Like Honey Upon the Lips of the Muses 2020

Like Honey Upon the Lips of the Muses with Ara Parker, Ph.D.
“Intended Audience: Students, Instructors,, Professionals, Allied practitioners, Theorists.
TITLE: How the sacred aspects of our creative work can support the education, formation and future practice of expressive arts therapists

I am applying here for an opportunity to present on my doctoral work as it relates to the pedagogical and formational considerations of expressive arts therapy training and which earned me the degree of Doctor in Ministry in 2019.

My doctoral dissertation, entitled “Spiritually-informed art therapy: An inquiry into formation”, for St. Stephen’s College in Canada, was written as a narrative and a/r/tographic inquiry into my own and my students’ orientation into art therapy from a spiritual perspective. This work explored aspects of the expressive arts therapies and the specialization of art therapy education which was the focus of the graduate program there.

The rich relationship between the arts and theology served as a starting point to framing this inquiry, alongside the exploration of my students’ and my own arts-based inquiries into what it means to be a spiritually-informed creative arts therapies practitioner. I have been applying the integration of these principles into my teaching practice as an Expressive Arts Therapy educator at Lesley University.

I look forward to presenting on this theme and tying in the Ancient Greek notion of the bee as sacred pollinator between the worlds; at once grounded and aflight.

Scout Track
Friday, March 27, 2020
11AM – 12:30PM
1.5 CEs
Room 108
Presentation #33