Thursday, 10:00 am - 5:15 pm 

Session Full

Patricia Quinn, ATR-BC, LCAT
Peggy Kolodny, ATR-BC, LCPAT

This daylong master class will focus on treating adults with developmental trauma by integrating art directives with Perry’s Neurosequential Model of Therapy; a special focus will include the co-morbid conditions of dissociation and substance use disorder. Beginning with a brief overview of the bottoms-up neurobiology of developmental trauma to provide a foundational understanding, the hierarchical overlay of the Neurosequential Model and the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) will be discussed and demonstrated. The speakers, including the editor of the forthcoming book, Art Therapy for Addiction and Trauma, will also incorporate the bilateral movement component (based on EMDR principles) and examine its clinical benefits, as well. Case studies will be shown that address issues including brain injuries, relationship failure and learning disabilities. Art making with diverse materials including drawing and clay will deepen participants' understanding of why incorporating this highly integrative expressive arts approach into the treatment of these particular populations can enhance treatment significantly. For clinicians only. Participants should be prepared for an informative, fun, and creative day! 

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW; APA; SWNYS, NYOT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Please Note: This class requires a $20 materials fee for all bookmaking supplies. Those who wish to add creative content to their books during the course of the day are welcome to bring along their own simple drawing and collage materials.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NYOT, LCAT (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT, NBCC, NASW, SWNY, LMHC or APA Credits

Thursday, 10:00 am - 5:15 pm
Seats Just Added!

Shelley Kavanagh, RP, RCAT
Suzanne Thomson, RP, RCAT

In this 6-hour master class, participants will learn through lecture and hands-on experiential activities how clay can be used as a tool for nurturing and bottom-up processing in trauma-focused art therapy. We will foster awareness of the uniqueness of clay as an medium for healing through sensorimotor practices. We will also explore how working with clay can help clinicians develop Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills, such as interpersonal effectiveness and tolerating distress through containment, integration, self-soothing, and building mastery, with particular attention to themes or dilemmas such as "holding on" and "letting go." Moving beyond the treatment office and studio, we will illustrate and discuss how clients of all ages, who have experienced gender-based violence, have participated in exhibitions of their clay work, transforming their private creations into public, political expressions to effect social change.


Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW; SWNYS, NYOT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Thursday, 10:00 am - 5:15 pm

1 Seat Remaining

Gina Maguire, MSW, LSW
Jodie Berman, QDCP, CTRS

If you work with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, you have probably learned to treat the disease and not the person. But in this 6-hour master class, we will explore how to engage the person by using creative communication techniques, by reframing challenges in view of a client’s strengths, and then building on those strengths. Participants will discover how to personalize goals and leisure pursuits within each of five domains (physical, social, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual) in order to balance and enhance clients' well-being and quality of life. They will also learn to create innovative activities and interventions by blending expressive arts modalities in tandem with the tools of positive psychology. TimeSlips, for instance, is a storytelling and creative socialization technique that emphasizes what clients with dementia can do instead of focusing on skills or information that they have lost. Designed by MacArthur Fellow Anne Bastings to improve communication with people who have dementia, it can be used with individuals or in groups. These non-pharmacologic, strengths-based approaches can be used in individual and group settings, and are designed to connect with, inspire, and empower clients with dementia, their caregivers, and the healthcare professionals in their circle of support.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT, Nursing; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Thursday, 10:00 am - 5:15 pm
Co-Sponsored by Center for Journal Therapy 

Session Full — Wait List Initiated

Nancy Scherlong, LCSW, PTR, M/S

This day-long experiential and didactic master class will introduce the framework of Richard Schwartz's Internal Family Systems Model (IFS), which explores parts of self or sub-personalities in a holistic, systems-based manner, easily lending itself to exploration through written or enacted dialogues. Each of these 'parts' has a story and is born of an experience, encapsulated with somatic and emotional energy. Through acknowledging these various parts and allowing space for their stories, healing often occurs and space is created within an otherwise constricted nervous system. Generalists and specialists alike will gain a basic understanding of IFS, and experience applying the model to aspects of themselves and their clients through reflective reading, expressive and journal writing, elements of poetry therapy, and collage making. Prompts and poems will be supplied that exemplify the various parts of self along with ways to explore them expressively. Psychodramatic action methods will also be demonstrated. Participants will be encouraged to use these techniques in their clinical work within the limits of their professional capacities. No prior experience with IFS is required.

