| Louise Montello, Coordinator
The field of creative arts therapy is now widely recognized as an essential component of health care in our society. Creative arts therapists integrate the modalities of music, drama, the visual arts, and dance/movement into the practice of psychotherapy in a variety of clinical settings. These include psychiatric, rehabilitation and general hospitals, nursing homes, group homes, outpatient psychotherapy clinics, special education, and private practice.
The New School's Creative Arts Therapies curriculum is both didactic and experiential and grounded in the latest developments in psychology and mind-body healing. Students specialize in one of four modalities: in Art, Music, Drama, or Dance/Movement Therapy. The New School program is unique in encouraging students to work in more than one artistic modality in developing therapeutic insights and mastery. It integrates mind-body techniques such as creative visualization, guided imagery, mindfulness meditation, and therapeutic touch with more traditional arts therapy and psychodynamic approaches.
The New School, located in New York City's Greenwich Village, is a leader in education in visual and performing arts. Our students have access to a vibrant artistic community of musicians, theater and and dance artists, visual artists and designers, and creative writers. The New School also has strong undergraduate and graduate programs in psychology, theoretical and clinical, and a history of openness to new ideas in the field that goes back to the school's founders in the 1920s. All CAT courses are taught by working professionals who are leaders in their respective disciplines.
The certificate program is ideal for undergraduate students interested in careers in the field as well as for health, social work, and education professionals and creative artists who would like to integrate creative arts therapies into their professional or personal lives. The New School does not currently offer job placement services. The New School certificate attest to completion of the program of study described below. It is not a professional certification or registration. Professional credentials are awarded only by the several art therapies associations.
For more information about the program, contact the coordinator, Dr. Louise Montello, at 212.229.5567, email montelll@newschool.edu.
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Come learn about the New School Certificate in Creative Arts Therapies at our free Expo. The coordinator and members of our distinguished faculty talk about current developments in the field, career opportunities, and New School admission requirements. Graduates of the program offer mini experiential workshops that demonstrate how creative arts therapies can enhance emotional well-being and facilitate mind-body healing.
A question and answer session follows. Light refreshments are served. For upcoming dates, contact Dr. Louise Montello at montelll@newschool.edu or 212.229.5567.
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The Certificate in Creative Arts Therapies is awarded for successful completion of a nine-course sequence in one of four tracks, culminating in a clinical internship. Each track emphasizes a particular modality—music, drama, dance, or art therapy—but you are required to take at least two courses in other modalities for an enriched learning experience. The HEGIS code is 5299.00
Courses may be taken for certificate approval on either a non-credit or undergraduate credit basis, depending on your academic needs. Transcripts are available in either case. Non-credit students receive grades of AP (Approved) or NA (Not Approved). Certificate approval for credit students requires an acceptable letter grade. Academic requirements may vary from course to course but will always be the same for non-credit and credit students.
The program is intended to be completed within two years (two courses per term, including one summer term), but, with permission of the coordinator, this time period could be modified to meet special needs. All courses must be taken at The New School for General Studies. See Certificates for general policies governing New School certificate programs. Individual courses may be taken by students not enrolled in the certificate program.
* Foundation Courses
Theories of Personality (NPSY3401) and Abnormal Psychology (NPSY3501). Both courses are prerequisites for the clinical internship.
* Creative Arts Therapy Courses
Choose a track: Art Therapy, Dance/Movement Therapy, Drama Therapy, or Music Therapy.
- Take four courses in your track, including the introduction training course (parts 1 and 2 if set up in two parts)
- Take two CAT electives chosen from the courses of the other three tracks
* Creative Arts Therapy Internship
A minimum of 130 hours in an approved clinical setting with occasional on-site supervision by a New School faculty member. During the academic term, all students enrolled in Internship meet together four times in a seminar to discuss clinical issues with respect to their experiences in the field. Prerequisite: successful completion of the two required psychology courses and the four courses in your chosen track.
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Applicants to the certificate program in Creative Arts Therapies should have previously completed at least 30 college credits, including at least two courses in music performance, drama, or studio art, and two courses in psychology, human services, or counseling, or they must already have equivalent professional experience in the field. Individuals who do not meet either prerequisite but can demonstrate motivation and ability may be admitted providing they arrange to complete the prerequisite course work in conjunction with their Creative Arts Therapies courses. (Required certificate courses cannot also count as part of the 30 prerequisite credits.)
