Antioch University Seattle Drama Therapy Program
Posted on Friday, January 27th, 2012
New Drama Therapy Concentration Strengthens Options for Students
Antioch University Seattle’s M.A. in Psychology with Drama Therapy concentration is on track to become one of only four such programs in North America. The new program strengthens the therapeutic options that psychology students have as clinicians. AUS launched the new specialization in the fall of 2009 with nine students all working toward an M.A. degree in Psychology. The students are seeking a dual specialization either i
n Drama Therapy with a Mental Health Counseling (MHC) or Drama Therapy with Couple and Family Therapy (MFT). Drama Therapy, like the AUS Art Therapy concentration, is an expressive therapy that clinicians can use to help clients achieve emotional and physical integration, personal growth and symptom relief. The curriculum at AUS can include improvisation, puppetry, role-playing, mask work, theatrical production, psychodrama and even community-based theatre. Currently, there are 17 Drama Therapy students spread among three cohorts.
In 2011, Bobbi Kidder, M.A., RDT, BCT, became the new leader of the Drama Therapy program at AUS. Kidder became a Registered Drama Therapist in 1984. She has been a member of the NADT board of directors and currently serves on the board of the Drama Therapy Fund. Before coming to Seattle, Bobbi was an instructor at Rogue Community College and was founder/ Executive Director of Southern Oregon Impact Theatre where she integrated drama therapy into community outreach as well as heading several international projects, and writing ImaginAction, a collection of theatre games with a therapeutic focus. In 2011, she received the David West Seventh Generation Diversity Award for her work.
“For me, working at Antioch with caring professionals and vibrant students brings a sense of creative momentum to this important work,” says Kidder. She remembers being introduced to Drama Therapy and realizing that “it holds a wide embrace. Drama Therapy is inclusive and acknowledges that in every occupation, every concern, every tragedy, there is potential grist for learning.”
After the first cohort of students graduate, AUS will begin the approval process for the program from the National Association of Drama Therapy. Drama Therapy is a three-year curriculum leading to licensing in MHC or MFT as well as registration as a drama therapist with this dual specialization. Graduates will have the skills they need to work in a variety of settings including hospitals, schools, community centers, prisons and private practice. These are also the settings in which AUS students will serve internships that will last a minimum of four quarters.
A few examples of ways that Drama Therapy students intend to apply their training include Johannys Acevdedo, an international student from Puerto Rico, who hopes to work in Uganda with “child soldiers”; Christina Berger, who is interested in working with anorexic teenagers; Maureen Sullivan, who as a volunteer at Seattle Children’s Hospital hopes to work with children who are cancer patients; Christi Proffitt intends to incorporate drama therapy into business communities to foster better communication and more openness, and Maggie Yowell continues to gain skill in the practice of Psychodrama.
Commenting on his direction in drama therapy, Wilder Nutting-Heath says, “Because of Antioch’s Drama Therapy program, I am able use my training to educate and counsel men on issues of intimacy and masculinity through the lens of drama therapy. Antioch has been very supportive in cultivating my specific interests, as well as providing me with the necessary training and skills to be competitive in the counseling field. I have now found my voice as a writer, artist, and counseling professional.”
Drama Therapy student Lashon Watson is currently involved in his MA internship. Reflecting on how his Antioch education has prepared him for a career, he said, “The M.A. in Psychology – Drama Therapy with Mental Health Counseling at Antioch University awakened my aspirations to integrate creative arts and psychology into my future endeavors.”
Plans are underway to utilize seed money from a Chancellor’s grant to celebrate the creative arts and share this message among the five campuses. The Drama Therapy students and faculty will be instrumental in bringing that program together this spring. “We hope this will be among the traditions we continue to offer the wider community,” says Kidder.