PLEASE NOTE: This master class does not substitute for formal training in either IFS or the creative arts.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT, Nursing; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Elizabeth Baring, MS, ATR-BC, NCPsyA, LCAT, LP

Thursday, 10:00 am - 5:15 pm

David Crenshaw, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S
Alyssa Swan, PhD, LPC, NCC
Nicole Allen, PhD, LPC, NCC

Play therapists often have a visceral reaction when they receive a referral of a young client exhibiting aggressive behaviors, particularly if the client is a young or teenaged boy. This daylong master class will provide play therapists and other clinicians an overview of the diverse contributing factors to the development of aggression from childhood through adolescence. We will consider ways in which boys might identify with the aggressor and manifest more bullying and aggressive behaviors than do girls. The presenters will emphasize the following practical knowledge for play therapists and others treating children and teens including: Research findings that provide the evidence that play therapy can be effective with children exhibiting aggressive behaviors; effective play therapy interventions for working with any young people who present with this problem; the dialectic of bravado/vulnerability in treating adolescents who exhibit rage; the crucial role of empathy in breaking the cycle of violence; recognizing and working through the profound sorrow and helplessness that often underlies seething rage in adolescent boys; ideas for helping youth re-channel and sublimate rage through artistic creation, play, sandtray, poetry, and verbal-expressive trauma narratives; the relevance of “stealth therapy” and narrative therapy interventions with adolescents disillusioned with traditional forms of therapy; and the delicate dynamics of hope in the therapeutic work. We will also consider the robust transtheoretical value of a “competence-based” mindset when doing this work.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW; MFT; SWNYS, NYOT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only); APT**
**APT CE only available to mental health practitioners

Thursday, 10:00 am  -  7:30 pm

PLEASE NOTE: $45 Handbook fee required. Registrants must attend all 4 days of this training.

Eligible for 8.0 Clock/Credit Hours: ATCB; SWNYS, NYOT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for NBCC or APT Credits

Thursday, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Seats just added!

Rebecca Stone

This 2-hour evening session will feature conscious breath techniques and exercises that aid in releasing trauma from the body. Research supporting breathing patterns and their impact on the nervous system/limbic brain will also be addressed. Participants will experience a group breath session, offering them a chance to unwind and calm the nervous system at the end of an information-intensive day! They will gain an understanding of how working with breath is effective in releasing trauma from the body. Participants will receive a checklist for identifying which clients will benefit from conscious breath exercises as well as a list of contraindications for practicing breathwork.

Thursday, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Erin Partridge, PhD, ATR-BC


Creative arts therapists work in a wide range of settings, including: hospitals, schools, clinics, prisons, community programs, and private practice, among others. After 50 years, these clinical disciplines are no longer "emerging" fields, and as highly trained professionals with valuable skill sets, it is important that we not be undermined or sidelined by power politics in our job searches or in our daily workplaces. In this 2-hour evening workshop, we will explore our self-perceptions of our professional identities by examining how we describe our professions, how we respond to questions about our professions and our professional roles in the workplace, and how we can advocate for ourselves and others in the creative arts therapy field. By distinguishing between strong and weak language found in creative arts therapy literature, as well as among ourselves, we will learn to cultivate professional identities worthy of our professions. By engaging in a job crafting activity, participants will have the opportunity to take an active role in their job development by creating expressive and practical job-crafting roadmaps for themselves.