Individual courses, except the Internship, are open to students who meet the admission requirements, whether or not they intend to complete the entire program, but note that certificate approval cannot be awarded retroactively to non-credit students.
Submit a completed application form with copies of your college transcripts to the coordinator of the Creative Arts Therapies program at least three weeks prior to the first day of classes of the term in which you wish to begin. Once admitted, you must make an appointment for course advising before registering for courses. All questions about eligibility or admission procedures should be directed to the coordinator, Dr. Louise Montello. Call 212.229.5567 or email montelll@newschool.edu.
- Download the Application Form and instructions.
- Return to completed form and all other requested documents to: The New School, Creative Arts Therapies, 72 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10011.
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Tuition for non-credit students is charged per course. Tuition for credit students is charged per credit point. See Study Options for more information about registering for general credit. Nonmatriculated students who believe they may need to take certificate courses for undergraduate credit should consult with the deans office: email academicservices@newschool.edu or call 212.229.5615 and speak to the coordinator of academic services. Non-credit tuition for 2006-07 is $530 per course (approximately $4,680 for the whole program). All courses carry three credits; general credit tuition is $870 per credit. There is a $60 registration fee for certificate students.
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* Training in Music Therapy 1 & 2
This two-term course includes an overview of music therapy, theoretical concepts of music therapy with reference to different patient populations and information about further training and job opportunities in the field. Students participate as a class in clinically tested music therapy techniques such as Guided Imagery and Music™, group music therapy,and clinical improvisation. As the term progresses, students are guided in developing fieldwork opportunities in the New York area.
* Performance Wellness Seminar™
This course offers musicians, actors, dancers, educators, and health professionals a deeper understanding of how stress can affect the performing artist and practical tools for enabling the body-mind to become a more resilient "instrument" in all kinds of stressful situations. Experiential activities include body-mind awareness, cognitive restructuring, behavioral rehearsal, and music therapy techniques that address specific performance issues directly. You keep a daily log to monitor changes in your stress levels.
* Music as the Way™
This advanced music therapy training workshop introduces clinically tested exercises that can help clients discover or rediscover innate human ability to use music/sound as an instrument of healing and self-transformation. You keep a music-sound awareness journal to frame the process.
* Music, Mind, and Healing
This seminar surveys both research and clinical practice in the exciting field of music medicine, which combines clinically-tested techniques of music therapy with the latest advances in mind-body healing. The course is designed for health-care professionals, educators, and musicians interested in music psychology. Formal musical training is not required.
* Rhythm and Role: Unmasking the Essential Self
This course is designed to be of interest to performing artists as well as mental health practitioners and educators. It integrates concepts and techniques from music, art, movement, and drama therapy in exercises such as shamanic rituals, psychodrama, storytelling, authentic movement, and musical improvisation. Readings from the arts therapy and psychoanalytic literature are assigned. You keep a journal to frame the process.
* Training in Drama Therapy 1 & 2
This two-term course is a complete orientation to the theory and practice of drama therapy, with an introduction to the literature and exploration of drama therapy techniques in the classroom. Career opportunities are discussed, and in part 2, students are assisted in obtaining field experience.
* Drama Therapy and Group Process
This course combines didactic and experiential components as you explore yourself in relation to others through the medium of drama. Readings, keeping a journal, and active participation in role-playing activities are required.
* The Drama of Development: Drama Therapy and Life Stages
The stages of human development, from infancy to old age, are explored through various modes of drama and play integrated with study of the literature. Reading, writing, and active participation in class dramatic activities are required.
* Training in Art Therapy 1
Theoretical models that build the foundation for the use of art in therapeutic situations are presented and discussed. The history of the profession is outlined. Case studies and examples of artwork produced in clinical settings are illustrate assessment and treatment methods.
* Training in Art Therapy 2: Methods in Practice
This course explores the use of art therapy in practice within specific treatment situations. Various approaches relevant to selected populations and setting are examined, with opportunities to visit working art therapists in the field. You are encouraged to identify an individual area of interest in preparation for the internship. Job search strategies, art with groups, and continuing education options in art therapy are also discussed.
* Art Diagnosis
This course is designed to help both lay people and clinical practitioners gain insights into clients' personalities through the medium of their artwork. You learn, experientially and didactically, the elements of visual art and what they can communicate about the creator of a work of art. No prior artistic or clinical experience is required.
