Workshop Description:
This workshop will explore how mental health counselors and related professionals can ethically incorporate the creative arts into their clinical practice. Topics will include an overview of music and art therapy, including the education, training, and certifications required to be music/art therapists and the foundations of clinical practice; the difference between creative arts therapy and incorporating the creative arts into talk therapy, including the scope of practice and boundaries necessary when utilizing music and art; and the ethical application of the creative arts in mental health counseling, including the physiological and emotional influence of music and art with examples on how to use the arts via experiential and discussion. All components of this workshop will emphasize how the creative arts can be used ethically as a launching pad for deeper talk therapy and verbal processing without crossing into the scope of creative arts therapy. Examples will include how to use visual arts (e.g. creating mandalas, drawing, etc.), how to guide clients through creating thematic music playlists, how to implement creative writing (e.g. stories, lyrics, poetry, etc.) as a therapeutic tool, and more.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will be able to describe the foundations of creative arts therapy practice.
2. Participants will be able to demonstrate the difference between creative arts therapy and the use of the creative arts in mental health counseling.
3. Participants will be able to ethically apply the creative arts in their clinical practice.
4. Participants will be able to use visual art mediums as a supplemental tool for verbal processing.
5. Participants will be able to use various musical aspects as a supplemental tool for verbal processing.
6. Participants will be able to use creative writing techniques as a supplemental tool for verbal processing.