This session requires a $39 fee with Summit registration, $79 without.

Eligible for 2.0 Clock/Credit Hours: ATCB; Others pending.
Not eligible for APT Credits

Thursday, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Kathleen Adams, LPC

Have any sort of modern-life anxieties? Let's take a pause, take a breath, and bust some stress! In this 2-hour workshop, you'll be given a template for a one-hour journal group on stressbusting through writing. You will be expertly guided through the experience of creating new relationships with stress through short, structured, sequenced writes. We'll talk about ways you can use this ready-made template with clients and client groups in treatment. You'll leave the workshop with a simple yet powerful tool to share with your clients, students, or group members. And you'll have a valuable, new method for your own stressbusting!

This session requires a $39 fee with Summit registration, $79 without.

Session Full — Wait List Initiated

Brigette Potgieter, LCSW
Pamela Zamel, PhD, EdM

Horses are not socialized in human niceties or stories. They are masters at responding to internal and external stimuli, not just words, and we have a lot to learn from interacting with them. In this outdoor master class, participants will work alongside horses to engage in activities that will help them to improve—through body language, breath work, and mindfulness—key skills that are essential to psychotherapy, including establishing personal safety and communicating respect. Throughout this introductory day, we'll discuss and explore the importance of the three-brain system in equine-facilitated therapy, and how it can engender comfort or distress. Together, with the horses, we will experience how the head-, heart-, and gut-brain system affects the shifts of connection and disconnection between Self and Other, confirming that connection is a co-created, embodied experience between Self (therapist) and Other (horse or client). We will practice a number of body-based, equine-therapy techniques—including nondescriptive tracking, conscious aligning, and purposeful regulation—that will enable us to build more resilient relationships in our daily clinical work. As Linda Kohanov, equine therapist and author, suggests, “Think of your body as the horse that your mind rides around on.”

Please Note: Session will be held at the HorseAbility Center for Equine Facilitated Programs on the Old Westbury campus of SUNY. There is an additional $50 facility fee. Bring layers, including boots and gloves, for this active—and potentially wet and muddy—outdoor experience. Indoor space available in case of seriously inclement weather.

Registrants will be responsible for their own travel to the site, but roundtrip travel by the Long Island Railroad (the Ronkonkoma line) to the Hicksville, NY, station can be easily reached from Penn Station (34th Street between 7th & 8th Avenues), and we will travel together from there. Roundtrip fare (not included with registration) runs approximately $25.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT, Nursing; SWNYS, NY OT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Eligible for 12.0 Clock/Credit Hours (6.0 Clock/Credit hours per day): NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

In this daylong master class, we will explore the integration of art therapy principles with Schwartz's internal family systems therapy model (IFS). The goal of IFS is to build internal cooperation and increase "Self-leadership" using eight internal resources: calmness, curiosity, clarity, compassion, confidence, courage, connectedness, and creativity. Art is incorporated to facilitate expression, depict the healing journey, and enhance the clinical work. Discussion of how art therapy integrates with IFS within therapeutic contexts will be examined with emphasis on Jungian theory, particularly the concepts of Active Imagination and Self. An introductory video will illustrate the concepts of IFS, and case material will demonstrate how the presenter has applied expressive arts to the IFS process with individuals and groups in treatment. Participants will engage in collage and clay activities to explore their own internal parts and Self, and discover first-hand how this process could be used in a variety of clinical settings with a variety of populations. We will practice dialoging and unblending among parts, which will allow for a somatic understanding of the concepts. IFS essentials will be taught, so no prior knowledge of this approach is needed. Since the art is likely to stir an emotional response, self-care is advised. The speaker, a Level 2 IFS practitioner and art psychotherapist, will encourage mindful breathing and brief meditative states that can be taught to clients using this method. Session participation limited to clinicians only.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT, Nursing; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Friday, 10:00 am - 5:15 pm
Session Full — Wait List Initiated

