Integrative Medicine
in the Community
through the Creative Arts Therapies
Robert Carroll, MD
Erica Curtis, MFT, ATR-BC
Lora Wilson-Mau, MA, BC-DMT
Pam Dunne, Ph.D., RDT-BCT
Judith Pinkerton, MT-BC
Ping Ho, MA, MPH – Moderator
Annual Conference for Integrative Medicine
at UCLA February 2, 2013
Creative Arts Therapies
overall definition
Creative Arts Therapists are human service
professionals who use arts modalities and
creative processes for the purpose of
ameliorating disability and illness and
optimizing health and wellness.
www.nccata.org/
Creative Arts Therapies
How are they different from
therapeutic uses of the arts?
What is unique about them as
therapeutic disciplines?
Creative Arts Therapies
How are they different from
therapeutic uses of the arts?
•Creative arts therapists are professionally educated in both mental
health and the arts.
•They are trained to be able to develop individualized assessment
and treatment plans.
•They focus on the process of creative expression, which evokes
unconscious information that is reflected upon for insight, selfawareness, and behavior change.
Creative Arts Therapies
What is unique about them as
therapeutic disciplines?
From a public health perspective…
•Can expand possibilities for health care in different settings.
•Can be delivered in groups, and they build community.
•Intrinsic value and healing potential appeals to diverse
populations without any stigma of therapy.
•Nonverbal processes can accommodate those unable to engage
verbally.
•Offer a means of addressing the increasing societal health care
burden from chronic diseases rooted in emotions and behavior.
Emergence of Creative Arts Therapies
in the mid-20th Century
Full Emergence as Academic Disciplines and
Professional Practices
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Art Therapy
Dance Movement Therapy
Drama Therapy / Psychodrama
Music Therapy
Poetry Therapy
Poetry Therapy
Poetry therapy is the intentional use of poetry,
journal writing, and literature to promote
healing, growth, and transformation.
www.poetrytherapy.org
Robert Carroll, MD
Amazing Change
by Robert Carroll, MD
We can go through amazing changes
when we are faced with knowing
we have limited time.
After one woman got brain cancer,
she decided what she wanted
was to go to Africa
to see the gorillas.
Amazing Change
by Robert Carroll, MD
She and her husband and the guides
began the long trek through the jungle
up the mountains, but the woman was
having trouble. The guides tried
to convince her to go back,
but she wouldn’t.
She struggled and struggled.
Amazing Change
by Robert Carroll, MD
Eventually she won the guides over,
and everyone was rooting for her,
but there came a point.
She couldn’t go on,
so
she lay down on the grass,
and when she did, the gorillas
came out of the jungle
to her.
Poetry Therapy Populations
veterans
substance abusers
adolescents
the learning disabled
families with problems
prisoners in rehabilitation
the frail elderly
the physically challenged
survivors of violence, abuse and incest
Poetry Therapy Settings
mental health
medical
geriatric
therapeutic
educational
community
www.poetrytherapy.org
Poetry Therapy
Education and Credentials
www.poetrytherapy.org
• Certified Applied Poetry Facilitator (CAPF)
Bachelor’s with coursework in psychology, literature,
professional practice
• Certified Poetry Therapist (CPT)
Master’s or higher in mental health field, or MD, with licensure with
coursework in psychology, literature, professional practice
• Registered Poetry Therapist (PTR)
Additional coursework, practice, supervision, and peer group poetry
therapy
Poetry Therapy
Finding the Words to Say It:
The Healing Power of Poetry
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2005/
795029/abs/
Art Therapy
Art therapy is the therapeutic use of art making, within
a professional relationship, by people who experience
illness, trauma, or challenges in living, and by people
who seek personal development. Through creating art
and reflecting on the art products and processes,
people can increase awareness of self and others; cope
with symptoms, stress, and traumatic experiences;
enhance cognitive abilities; and enjoy the life-affirming
pleasures of making art.
www.arttherapy.org/
Erica Curtis, MFT, ATR-BC