* The Dynamics of Art Materials
As an exploration of making visual art for the primary purpose of self-expression, this course bridges art and psychology. A variety of media and materials are explored and connected to specific techniques of art therapy, the stages of group therapy, and prescriptive use of art media.
* Symbolism in Art Therapy
The function of symbols in the human psyche is investigated through study of different systems of symbols and their applications to understanding art and dreams, Jung's work with alchemy in particular. The relevance of symbol interpretations in the art therapy process is discussed in details.
* Art Therapy with Groups
Several group and family therapy models applicable to different client populations are introduced, and you learn the vocabulary appropriate for clinical group work. Therapeutic applications are investigated through case studies and experiential demonstrations and activities.
* Introduction to Dance/Movement Therapy
A survey of dance therapy practice with diverse populations including patients with eating disorders, chronic pain, and schizophrenia—techniques are demonstrated and discussed in relation to individual recovery and rehabilitation. The course also covers the history of the profession, theoretical concepts, and information about further training, professional standards, and employment opportunities.
* The Dance of Life: Body/Mind Relationships
This course describes how mental/emotional states are reflected in breathing, body tension, postures, and gestures, and how body awareness can open the door to personal growth. You practice movement meditations and explore issues of engagement, identity, competition, leadership, boundaries, and separation.
* Dance/Movement Therapy with Groups
The healing processes in group dance therapy and in other physical activity-based therapy groups are explored. Students learn how synchrony, education, rhythm, vitalization, integration, cohesion, expression, and symbolism are intrinsic to a group's evolution. They also learn about and experience group development within sessions and over time. Leadership, music, and verbal interventions are discussed in relation to group dancing.
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Louise Montello, program coordinator, DA (New York University), NCPsyA, MT-BC; certified, American Music Therapy Association; psychoanalytic music therapist in private practice; clinical research consultant, NYU Department of Psychology; director of Performance Wellness, Inc.; author of
Essential Musical Intelligence,
(Quest, 2002).
Christine Augello, MA (New York University), ATR; art therapist at Goddard Riverside's The Other Place, a day treatment program for the homeless mentally ill, and in private practice with children and adults; executive board member, New York Coalition for Creative Arts; supervises graduate students at NYU.
Claudia Bader, MA, (Pratt Institute), ATR; board certified psychoanalyst and art therapist; executive director, Institute for Expressive Analysis; adjunct professor of Art Therapy, Pratt Institute; private practice in psychotherapy.
Meg Chang, EdD (Columbia Teachers College), MS (CUNY Training Center for Mindfulness in Medicine), ADTR; certified transpersonal psychotherapist; coordinator of ADTA and Expressive Therapy, Lesley College.
Johanna Climenko, ADTR/CSW; co-director, Arts Energy Center; she has been a “dancing” dance therapist since 1969, working with a variety of populations, primarily adult psychiatric clients; private practice in Reichian therapy and D/MT; has taught dance/movement therapy internationally.
Christoph P. Grieder, MA, RMT; creative arts therapy supervisor at Shelter Our Sisters (SOS), a facility for abused women and children, and freelance workshop leader; he is a professional musician (cellist).
Barbara McKechnie, MA, RTD; was trained in psychodrama at the Sociometric Institute in NYC; drama therapist at St. Vincent's Hospital, NYC, working with children and adolescents; consultant and therapist in private practice; current president-elect, National Association for Drama Therapy; drama therapy representative, New Jersey Arts Therapies Association.
Dina Schapiro, MPS (Pratt Institute); psychotherapist in private practice of art therapy; certified in tuberculosis prevention and harm reduction training; clients include Housing Works' adult day care for homeless people with AIDS in East New York; adjunct professor, Pratt Institute graduate Art Therapy program; has written for
Losing Time,
Pratt's creative arts therapy journal.
Elissa Q. White, BA, (Goddard College), CMA; co-founder of the Dance/Movement Therapy graduate program at Hunter College CUNY; member, Academy of Dance Therapists, and president, American Dance Therapy Association.
Jennifer Wilson, MA (California Institute of Integral Studies), RDT; post-graduate training at Institute for the Arts & Psychotherapy, where she maintains a private practice; she has developed, supervised, and coordinated creative arts therapy programs in hospitals and homeless shelters and worked as a clinician in psychiatric day treatment programs and community-based organizations
.
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Download the application form and follow the instructions. (You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the registration form. If you don't have Acrobat Reader on your computer, you can download it for free from the Adobe website.
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