Expressive Therapies Australia - Expressive Therapies

ONE-DAY TRAININGS IN REDCLIFFE / BRISBANE

Please ask for detailed flyers and Registration Forms

Morning and afternoon refreshments provided. BYO lunch.

ONE DAY TRAINING: Monday 19 June, 2023 9am - 4.30pm $265

Expressive Therapies in Trauma Recovery with Young Clients

A practical workshop to introduce the methods and frameworks of Expressive Therapies, and provide hands-on experience, theory, some research and case stories of counselling distressed and traumatised young clients. There will be a focus on the care needed in supporting those with long-term emotional problems or who are affected by trauma, prolonged duress stress disorder or post-traumatic stress disorders.

Topics covered: trauma-informed care; expressive activities for young clients; use of therapeutic writing; use of miniatures (Symbol Work); role-play for a stronger self; use of relaxation; matching treatment to types of trauma victims; the evidence base for using client-centred, activities-based approaches.

VENUE: 137 Sutton St., Redcliffe. Trainer Dr Mark Pearson. Fee: $265. For further details please refer to flyer, and for the Registration Form call Mark 0419 492 713 or email: info@expressivetherapies.com.au

Thursday 17 August, 2023 9am - 4.30pm $265

Introduction to Symbol Work

Catalysts for Therapeutic Conversations

A practical workshop using projective techniques developed in Australia over the last thirty years by mark and Helen, the founders of Expressive Therapies Australia. Learn to use a collection of miniatures to support clients to open up, symbolise their inner world, talk about self and resolve issues. Symbols can be used to increase communication, activate creativity, clarify cognition, process emotions and enhance problem-solving. In this innovative program you will gain confidence in using miniatures with art, with movement, with life narratives, with emotion-focused processes, and with somatic awareness.

VENUE: 137 Sutton St., Redcliffe. Trainer Dr Mark Pearson, 17 August, 2023. Fee: $265. For further details please refer to flyer, and for the Registration Form call Mark 0419 492 713 or email: info@expressivetherapies.com.au

Friday 18 August, 2023 9am - 4.30pm $265

Music, Metaphor & Movement in Counselling

Creative arts support for clients of all ages

Music can help us access personal metaphors associated with both implicit and explicit aspects of the psyche. The creative arts have been identified as one way to increase emotional intelligence. In this highly experiential one-day program, you will explore multiple ways to support clients of all ages to interact with music to foster deeper self-awareness and enhance emotional intelligence.

We will explore responding to recorded music through visual arts, movement and selections of miniatures. You will also explore rhythmic and movement-based strategies that integrate body awareness and spontaneity, to support client wellbeing, reflection, communication and relaxation. Other activities include: guided imagery through music, emotional memory responses to music, and using rhythms for emotion processing. The skills of selecting music suitable for therapy will be discussed.

Recorded music and music-making have been used as central elements in ET to support times of self-reflection, inner connection, as well as for emotional activation, emotional release, for relaxation, creative expression and celebration. Once aware of your own responses to music and its effect on your mood, motivation and energy, you will better understand how a client might receive sounds.

VENUE: 137 Sutton St., Redcliffe. Trainer Dr Mark Pearson, 18 August, 2023. Fee: $265. For further details please refer to flyer, and for the Registration Form call Mark 0419 492 713 or email: info@expressivetherapies.com.au

Friday 13 October, 2023

Expressive Therapies in Cognitive Behavioural Approaches

Creative arts for linking sensations, emotions, thoughts and actions

In this one-day experiential professional development workshop you will learn multiple creative arts-based and mindfulness ways to support clients' self-awareness and discover how their sensations, emotions, thoughts and behaviours are linked. The focus will be on Expressive Therapies additions to the therapist's toolkit, including therapeutic writing, use of art, use of miniatures and somatic focus. The multiple ways ET can support integrative CBT approaches will be discussed. A number of worksheets created by the directors of ETA will be provided for: functional analysis, articulation of beliefs, problem solving and goal-setting. Relaxation activities as supports for anger management wil be explored.