Dana Wyss, PhD, LMFT, ATR
Pamela C. Robertson, PsyD, LMFT

Aggression towards self and others usually serves to gain, regain, or maintain control, so a trauma-responsive approach is key when working to de-escalate this behavior. Recent studies regarding adverse experiences in childhood have demonstrated the impact of early trauma not only on clients, but also on their families in later years as well as the helping professionals who support them. Unfortunately, many therapists, parents, and teachers have come to rely on reactive methods of behavioral management that often perpetuate aggression. This unproductive cycle can further impact attachment and the capacity for self-regulation. In this 6-hour master class, we will begin with a brief review of the concepts of fight, flight, freeze, and fawning. Next, we will explore activities that address the capacity for self-control, illustrating the difference between responding and reacting. Finally, the facilitators will guide participants through creative art activities that support symptom management and de-escalation of aggression in response to common symptoms like depression, frustration, fear, and anxiety. We'll demonstrate effective art-based approaches that can be used with individuals and groups, and explore how to establish sustainability, comfort, and safety while doing this work. Sufficient time will be allotted for questions as well as case and group discussion.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, NYOT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Friday, 10:00 am - 5:15 pm

Josie Abbenante, ATR-BC, LPAT

Pioneer art therapist Janie Rhyne defined Gestalt art experience as “. . . making art forms, being involved in the forms you are creating as events, observing what you do, and hopefully perceiving . . . yourself.” She taught us as therapists to listen, to focus, guiding us—through a process of describing—toward an understanding of the dialogue between art and Self. She knew the gift of staying with the artwork, trusting it in order to heighten the capacity for insight and transformation in treatment. For instance, when working with clay, she taught us to listen to, not analyze, the form. Rhyne insisted on using touch to perceive what cannot be experienced with the eyes. In this 6-hour master class, we explore Rhyne's methods for working with clay in treatment and, by further investigation through reflective writing, find the dialogue between clay and the hands to expand the metaphors that arise and enhance our work as clinicians. We'll also refer to the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) for guidance of when and how to use clay in treatment with clients. No prior clay, therapeutic writing, or Gestalt experience is required. Experientials will involve wedging and working with wet clay, so participants should wear appropriate clothing.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT, Nursing; NYOT, SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Note: Strictly limited to 10 participants. Sells out annually.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, MFT; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Friday, 10:00 am - 7:30 pm

Lisa Hope, ATR-BC, LADC, LCAT, MAC, CASAC, CRPA

The CCAR Recovery Coach Academy^© is a 4-day (30-hour) training intensive, offered at the Summit in partnership with the Center for Addiction Recovery Training of the Connecticut Community for Addiction Recovery (CCAR). This Summit-long comprehensive curriculum provided in a retreat-like setting focuses on providing participants with the skills needed to guide, mentor, and support clients who would like to enter into or sustain long-term recovery from an addiction to alcohol, opioids, sex, gambling, shopping, and other addictive substances and behaviors. The role of the Recovery Coach and the components, core values, and guiding principles of recovery will be explored in depth. Active listening skills, methods of inquiry, and ways to self-manage will be emphasized. Through didactic and experiential exercises, this training intensive will empower participants to support clients in recovery to share their stories, manage wellness through the stages of recovery, and enhance their relationships. Dynamic expressive arts therapies activities will be demonstrated and experienced, and cultural, political, ethical, and boundary issues will be addressed.

Certification from the Recovery Coach Academy^© is a nationally recognized designation. Successful completion of this training earns participants 30 NY State OASAS-Approved CASAC hours toward CASAC, CPP, and CPS re-credentialing. 

PLEASE NOTE: $45 Handbook fee required. Registrants must attend all 4 days of this training.

