathnam is a practicing counsellor and counselling trainer. She has worked as a counsellor, counselling supervisor and counselling trainer for 19 years. She is the Director of East West Center for Counselling and The Indian Institute of Psychodrama. She has developed counselling training modules, protocols and guidelines for counsellors in India and other countries especially in South East Asia. She works as a consultant to several UNICEF, WHO, World Vision projects. She is a member of the International Association for Group Psychotherapy and Group Processes.

Dr. Veena Easvaradoss, Ph.D. - Counselling Skills and Ethics (December 2014)
Dr. Veena Easvaradoss, Associate Professor of Psychology, Women’s Christian College, Chennai, has over 20 years of professional experience in clinical and counselling psychology. She has obtained her doctoral degree from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore. Her clinical practice includes being Clinical Psychologist on referral for several schools, NGOs and corporates. She has facilitated at a number of workshops on counselor training including Grief Counselling, Counselling for teachers, Coping with Stress, Counselling Skills, Behaviour modification, Parenting, Suicide Prevention, Learning problems, Tsunami volunteers' counselling training among others.

Dr. Karen Estrella, Assistant Professor – Expressive Arts Therapy (March 2015)
Dr. Karen Estrella is the Expressive Arts Therapy Program Coordinator in the Expressive Therapies Division at Lesley University, U.S.A. As a Music Therapist and Art Therapist, Dr. Estrella’s work has focused on developing an integrated arts approach to counselling and psychotherapy, and she has spent much of the past 15 years focused on developing competencies and integrating theory in Expressive Arts Therapy. In addition, she is pursuing licensure as a Clinical Psychologist and practicing community based mental health counselling.

Dr. Eric Miller, Ph.D – Storytelling (April 2015)
Dr. Eric Miller directs the World Storytelling Institute (www.storytellinginstitute.org) here in Chennai.  He leads various types of Storytelling Workshops. Last year he completed his PhD in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania.  He has been associated with the Center for Counselling since 2006.

Preetha Ramasubramanian – Dance Movement Psychotherapy (April 2015)
Preetha Ramasubramanian is a Registered Dance Movement Psychotherapist trained in the UK. She was awarded a distinction from Goldsmiths College, University of London for her work with the forensic population.   She has worked with children having severe behaviour problems, trauma, autism, cerebral palsy, abuse, etc… both in mainstream schools and in special schools. She has also worked with drug users, sex offenders, and adults with criminal background having severe mental health issues. At present Preetha works with both children and adults in private practice. 

Susan Ainlay Anand – Art Therapy (April 2015)
Susan Ainlay Anand is a licensed art therapist and the treasurer of the Art Therapy Credentials Board in the U.S.A. She joined the faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at University of Mississippi Medical Center in 1987 after receiving her MA in Art Therapy from New York University. Her clinical interests relate to art therapy of medically ill and psychiatric patients, and she has published accounts of this work in the literature. In addition to her work at the UMMC, Susan provides art therapy services to the Hederman Cancer Center in Jackson. She has been a member of the Nominating, Program, Scholarship, and Honors Committees for AATA. For six years she served as State liaison for the Governmental Affairs committee and is past chair of the Nominating committee.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Chennai Pride June 2014


Muzhakam (meaning shouts of jubilation)- June 22nd

In collaboration with Nirangal and community based groups in Chennai, we are organising an event for lesbian women, transmen and inter sexed folks. This programme is to discuss common issues in a safe space, make plans for the coming year and just meet.

This programme is a closed group event to safe guard all the community members present. To participant please contact

Sankari - 9790990622/ Shiva 9840699776 / Center for Counselling - 9884700106

Parents & Sibling Support Group Meeting - June 22nd

For LGBTQI community members who would like your parents to connect with other parents and to find support in a safe environment this is a programme that you might consider recommending.

After working with parents who are confused, angry, shocked, in denial and rarely supportive in my one on one sessions. I am always in awe of what happens when the parents meet together. The warmth, love, sharing, discussions are moving and very reassuring.

If you are a parent with questions and wanting to meet with other parents, this is the place to come. Please call for venue and timing details - 9884700106/ 9884100135

Look up www.orinam.net for details regarding other events of the Chennai Pride.