Academic Courses
These classes are offered at CIIS, 1453 Mission St. San Francisco, CA (www.ciis.edu/academicprograms or 415-575-6100, ask for the registrar).
Integrative Seminars in Expressive Arts Therapy
 Description
This course is the final class in the EXA masters program and is designed to assist our students in integrating many aspects of their learning in this program: the psychological and EXA theories, experiential learning, personal growth, artistic development, and EXA clinical experience of the practicum. With this integration, students will deepen their understanding of the various EXA approaches and develop their own emerging EXA style or approach.
The various threads of the EXA educational tapestry will be explored through a series of seminars. The first seminar will investigate the needs of different populations with regard to EXA therapy. This seminar will employ personal practicum experiences and current psychological and EXA research in this investigation.
The second Integrative Arts discussion will help students compare and contrast their various approaches to EXA. EXA Faculty will be invited to participate. Students will be asked to probe presenters to help them understand their approach.
The third seminar will be student-directed. Each student will present a cogent exploration of his/her personal journey, philosophical underpinning, current research and how this informed his or her current clinical EXA therapy approach.
The final seminar will be a community arts presentation by the third year students to the larger EXA community of their current artistic experience.
Learning Objectives
After completing this course, students will be able to:
- Think critically, theoretically and concretely about EXA approaches.
- Articulate, use and begin to integrate EXA with other clinical approaches.
- Solidify a basic understanding about the conduct of psychotherapy.
- Begin to develop and clarify his/her own professional style, including theoretical consideration, current research and an awareness of one’s own personal gifts, strengths, biases and limitations.
- Work collaboratively with peers and faculty, forming a collegial identity as developing professionals in the field.
- Present to the larger EXA community their artistic experienced through a community art presentation.
Additional Information
Introduction to EXA (formerly Deepening Your Practice
for non-expressive arts students and Foundations of EXA)
 Description
The psyche is revealed not only through words, but through images, symbols and the body. The Expressive Arts reawaken the language of image, movement, sound, metaphor, drama and poetic utterances, revealing the deepest aspects of the self and expressing what often cannot be put into words. Drawing, painting, sculpture, movement, dance, sandplay and ritual provide access to your client’s inner world Weaving art processes into clinical and counseling work greatly expands the capacity to articulate-with fullness and specificity-what lies buried within us, by using each modality as it called for in the unfolding process. As both therapist and client work with these healing multi-arts processes, the creative spirit is aroused and the therapeutic process itself is experienced as art.
Integrating clinical and expressive arts theory, experiential process with the arts and clinical applications, participants will learn about
- their own creative process
- their artist within
- expressive arts trauma approaches
- applications to different psychic woundings
- applications to diverse cultural groups and individuals
- growth approaches to consulting and education
- how to begin to deepen and enliven their practice through the expressive arts
Additional Information
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The Practice of Expressive Arts Therapy
 Description
The Expressive Arts Therapist must have an understanding of creative arts modalities, the creative process, and the idea of multi-modal theories in order to develop a skilled flair for weaving the arts into a healing tapestry. By first introducing the individual creative arts modalities, this course focuses on introducing the Expressive Arts approaches, paradigms, and theoretical concepts that aid in developing multi-modal fluency. Through personal process, discussion, and readings, Expressive Arts approaches will be demonstrated, compared, and contrasted. Additional readings and class presentations will address the key issues cited above.
The experienced EXA therapist must become familiar with the rich world of EXA approaches, theories, and multi-modal paradigms for the weaving of creative arts modalities into a healing process for their clients. In addition, familiarity with the creative process and its links with the therapeutic process and spiritual emergence must be a part of an EXA therapist's repertoire. With this grounding, the new therapist can then develop her own EXA approaches that will address the issues and needs of her clients, cross-culturally with individuals and groups.
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Experience various Expressive Arts approaches.
- Develop a theoretical understanding of these various approaches.
- Begin to understand the ways to weave arts modalities.
- Be introduced to paradigms that will aid in comparing and contrasting modalities.
- Understand EXA applications to diverse cultural groups and individuals.
- Understand EXA applications to various levels of wounding and potentials.
Additional Information
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EXA and Jung: The Symbolic Process
 Description
A kinship naturally exists between expressive arts therapy and Jungian Psychology. Both are image-based approaches to understanding and healing the psyche and each emphasizes the symbolic process in its own unique fashion. This course weaves together the theory and practice of both these approaches into a Jungian-oriented EXA healing tapestry of images, emotions, understanding and transformation. The class explores the basic concepts of Jungian psychology and compares and contrasts them to EXA theory. Learning will be through experiential process, creative discussions, class reading and experiential and academically based assignments.
(image © ARAS)
Learning Objectives
Participants will:
- Experience Jungian oriented expressive arts therapy processes.
- Develop a theoretical understanding of Jungian psychology.
- Develop an understanding of the relationship of Jungian psychology and EXA.
- Understand and learn to apply Jungian concepts to EXA practices.
- Understand the symbolic process
- Deepen their relationship to their own creative and symbolic processes
- Learn about Jungian oriented EXA applications to their life and work
Additional Information
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