Expressive Arts Therapy

Overview

The Expressive Arts Therapy program from California Institute of Integral Studies is three years of full-time study. Throughout, students engage with peers and faculty in a collaborative, liberatory-focused, arts-based environment. We place a premium on co-learning between students and faculty by creating opportunities for rich, playful, and diverse conversations and experiences. We also offer a part-time option which takes five-and-a-half years, for students with busy lifestyles.

The Expressive Arts Therapy program at California Institute of Integral Studies trains future leaders in the expressive arts therapy field. Our graduates are prepared for professional careers in private practice, mental health facilities, healthcare organizations, human services agencies, and schools. Our faculty have a variety of research interests, including creativity and spirituality among African Americans, multicultural and social justice counseling, education and supervision, neuro-diverse populations, homeless women, adolescents in residential rehabilitation, and the integration of the arts into spiritual practice.

Our Approach

The Expressive Arts Therapy program uses the power of the arts as tools for human development and healing, psycho-spiritual growth, social change, and empowered self-agency. We explore individual, group, couples, and family therapy practices from a liberatory perspective.

Our program emphasizes hands-on learning through experiential and collaborative coursework. During the second year of study, students have the opportunity to integrate theory and expressive arts into practice by volunteering or incorporating basic learning principles into their current job. In the third year, students engage in a year-long, supervised practicum to gain experience through face-to-face client work.