Eligible for 8.0 Clock/Credit Hours: ATCB; SWNYS, NYOT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for NBCC or APT Credits

Eligible for 2.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT, Nursing; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only); APT**

**APT CE only available to mental health practitioners

Saturday, 9:00 - 5:00 pm

Saturday, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Session Full — Wait List Initiated

Sarah Vollmann, MPS, ATR-BC, LICSW
Sharon Strouse, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT

Throughout time, dolls have been imbued with the wishes, fears, and hopes of their creators, and have been powerful talismans of transformation. In this daylong master class, we will delve into the clinical possibilities of doll making in the treatment of grief and traumatic loss. The class will be strongly anchored in meaning reconstruction, as well as in attachment-informed grief therapy. Art therapy dolls will be presented as valuable vehicles for the telling and reworking of one's narrative of loss, and for the exploration of an identity that has been impacted by grief. The dolls will also be viewed as important transitional objects that can help to support an ongoing connection with the deceased. Working with a muslin doll form and a variety of other provided materials, participants will have the opportunity to tailor the doll-making directive as they see fit, either for commemorating a lost loved one or to create a symbol of self. The group will discuss the potential for using this process in a variety of clinical settings with individuals and groups, particularly in the treatment of bereaved patients of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Sewing skills are not required.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, MFT; SWNYS, NY OT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Saturday, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Session Full — Wait List Initiated

Charlotte Reed, BFA, MSW, MA, ATRP

In this 6-hour master class, participants will learn about the use of wet felting in clinical treatment. The hands-on, felt-making process engages the body in movement, stimulates sensations, and invites sensory play, while the mindfulness work brings focus, calm, and clarity. Starting by working with ancient felt-making techniques, while being led through a visualization exercise, participants will then join in group discussion about how that process can be integrated into other types of creative activities and expression. These mind-body connections enhance overall well-being, and provide a gentle and supportive container for daily clinical work. The Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) provides the theoretical model/structure for how the kinesthetic and sensory nature of this process can provide pathways to healing, which will be highlighted in the didactic component of this session. These experiences are particularly well-suited for work with older adults and those with visual impairments. Participants will also be taught how to adapt these techniques to be portable and accessible so that they can be used by clinicians of all types outside the studio or art room, and with a variety of populations.

Eligible for 6.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, NYOT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Saturday, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Co-Sponsored by Kint Institute
Session Full — Wait List Initiated

Ani Buk, MA, LP, LCAT

Infant research has taught us that human beings are endowed with the ability to translate perceptual information from one sensory modality into another. In this 3-hour workshop, participants will refine and expand their capacities to attune to and organize the chaos that is the hallmark of embodied traumatic experience. By observing, translating, and discussing the symbolic expressions of trauma survivors created in art therapy sessions, psychotherapists from all disciplines will gain a more three-dimensional awareness of their own clients' responses to complex trauma. The presenter will introduce a simple but powerful multimodal process she created with dance therapist Amber Elizabeth Gray, The Four Quadrants of Connection, which clinicians can use to clarify their understanding of the transference/countertransference continuum with current or past clients. This tool and process allow pain, vulnerability, and alienation to be linked to resilience, empowerment, and connection. Participants will leave this session with the capacity to personalize this process and illuminate clinical material in most any therapeutic setting.

Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Saturday, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Session Full

Deborah Armstrong, PhD, LMFT, RPT-S, REAT, REACE

In addition to being practiced in worldwide cultures throughout history, working with dreams has been a pathway to the unconscious in psychotherapy since its earliest days. This is likely because dreamwork offers a rich opportunity for creating transformative change through the use of imagery and metaphor. Participants in this 3-hour workshop will learn basic skills in focusing-oriented dreamwork, which will be extended through intermodal/multimodal expressive arts practices. These practices can be used by counselors and psychotherapists to further healing in treatment. In particular, working with dreams by incorporating expressive arts approaches can provide a particularly effective format for working with those who have experienced trauma and adverse life experiences. Since trauma survivors are at risk for suffering from severe and chronic nightmares, working with their dreams in these ways can reduce these occurrences, as well as improve other aspects of daily life and facilitate well-being. Additionally, participants will learn about the ethical guidelines that inform dreamwork in treatment with trauma survivors. No prior dreamwork experience is required.

Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Saturday, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Session Full 

Becky Jacobson, LPC, ATR, LMT

Clients do not always respond to traditional talk therapy after the death of a loved one. Yet understanding how grief affects us emotionally, physically, and as a whole person is crucial to healing holistically, and many bereaved individuals have found relief through artistic self-expression and mindfulness practices. In this 3-hour workshop, participants will explore concepts of grief and loss, and will practice applying breathwork, therapeutic artmaking, as well as grounding and centering techniques within a group context. Participants will experience firsthand how artmaking can be used as a vehicle for connection, honoring, and healing, and will witness its use as a metaphorical language to aid communication. In addition, mind-body practices will be demonstrated in a way that increases overall awareness, regulates physical and emotional symptoms, and helps to establish equilibrium. These creative and mindful modalities help to integrate the body, mind, and creative self in the healing process, and are enhance healing potential throughout the grief journey.

Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only); APT**
**Play therapy credit will not be awarded to non-mental health professionals.

Saturday, 12:50 pm - 1:40 pm
Featured Topic: Arts Therapies and the Law

SESSION FULL

Patrick S. Thurman, MA, JD. LLM, LAC, ATR-BC, CSAT


Artists often modify and appropriate each others' work; this probably happens in music even more frequently than in art, as we know from high profile lawsuits citing copyright violation. What confuses the matter, however, is the "Fair Use" doctrine, which is a defense that allows an "infringer" to make limited use of the original author's work without asking permission. Expressive art therapists are constantly making or prescribing collages, storyboards, or SoulCollage® cards that require pulling images from magazines, books, or the internet. While it might not seem like that big of a deal to most of us, re-using these images (even "just" for therapeutic artmaking) could actually constitute an infringement of copyright—and there is growing legal action occurring regarding this type of violation. Consider this: Art therapists, for instance, often display "borrowed" or "transformed" photos, images, and clinical artwork on their websites. Visual media companies such as Getty Images, Inc. are capable of tracking unauthorized use of their copyright-protected images resulting in demands to cease the infringement and demanding substantial fees. Fortunately, art therapists and their clients who "repurpose" these images are afforded a modicum of copyright protection if the image was transformed into a "new" creation if the base image disappeared as a result of the creative process.  Join us at this 50-minute lunchtime lecture to learn more about this growing concern, and to consider the question: "What constitutes sufficient transformation of "found" images to overcome the original artist's copyright protection?"

Saturday, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Session Full — Wait List Initiated

Mia de Bethune, MA, ATR-BC, LCAT

In this 3-hour workshop, we'll illustrate and engage in several book-related activities for use in treatment, along with related theory and guidelines for working with clients of various ages and abilities. For instance, accordion bookmaking teaches sequencing and mastery to school-age children; altered books give adolescents a chance to act out their fierce individualism while maintaining privacy for exploring fantasy; and journal making provides a safe, expressive structure for adults experiencing life transitions or loss, as well as for those who seek a format for life review.  Together, we will discuss and experience the benefits of handmade book-related practices with clients, using bookmaking, collaged-book techniques, and mindfulness journals—all excellent ways to create "transitional spaces."  Whatever your mental health discipline, book-related techniques such as these can enhance treatment with individuals and groups in your practice.  Though not typically associated with these activities, strong sensations and emotions may sometimes occur.

Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, MFT; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Saturday, 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Session Full

Deborah Armstrong, PhD, LMFT, RPT-S, REAT, REACE

In addition to being practiced in worldwide cultures throughout history, working with dreams has been a pathway to the unconscious in psychotherapy since its earliest days. This is likely because dreamwork offers a rich opportunity for creating transformative change through the use of imagery and metaphor. Participants in this 3-hour workshop will learn basic skills in focusing-oriented dreamwork, which will be extended through intermodal/multimodal expressive arts practices. These practices can be used by counselors and psychotherapists to further healing in treatment. In particular, working with dreams by incorporating expressive arts approaches can provide a particularly effective format for working with those who have experienced trauma and adverse life experiences. Since trauma survivors are at risk for suffering from severe and chronic nightmares, working with their dreams in these ways can reduce these occurrences, as well as improve other aspects of daily life and facilitate well-being. Additionally, participants will learn about the ethical guidelines that inform dreamwork in treatment with trauma survivors. No prior dreamwork experience is required.

Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Saturday, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm  

Join Us to Celebrate Our First Decade!

After nine years of planning for everyone else, the Summit staff is taking the evening off to celebrate themselves and the extraordinary event they have nurtured for the creative arts in healthcare community. We’ll gather at Paul’s on Times Square, where we’ll have the restaurant mostly to ourselves. This will allow us to toast each other, reminisce, and laugh a lot. There’s also another big birthday to be celebrated.

We welcome all Summiteers to join us there, raise a glass, read a poem, sing a song, or just relax and enjoy a tasty prix fixe dinner in a gracious setting with our Summit superstars. Several members of the Summit community will provide musical entertainment, and interested others should contact us.

Plated 3-course dinner, select in advance, beverages not included. Happy Hour pricing at bar until 7 pm. 
Tickets $49 (includes tax and gratuity) available in advance only, not onsite. Seating is strictly limited to 50, guests welcome.

Click HERE to view menu options. Dinner orders will be solicited via email from all advance ticket purchasers. 

 
         

 Just a short stroll down Broadway or from the Times Square and Bryant Park 42nd Street Stations  

Sunday, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Sunday, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Digital Arts, Social Emotional Skills, Middle School: Classes and Counseling

Martha Rand, LCSW, SSW CGP, ACSW

Today's middle school students are constantly critiqued for having their heads buried in some kind of screen. With change and challenge being hallmarks of their lives, what if there was a way to use these digital devices to help them navigate making the decisions that will create their futures? Social-emotional-learning curriculum is being implemented in many school and clinical settings, and by teaching its accompanying skills through students' devices, we have found a relevant medium to support their healthy development. In this 90-minute workshop, participants will learn techniques for using digital devices in classes or with groups and individuals to enhance their awareness, foster social-emotional learning, develop character, and improve behavioral health. By getting hands-on practice with your own screens, you will be able to use these digital arts skills in your treatment with clients of all ages and varied abilities.


Digital Graffiti & Journaling in a Mobile Adventure Game for Resilience-Building in Teens

Sheri Sobrato Brisson, MA
Kevyn Eva Norton

Teens and young adults facing serious and chronic illnesses need a way to make sense out of their challenging health experiences. Fostering connection through gameplay and uncovering creative means for self-expression can support their emotional resilience. The Shadow's Edge is a free game that is an effective, accessible way to work with teens through the media they use and understand: games on their phones. Digital games, designed to be therapeutic, can potentially reach adolescents who do not typically respond to traditional approaches as a means of enhancing emotional health. For this 90-minute interactive workshop, participants will need a smart phone as we familiarize you with the Shadow's Edge. You will learn about the research behind the game, the results it boasts, and additional ways that game content can be incorporated into individual and group therapy. By the end of this workshop, not only will you have played the Shadow's Edge game, but you will also have garnered additional tools and exercises, like using digital graffiti stencils and journaling prompts, to deepen clients' work and further extend their resiliency resources.

Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, NYOT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT Credits

Sunday, 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

Just Added!

