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ATTENDANCE POLICY

This is a highly interactive, cohort-based course. We expect participants in the Academy's cohort-based courses to attend all course sessions. Each week will build on prior sessions. Your consistent attendance and participation in making art will enrich your experience and that of your peers.

Participants who attend all sessions and meet other course participation criteria will receive a certificate of completion. Those who miss no more than one session may receive a certificate of completion, at the Academy's discretion.

DESCRIPTION

This advanced 5-week course offers an immersive exploration of art-based techniques for empowering children, teens, and adolescents who have experienced trauma. Building on the Academy’s introductory course, Connecting Through Art and Creative Expression, this course will help learners expand and strengthen skills to support young people through creative expression. The techniques in this course can be used with young people who are affected by violence in a range of ways, including in their communities, homes, schools, the immigration process, or other oppressive systems.

This course includes hands-on activities, experiential exercises, and reflective discussions to deepen your understanding and skill in using art materials with children and young people impacted by violence and trauma. Between sessions, participants will explore how to create and apply art activities with the populations you serve. By the end of the course, each participant will present on their experience of implementing techniques from this class.

Based in trauma-informed practices and theory, and led by experienced art therapists, this course provides a deep dive into the healing potential of art as a tool for containment, expression, and affective integration.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

Participants will:

• Expand your understanding of how art expression can empower children and young people in the healing process
• Gain skills for using art materials and art projects in groups to promote community building and connection
• Practice setting up and facilitating art-based projects in ways that supply client containment and agency
• Gain confidence in using art and creative expression techniques in your work with children and teens impacted by violence, both in-person and remotely
• Enhance your ability to recognize signs that a child or teen may need further support or clinical care

 

WHAT TO EXPECT

This is a virtual course that will be held on Zoom. Course sessions will include didactic instruction and significant time for learning and experimenting with art materials.
Each weekly workshop will include:

• Presentation by the course instructors
• Guided art experience with the week’s art materials
• Debriefing the art experience
• Practice and guidance to apply and integrate the art experience with youth in your work setting

This course will be highly interactive, with time for questions throughout. In order to build community, we strongly encourage participants to join and stay on camera.

Participants will need a computer with Zoom capability and a camera, as well as a private, quiet space to join the weekly workshops from. Participants will need enough space to use art materials. While we know finding private space can be difficult in some workplaces, we recommend:

• Adding the live course sessions to your work calendar
• Notifying your supervisor, colleagues, and/or clients that you are in training
• Using headphones in shared workspaces
• Closing email and other applications, where possible

ELIGIBILITY

This course is for staff of NYC non-profit community-based organizations or government agencies that deliver social services and meet the following criteria:

• Pre-requisite: You have completed “Connecting Through Art and Creative Expression: Tools to Support Children and Young People.” Applicants who demonstrate equivalent coursework or experience may be considered. This should include an introduction to the art materials continuum and how to use art materials
• You have opportunities to implement art tools with children or young people in your current job
• You commit to attend at least 4/5 course sessions, and actively participate
• You commit to present on your experience of using art tools in the final course session
• You have received approval from your supervisor to participate in all course sessions and apply the skills from this course in your work