Circle of Capacity Meets Expressive Therapies Continuum: Advanced Expressive Arts Therapy Practices

Join Us Live on Webinars or "You Do You" and Watch the Replays at Your Convenience. Fifteen (15) CE or PD Hours Included in Certificate of Completion.


We are excited to offer this updated version of the Circle of Capacity/Advanced Expressive Arts Therapy Practices webinar series! In this "short version" (75 minute sessions for five consecutive weeks) we will emphasize and integrate the Expressive Therapies Continuum as a source of expressive approaches that are brain-wise and body-based. You can join us live or watch the replays after each session (you have access to the course for 365 days after the final session).

The series will also integrate the MSSS Model of Expressive Arts Therapy-- Movement, Sound Storytelling, and Silence (Self-Regulation). We will introduce the various approaches to body mapping; facilitating and working with feeling and "mind" states; the role of resilience and supporting wellness in body and mind [in individuals and ourselves] through expressive methods and using the Circle of Capacity and the ETC framework to support enlivenment, self-efficacy, mastery, joy, curiosity, and empowerment.

Participants will learn and practice skills in the following areas and more:

  • "Circle" Journaling as a process for restoration, sensory exploration, and healing;
  • Why sensory integration and expressive arts therapy go together to support health and recovery from stress and traumatic stress;
  • Body mapping (and there are many great studies on this approach) as sensory processing, somatic therapy, and resilience-building;
  • Building a Wellness Wheel for health and well-being;
  • An introduction to Bilateral Movement and Drawing;
  • Feeling States/Mind States and "Maps of Subjective Feelings" to explore body-mind connections;
  • Building a "Tree of Life" and integrating narrative therapy and creative writing;
  • And applying the MSSS Model, Circle of Capacity, and the Expressive Therapy Continuum in your work with individuals of all ages, families, groups, and communities.


No prerequisite required! If you did not take the Introductory course (Expressive Arts Therapy 101 or home study Foundation course), you can still join this series. All our courses are self-contained and you can begin anywhere in the sequence.

The new hybrid format opens up lecture content videos for your viewing a week before each session. The scheduled live Zoom meeting provides guided & interactive expressive arts experientials on Tuesdays from 12:00pm to 1:15pm Eastern Time/New York Time. You can watch the lecture content on your own time, either before or after the scheduled live Zoom session, and complete the experiential portion along with us live or continue to participate asynchronously by watching the replays of this portion, too! Live Webinar Meetings on:

October 21, 2025 (EDT)

October 28, 2025 (EDT)

***Please note change to EST here! Check your local time for these dates, as this may change for your time zone translation!

November 4, 2025 (EST)

November 11, 2025 (EST)

November 18, 2025 (EST)


These meetings are live and recorded; you will be required to upload a brief assignment to complete each session. You will need to complete a course evaluation after completing the five sessions in order to receive your Certificate of Completion.

This course is a "drip format"-- the contents are available each week and we constantly add new resources in the form of films, downloadable documents and protocols, links to articles, and more. Each section has a module where you can share your impressions and images, connect with other participants, and network with colleagues around the world.

Open to learners who want to integrate expressive arts and sensory-based practices in their work-- counselors, creative arts therapists, psychotherapists, coaches, educators, body-based and somatic facilitators, and more. Welcome to our global community of participants throughout the world!


Continuing Education Information

Counselors/National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6557. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC are clearly identified. Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 

Art Therapy Credentials Board [ATCB]. The ATCB recognizes a variety of CEC activities, including those in the areas of professional and mental health counseling. These activities are clearly outlined in their recertification standards provided to all ATR-BCs in their recertification year and on their website. A minimum of six CECs must be earned in the area of ethics each cycle. If you are licensed as an art therapist in your state, please check with your state board to verify what types of CEC activities are acceptable for license renewal.

California Marriage and Family Therapists, Social Workers and Professional Counselors. As of July 1, 2015, the State of California /Board of Behavioral Sciences [BBS] amended its regulations for continuing education providers to include National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC) as a "board-recognized approval agency." If you are licensed as a marriage and family therapist, social worker, educational psychologist or professional clinical counselor in California, NBCC Approved Continuing Education Providers are recognized by the BBS to fulfill continuing education requirements. As of July 1, 2015, required CE hours can be accumulated through self-study and distance learning. 

International Expressive Arts Therapy Association [IEATA]. Many participants go on to apply for the REAT or REACE credential with IEATA and use our expressive arts therapy coursework to do so. Please check with IEATA to make sure you are meeting their current requirements for registration and let us know if you need additional information to help you qualify.

Psychotherapy and Counseling Fedration of Australia [PACFA]. Many of our Australian participants indicate that these hours are accepted by PACFA---Psychotherapy and Counseling Federation of Australia. Please check with PACFA to verify this and let us know if you require any additional information for this organization to qualify your professional development hours.

Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association [CCPA]. Many of our Canadian participants indicate that these hours are accepted by CCPA for certain professional development requirements. Please check with CCPA to verify this and let us know if you require any additional information for this organization to qualify your professional development hours.