Jessica Koblenz, PsyD
Sandra Veigne, MD
Jen Jurek, Improvisational Coach

Serving a low socioeconomic population that is racially and ethnically diverse, the partial hospitalization program at Harlem Hospital supports clients with serious and persistent mental illness, particularly chronic psychosis. Attending multiple groups a day for months or years on end, these clients become disinterested with treatment, and the stigmatization they experience exacerbates their isolation. And when this occurs, they become less likely to comply with their medication regimens or basic activities of daily living. By introducing improv comedy games, engagement in the treatment program increased, as did socialization and solidarity within the peer group. This 3-hour workshop, based on an empirically designed study comparing an experimental improv comedy group to a "treatment as usual" support group, will be taught by the multidisciplinary team who directed the treatment and study, and will introduce participants to this novel and effective approach to enhancing clinical work with the chronically mentally ill. And you don't have to be funny to attend!

Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, NYOT, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only)
Not eligible for APT credits

Sunday, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Marshall Lyles, RPT-S, LPC-S, LMFT-S

Most expressive therapists are familiar with the benefits of working with the sandtray therapy format. Using symbolic miniatures within a sand-filled "arena" has proven highly effective in working with clients in individual play therapy and other treatment disciplines across all developmental stages with a wide variety of issues. Not everyone knows that is is also possible to do sandtray work with group and families. For play therapists, arts therapists, or others who would like to expand their sandtray therapy practice, this 3-hour workshop will illustrate and demonstrate how the work is introduced, modified, and managed when applied to group-specific interventions. Participants will learn how to execute those adaptations while maintaining the integrity of the sacred space endemic to sandtray practice, including dealing with the varied metaphors and interactions when more than one “hand” is involved in the sandtray scenario’s creation. Advanced play therapy reflecting skills will enable participants to understand how to keep group work moving forward, even in clinically-challenging moments. This session is appropriate for practicing clinicians only.

Please note: Participants working with sandtray may experience strong emotions, but grounding and containment strategies will be continually highlighted and practiced in this didactic and hands-on workshop.

Eligible for 3.0 Clock/Credit Hours: NBCC, ATCB; NASW, APA, MFT; SWNYS, LCAT, LMHC (New York State only). APT****APT CE only available to mental health practitioners

The ending phase of clinical work is just as important the beginning, but can often be rushed or superficial. Perhaps this is because the termination process is fraught with complicated feelings. Whether anxiety, depression, anger, or grief, even the most “well-earned” or “planned” ending to treatment can be stressful for both mental health professionals and their clients. In this 3-hour workshop, we will describe, demonstrate, and discuss how imaginal and figurative language function as a structure for stimulating and processing imagery, symbols, and metaphors. This helps to engage clients more actively and meaningfully in the process of termination, with the added potential of attaining a more fulfilling closure. Tangible takeaways are developed through this creative arts and play-based process, and clients will leave the therapeutic relationship feeling supported and empowered—which can be much more beneficial in the long term than the typical verbal farewell. Participants in this workshop will learn through lecture and drawing activities how neurobiology sets the stage for, then is enhanced by, creative approaches leading to expressive, transformative farewells with clients of all ages, abilities, and cultures in a variety of settings.

Human trafficking is a pervasive and growing issue around the globe, yet it receives relatively little attention. This 3-hour workshop will provide information about the contemporary anti-trafficking movement, who gets trafficked, where and how victims of trafficking become ensnared by exploiters, and what survivors can expect to encounter on the road to freedom. We will discuss questions of how economics, race, and gender figure into varying types of trafficking. There will be time to focus on issues related to aftercare, and what it takes for a survivor to rebuild a life. Mental health professionals of all disciplines and interests will gain a working knowledge of this challenging and complex clinical work that, unfortunately, remains somewhat of a mystery to many therapists. Opportunities for creative activities, which incorporate movement, music, and art and can be used with clients from identification through all treatment phases, will be presented. We'll also address working with psychological and sleep distress in survivors of human trafficking, using mindfulness and grounding exercises. The impact on clinicians who work with this population will be discussed, with suggestions for self-care.