Friday 16 February, 2024

Finding Freedom from the Inner Critic

Increasing Self-Compassion

This highly practical training offers creative arts-based and self-reflective approaches for identifying and disempowering automatic negative thoughts critical of the self. The Expressive Therapy tools of visual art, symbol work, self-discovery worksheets, emotion-focused role-play and dialoguing with parts, will be introduced. Along with mindfulness and self-compassion practice, we will explore understanding of, and separation from, self-criticism. This day for therapy professionals, while focused on supporting adult clients, provides much that can also be applied with younger clients.

VENUE: 137 Sutton St., Redcliffe. Trainer Dr Mark Pearson. Fee: $275. For further details please refer to flyer, and for the Registration Form call Mark 0419 492 713 or email: info@expressivetherapies.com.au

2024 Dates to be announced

Working Through Anger and Frustration

Expressive Therapies with Young Clients

This highly experiential introductory day will model practical ways of dealing with anger, frustration, and the disruptive acting-out of children and adolescents. Expressive Therapy tools such as drawing, bioenergetics, emotion-focused activities and relaxation will be introduced. As well as presenting the framework and principles of Expressive Therapies, there will be a focus on understanding symbolic expression of anger, bringing closure after expressive work and supporting cognitive and somatic integration.

These approaches have been developed from emotion-focused and psychodynamic theory, and use creative arts approaches to support young clients to resolve underlying emotional issues impacting negatively on behaviour and cognition.

2024 dates to be announced

Introduction to Expressive Therapies

Creative Arts-based Approaches to Counselling with Children

This highly experiential training day will provide an overview of Expressive Therapies and introduce the main modalities. It will give practical assistance in using some of the methods with children and adolescents. The day will focus on helping clients contact, recognise, release and communicate about the feelings that may be impacting on behaviour, relating and learning. Expressive Therapies provide support for young clients affected by grief and loss; those at risk of depression, relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, and developing behavioural difficulties. There will be new ways to use drawing, writing, self-discovery worksheets, role-play, self-awareness, bioenergetics and emotional release processes.

Not currently scheduled

Enhancing Self-Care & Interpersonal Effectiveness

Expressive Therapies & Mindfulness Approaches for Therapists

This program reviews the need for self-care to maintain optimal clinical effectiveness and avoid compassion fatigue and burnout. Topics covered will include: how to recognise signs of impending burn-out, and individual and organisational actions to reduce the risks.

A combination of organisational, mindfulness-based and creative arts responses to self-care will be explored, including increasing workload flexibility, simple and quick mindfulness time-out activities, use of reflective self-compassion journaling, visual arts, relaxation techniques and increasing time with nature.

Not currently scheduled

Spirituality & Transpersonal Awareness in Counselling

Enhancing Client Communication through Expressive Therapies

Help your clients accept, value and communicate their existential questions and spiritual quest. This highly experiential workshop includes practical ways of supporting your spiritual self-exploration as a therapist and your therapeutic work with adult clients. There will be discussion on the relationship between religion and spirituality, and how an individual search for meaning can contribute to wellbeing.

The Expressive Therapies of using writing and art for self-reflection, symbol work, visualisation, and mindfulness will be explored. Along with some of the core concepts and history of Transpersonal Psychotherapy, there will be some practical ways of introducing meditative practice. The evidence-base for including spirituality in counselling will be reviewed.

Not currently scheduled

Navigating Resilience Pathways

Expressive Therapies to build client strengths

The APA identifies ten basic pathways to build resilience. It is notable that all these pathways could be navigated more effectively with counselling support, and equate to some of the core aims and activities of strengths-based counsellors. This workshop presents the ways counsellors act as guides, models, teachers, collaborative strategists; and provide a caring therapeutic relationship from which clients' resilience levels are bolstered.

Five central Expressive Therapies activities for counsellors to build client awareness of strengths and resilience will be introduced. Finding the most effective activities to suit each client is at the heart of pluralistic practice, and in conjunction with finding clients' multiple intelligences strengths, can lead to enhanced resilience in the face of life's challenges.

The five therapeutic activities explored in this program include:

Enhancing therapeutic connections through use of image and symbols

Supporting timeline life reviews

Helping clients find their natural intelligence strengths

Recognising, exploring and applying strengths

Gaining support through creative arts resources