CREATIVE THERAPIES CENTER
Spring/Summer 2026
Semester Schedule
Creative Therapies Center and The Drama Therapy Institute of Los Angeles(DTILA), is pleased to announce our Spring semester classes for 2026.
Classes offered below:
Core Classes (3 Units)
Sociodrama and Advanced Psychodramatic Techniques:
Facilitator: Pam Dunne Ph.D., RCT-BCT, NT
Dates: April 18, 25. May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 and June 7
Time(s): First Meeting(April 18): 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Additional Meetings(May 2, 6, 16, 23 , 20 and June 6): 9:30am to 2:30pm (PST)
Lunch Break: 30 minutes
Cost: $899
(TBA Arranged hours 7+)
Class Information:
This course focuses on Sociodrama and advanced psychodramatic techniques based on the work of Jacob Moreno and contributions of international leaders in the field. In Sociodrama, participants will explore empty chair sociodrama, pre-rehearsed dramaturgy, dramatic multiplication as well as, living newspaper, re-plotting and other specialized techniques for sociodrama. Attendees will also explore psychodramatic techniques of living sculpture, psychodramatic interviewing, role reversal, mirrors, and other advanced psychodramatic techniques along with sociometric techniques (i.e. spectrograms, locograms). Selected videos and targeted assignments will assist participants in planning and facilitating these processes in community, education, business, and in other settings.
1 Unit Classes:
Transformational Stories and Pivotal Moments:
Facilitator: Pam Dunne Ph.D., RCT-BCT, NT
Dates: April 4, 11 and 18
Time(s): First Meeting(April 4):9:00am to 1:30pm. Second Meeting(April 11): 9:00am to 3:30pm and Final Meeting(April 18): 9:00am to 12:00pm (PST)
Cost: $338
(TBA arranged hours 3.5+)
Class Information:
Explore the use of story in Narradrama through a transformational lens by examining narratives such as: unique outcome, identity change, healing relationship, as well as, possibility and power. Participants explore through experiential exercises exploring ways to expand and develop transformational stories and move from problem- saturated stories to more preferred ones through a re-storying process. Participants will also explore pivotal moments which bring positive entry ways into personal stories for the client, which show agency and hope.
Independent Studies:
Independent Study: Ethics and the Law:
Facilitator: Pam Dunne Ph.D., RCT-BCT, NT
Dates: TBA
Time: TBA
Cost: $338
Independent Study Information:
Independent studies are more student-led and often with the goal of completing a research project. Meetings will be scheduled on the days and times when the facilitator and the student’s schedules match. Meetings are not mandatory like classes but are rather designed for the facilitator to help the students in their research projects and for students to learn from other students. (time is PST)
Special Topics Retreat: Storytelling as Medicine (Special Online Workshop)
Facilitator: Renda Dionne Madrigal
Dates: August 1 and 2
Time: 8:00am to 3:30pm (PST)
Ched Credits: 14 hours (Ched credits are important for At students and professional RDT's that need credits for renewing their registration.)
Cost: $338
*Workshop meets partial drama therapy requirements for special populations credits.
(TBA 2 hours arranged video/article)
Class Information:
DTILA is honored to present this special populations workshop for professionals and AT students, Storytelling as Medicine with world renowned facilitator Dr. Renda Dionne Madrigal. Renda is a Indigenous (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) Psychologist and Storyteller (Drama Therapist) that will remind us that we live in a story and will show us how we can use it to heal our minds, bodies, and souls. Participants will learn how to tap into their ancestral and archetypal strengths to discover how these energies are working to mold who they are and their lives. Students will learn through the three stages of The Asking, The Seeking, and The Making to embody ritual and make connections with our stories and our life journey. Special pricing is available for students that take this workshop and the Drama Therapy with Indigenous Populations class. Register for both classes and receive a $30 discount. Both classes must be paid in advance.
