Winter 2023 Semester Schedule

All classes are held on Zoom, and might offer a hybrid in-person option for local students. Please contact your instructor to explore in person options.

Core Classes:

Research, Assessment and Treatment Drama Therapy (3 units)

Dates: January 20, 27, February 3, 10, 17 and 24, March 3, March 10

Time: 12:00 am to 5:00 pm (PST)

Possible Change of Earlier Start Time (depending on participants)

Cost: $899

Facilitator: Pam Dunne, Ph.D, RDT-BCT, NT

Extra TBA Film Hours Required.

Participants explore research practices and relevant drama therapy and creative arts assessments such such as the Role Playing Test, Six Piece Story Making, Tell a Story, Role Profiles, EPR, 6 Keys, Family Puppet Interview, Communicube, and more. They also examine evidenced based, narrative, and practice based research approaches and identify a drama therapy topic of interest for research. A short research paper or proposed plan for a pilot study will conclude the course.

One to Three Day Classes

Authentic Movement In Exploring Mind Body Connection
(7 hours, 7 CE's and .5 unit)

Dates: January 22 and 29

Time: 12:30 pm to 4pm (PST)

Cost: $169

Facilitator: Pam Paulson MA, LMFT, RDT, NT, Authentic Movement Practitioner

Participants will explore authentic movement to promote self-expression and healing through mindful body listening and the discovery of ways to reawaken essential mind-body connection and deepening empathy with self and others. Witnessing practices involving expressive arts will also be explored and application made to educational and therapeutic settings.

Narradrama and Neuroscience (7 hours, CE’s)

Dates: February 11 and 18

Time: 9:30 am to 1:00 pm (PST)

Cost: $169

Facilitator: Pam Dunne, Ph.D, RDT-BCT, NT

Required for Narradrama Training

Course will cover research on positive emotions, and the importance of social engagement from a neurological point of view. Siegel’s research of the four contributing factors to synaptic growth (emotional arousal, repetition, novelty, and focused attention) will be explored in Narradrama research and through experiential exercises utilizing drama and the creative arts. Participants will discover through selected Narradrama interventions how Narradrama can be utilized to make new neural pathways to strengthen synaptic connections.

Drama Therapy with Adolescents (7 hours/CE’s)

Date: February 26

Time: 10:30 am to 6:00 PM ( PST)

Cost: $ 169

Facilitator: Cynthia Kelvin

This course explores how drama therapy and other expressive arts therapy techniques can be utilized in the treatment of adolescents. Participants will be introduced to drama and expressive arts interventions for some common presenting issues among adolescents, such as anxiety, depression, exploration and formation of identity, and challenges associated with both peer and adult relationships. Relevant research findings, theoretical orientations, and case examples will be discussed. Through experiential exercises using projective tools and embodied expressions, participants will explore practical and potential applications of drama and other expressive arts in assisting adolescent clients in developing emotion regulation skills, adaptive coping, and pro-social skills while cultivating a healthy self-image.

Drama Therapy with Indigenous Populations (7 hours/ CE’s)

Date: March 5

Time: 8:00 am to 3:30 pm (PST)

Cost: $169

Facilitator: Renda Dionne Madrigal, PhD, RDT, NT

Required for Narradrama Training

Participants will learn and practice specific drama and creative arts interventions (based on Narradrama) to deepen understanding of the intergenerational impact of history, colonization, and oppression on Indigenous communities, health, and well-being, apply embodied mindfulness-based compassion practices that can be used by providers to work with obstacles to care such as internalized oppression and compassion fatigue, and develop an understanding of the relationship of cultural practices such as storytelling and arts to activism and healing. By practicing these approaches, participants will increase the possible methods of therapeutic intervention and communication.

Exploring Birth and Motherhood through Poetry and Drama Therapeutic Methods (7 hours/CE’s)

Dates: February 5 and 19

Time: 9 am to 12:30 am (PST)

Cost: $169

Facilitator: Terhi K. Korkiakangas, Ph.D, CL. Hyp

Life in utero and the experience of birth shape us, leaving subconscious and somatic imprints in our lives. Participants will learn about exciting research on prenatal parenting and how the earliest attachment bond begins in the womb, and explore the stories of their own births, the births of their babies, and the ancestral narratives of birth in their families, including birth trauma, loss, and the cultural silencing around grief in motherhood. Through a range of published poems about birth and motherhood, and using creative exercises from drama therapy and meditation, participants may awaken dormant memories, uncover stories beneath stories, shift perspective, affirm intuition and inner wisdom, and rewrite an empowered version of birth focusing on acceptance, healing, and appreciation. Participants will take away creative approaches to support other moms and babies in pregnancy and beyond.

Psychology Core Classes:

Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology (3 units)

Dates: February 4, 25, March 4, 11, 18 and 25

Times: 9:30 to 4:30 (PST)

TBA Hours Films

Facilitator: Pam Dunne, Ph.D, RDT-BCT, NT, Psychologist

Through creative, hands-on learning, involving role play and other creative methods, students in this course will gain an understanding of how to recognize and understand the wide range of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive patterns from the DSM-5.