CPD hours [Professional Development] are currently in the application stage. We also welcome teachers to this course; please contact us for additional information.


A Brief and Personal History of the Expressive Therapies Continuum

Enjoy this Video!

Institute Faculty Cathy Malchiodi PhD

Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT, REAT is a research psychologist, a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist, and a licensed mental health counselor and licensed professional art therapist. She is the executive director of the Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute and is an investigator with the US Department of Education, integrating trauma-informed expressive arts into classrooms. She has also worked with the Department of Defense since 2008 to bring expressive arts therapy programming and psychotherapy to combat military and their families and Veterans with posttraumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. Dr. Malchiodi studied with Francine Shapiro and is qualified in EMDR Level I and Level II. Cathy has assisted more than 500 agencies, organizations, and institutions in developing trauma-informed programming including the United Nations, Department of Defense, Kennedy Center, Harvard, MIT, and Johns Hopkins University. An international presenter and workshop leader, she given over 750 invited keynotes and workshops throughout the US, Canada, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia. She has authored 21 books, including the bestselling Trauma and Expressive Arts Therapy: Brain, Body, and Imagination in the Healing Process and Handbook of Expressive Arts Therapy. Her books have been translated in over 20 languages. A life-long learner, Dr. Malchiodi's latest research and practice includes sensory processing and neurodiversity affirming models of psychotherapy to address trauma through expressive approaches to intervention.

Instructor(s)

Institute Faculty | Supervisor Emily Johnson Welsh

Emily Johnson Welsh, EXAT, REAT, LPAT-S, ATR-BC, LPCC-S, RYT  has over 16 years’ experience providing expressive arts therapy support and developing resources in trauma-informed approaches and integrative wellness. She is a graduate of Lesley University’s Expressive Arts Therapy and Mental Health Counseling program in 2008 and is a licensed and board-certified art therapist, licensed clinical counselor supervisor, registered expressive arts therapist and a Yoga Alliance Registered teacher. As faculty for the Trauma-informed Expressive Arts Therapy Institute for over 10 years, she brings a current knowledge of expressive arts and body-based approaches that focus on building resilience and community. She provides technology-assisted distance supervision for those working towards the EXAT, EXA-CE, REAT (Registered Expressive Art Therapist), ATR (Registered Art Therapist), and LPAT (Licensed Professional Art Therapist in Kentucky).  Emily’s accomplishments in the field include presentations at conferences for the American Art Therapy Association, Buckeye Art Therapy Association, Kentucky Association for Play Therapy, and International Expressive Art Therapy Association;  authoring and co-authoring chapters in the book Art Therapy and Healthcare (Guildford Press, 2013) ; co-designing and co-facilitating the online artmaking workshop  “Art Therapy + Happiness Project;"  being awarded "Cure Champion" by the American Cancer Society for my accomplishments in bringing expressive art therapy and yoga programming to families fighting cancer. Most recently, Emily enjoys balancing her expressive arts therapies private practice, Art Yoga Love, LLC, serving children, families, and adults, with yoga studio ownership and teaching! She is also enamored with being outside, animals of all sorts, the wonders of parenting, and hopes to never stop finding gratitude in these daily adventures.

Instructor(s)

Institute Faculty | Supervisor AriAnna Carroll, LMHC, REAT, EXAT

Ari is a licensed mental health counselor, registered expressive arts therapist, and an EMDR certified provider. She is a certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator and is working towards completing all levels of training in the Oaklander Model of Gestalt Play Therapy. Since graduating from the Expressive Arts Therapy Program at the University of Louisville in 2004, she has supported groups and individuals of all ages in a variety of settings including schools, residential care settings, in-patient treatment centers, rehabilitation programs, and out-patient mental health therapy settings. Ari is currently in private practice, the first in Iowa to put expressive arts therapy at the heart of client care. She specializes in providing youth and family-based services, in addition to working with adults that have an interest in resourcing expressive arts. Ari offers technology-assisted supervision for those working towards the EXAT, EXAT-CE, and REAT (registered expressive arts therapist), encouraging growth through supportive dialog, inquiry into theory and approaches, and active practice of expressive arts modalities. As a life-long percussionist, she has a special interest in integrating rhythm and sound oriented approaches into therapy. As parent to a neurodivergent child, she is invested in continued learning relating to neurodiversity affirming practices and advocacy. She enjoys exploring the relationship between expressive arts therapy, neuroscience, and sensory-oriented insights, and how this informs practice that encourages wholistic engagement, integration, and healing. Her accomplishments include creating community-oriented therapeutic expressive arts programming for adults and youth, supporting those with interest in private practice development, certification in Rhythm 2 Recovery, a therapeutic method that integrates rhythm and reflection for social emotional health, and partnering with schools in support of neurodivergent children and families, serving as co-creator and facilitator in presentations and support groups for parents/caregivers of twice-exceptional youth within her community. Ari creates harmony between practice and play with her family, pursuing outdoor adventures and shared creative outlets, appreciating the journey ahead of the destination.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF TRAUMA-INFORMED EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY

Click to Watch a Brief Film Presentation!

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