.5 Unit Classes:
Exploring the Enneagram through Drama Therapy and Authentic Movement:
Facilitator: Pam Paulson M.A., LMFT, RDT-NT
Dates: April 19 and 26
Time: 11:45am to 3:15pm
Cost: $169
(TBA 1 hour video/article)
Class Information:
In this experiential workshop, we’ll bring the Enneagram to life through embodied exploration. Instead of simply talking about personality types, we’ll step into them—using drama therapy, improvisation, and authentic movement to explore how each Enneagram style thinks, feels, and responds under stress and in growth. Through guided exercises, scene work, and gentle movement. Participants will deepen their understanding of their own Enneagram type and core motivations by exploring patterns of behavior, defense, and longing in creative, compassionate ways. By practicing new ways of responding to familiar triggers through role play and embodied explorations, they will also cultivate empathy for other types by “trying on” their perspectives and energies. Participants will connect with inner resources such as playfulness, curiosity, and self-compassion. This workshop offers a supportive space for insight, healing, and growth through the wisdom of the body and the power of story.
Innovations in Narradrama Witnessing
Facilitator: Ksenia Ilinskaya, MA, NT
Dates: May 17 and 24
Time: 9:00am to 12:30pm (PST)
Cost: $169
Ched Credits: 7 hours (Ched credits are important for At students and professional RDT's that need credits for renewing their registration.)
(TBA 1 hour arranged video/article)
*Class meet partial drama therapy requirements for special populations credits.
Class Information:
Join and experience this multi-level approach to witnessing which honors the person, the story,
and the identity. From the map of the outside witness of Michael White therapeutic witnessing
will be enlarged by using different modalities and focusing on specific aspects of the witnessing
process. The course will show the particularities of using witnessing in different stages of the
therapeutic process (in the beginning, in the middle and at the end) as well as cover the
benefits of witnessing with couples, children-parent relationships, in individual work as well as
in working with groups. Using drama for witnessing in the role of the witness, with fictional
characters as well as people from different periods of life will open space for new possibilities
and future aspirations.
Abolitionism and Narradrama: New Directions in Anti-Carceral Practice:
Facilitators: Kamran Afary Ph.D., MA, MFT, RDT, NT and Lynn Baker-Nauman LMFT, RDT
Dates: June 7 and June 14
Time: 9:00am to 12:30pm (PST)
Cost: $169
Ched Credits: 7 hours (Ched credits are important for AT students and professional RDT's that need credits for renewing their registration.)
(TBA 1 hour video/article)
*Class meets partial drama therapy requirements for special populations credits.
Class Information:
This workshop delves into the intersections of abolitionist principles and drama therapy. Participants will explore how entrenched carceral logics pervade social institutions and professional practices, challenging drama therapists to envision, redefine, and enact new concepts of ethics, freedom and justice. The workshop will introduce participants to the wealth of existing literature, research, and multimedia resources, including the Drama Therapy in Prison Archives available for their educational and clinical practice. Attendees will engage in discussions and experiential exercises designed to foster critical consciousness, equipping them with the tools to advocate for community-based approaches and holistic well-being, thereby contributing to a more equitable and just society.
Drama Therapy with Indigenous Populations
Facilitator: Renda Dionne Madrigal, PhD, RDT, NT
Date: June 20
Time: 8:00am to 3:00pm (PST)
Ched Credits: 7 hours (Ched credits are important for AT students and professional RDT's that need credits for renewing their registration.)
Cost: $169
(TBA 1 hour video/article)
*Class meets partial drama therapy requirements for special populations credits.
Class Information:
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
Group Supervision for Mental Health Professionals and AT students:
Supervisor: Pamela Dunne Ph.D., RCT-BCT, NT
Schedule thru August 2026 (No July)
Dates: March 16. April 17. May 16 and June 1. More dates to be announced in June for August
August (TBA)
Time: 9:00am to 11:am
Cost: $225. Sets of 3 paid in advance.
Enroll: Please email assistant.dtila@gmail.com.
Ongoing supervision group (requires a six month commitment)
All classes are held on Zoom but the instructor may decide to have a hybrid class based on enrollment and location of students. For more information on how classes offered can help you meet your own continuing education requirements email assistant.dtila@gmail.com. Please note, if a participant needs to withdraw from a continuing class that is in progress- they still need to pay the balance of the class that they agreed to in their payment arrangement. DTILA will however , give them the option when the class is offered again to attend for free (assuming their previous balance is paid).