Equine-Assisted Expressive Arts Therapy™ Live Webinar

Three-Hour Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Equine-Assisted and Expressive Arts Approaches on Friday, March 21st, 2025; 3 CE hours or Professional Development Hours. Note: If you are registered for the on-site training on March 28 and 29, 2025 at TROT Arizona, Tucson, AZ , this webinar is included in your registration fee for that event at no additional cost!

From Dr. Elizabeth Warson: "As an avid rider and a descendent of horse and mule trainers, I know firsthand the healing power of a horse and herd behavior. However, my journey as an equine specialist, and now an equine-assisted psychotherapist, evolved from the expressive arts. This combination of equine and expressive arts is a healing art in itself culminating in a co- and self-regulatory sensorimotor practice, resulting in transformational meaning making experiences. My own drawing practice as child–literally on any surface–signaled to my artist, writer, and horse-riding grandmother that art would be a pathway to my career as an expressive arts therapist.
What has unfolded in my practice, since 1997, is the integration of expressive arts and therapeutic riding for residential treatment centers in the form of process groups; the use of phototherapy techniques to create personal narratives from therapeutic riding/groundwork experiences with youth offenders, individuals diagnosed with TBI, sensory processing disorders, acute stress disorder, ASD, and PTSD. However, for me, equine-assisted expressive arts therapy as an embodied “felt sense” experience emerged from our collaborative programs that were “situated” in indigenous communities: this approach reaffirmed the healing aspects of “bottom up” interventions. As a result, sensorimotor exploration and hemispheric integration across the midline (bilateral stimulation) comprise the foci of the equine-assisted expressive arts therapy approach with respect to regulatory processes, for example, response artwork (painting, clay, nature art), mindfulness-based and bilateral movement, visual journaling exercises, fiber art (felting, weaving), and sound (humming, drumming, singing)."

Instructor

Institute Faculty | Supervisor

Elizabeth Warson, PhD

Elizabeth Warson, PhD, ATR-BC, LPC, NCC, EMDR III, EXAT, EAP II, is a trailblazing force in the integration of equine-assisted therapy and expressive arts. As the founder of American Indian Art Therapy, her work stems from extensive faculty research at George Washington University and Eastern Virginia Medical School. Currently based in northern Colorado, Elizabeth operates Healing Pathways LLC, where she combines EMDR with art and horses, drawing on her expertise as a certified EMDR practitioner and consultant, Registered Art Therapist-Board Certified, certified Eagala professional and an EquiLateral trained equine-assisted EMDR therapist. As a faculty member at the Trauma-Informed Practices & Expressive Arts Therapy Institute, Elizabeth teaches both in-person and online courses focused on polyvagal-informed, equine-assisted, nature-based, bilateral stimulation, and sensorimotor-informed expressive arts therapy. Her research interests span stress and pain reduction interventions for Native American cancer survivors, culturally responsive practices, and trauma-informed methods. Her significant contributions include receiving a 2010 National Endowment for the Arts grant for her community-driven Coharie Heritage Empowerment Project, emphasizing cultural preservation. Elizabeth’s academic journey includes a BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art, an MA in Art Therapy from Vermont College, and a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from Colorado State University. She has presented extensively at regional and national conferences, focusing on medical art therapy and culturally-responsive interventions, and has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Recently, she co-authored E.Qi: Equine & Expressive Arts Inspired Qigong with collaborator Sifu Kurtis Tilley. In addition to her therapeutic work, Elizabeth is a professional artist whose sculptural pieces have been exhibited both nationally and internationally, earning her an Ohio Arts Council fellowship award. Her multifaceted approach bridges art, counseling, and equine therapy, creating impactful experiences for individuals and communities alike.

Required Course for Equine-Assisted Expressive Arts Therapy Certificate Training

This Live Webinar is offered as a continuing education course and also as optional hours if you are completing the EXAT or EXA-CE designations with our Institute. However, it is also part of the Equine-Assisted Expressive Arts Therapy Level One Certificate with Dr. Elizabeth Warson; this training is a separate live, on-site course that will be offered once or twice a year. Please check back for the exact date and registration process of this Certificate training.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Will there be recordings that I can watch after the Live Webinar Sessions?

    Yes-- we record the lecture portions of the events for replay and you can watch them for 120 days after the event. We do not post the experiential portions of the event to protect participants' confidentiality.

  • Will I receive a Certificate of Completion?

    Once you complete all the required sections of the course site, you will automatically receive a Certificate of Completion for "Equine-Assisted Expressive Arts Therapy Live Webinar Series." To qualify for Level One of Equine-Assisted Expressive Arts Therapy Training with Dr. Elizabeth Warson, additional training sessions are required on site with her. More information will be posted shortly on how to register for this learning opportunity.

  • If I do not currently provide Equine-Assisted Therapy, why should I take this course?

    Equine-Assisted approaches are increasingly becoming part of work with trauma survivors as well as other individuals with various challenges. Gaining a deeper understanding of these approaches is important to all practitioners who work with individuals with traumatic stress. Various approaches found in Polyvagal Theory, sensorimotor and bilateral stimulation methods, and expressive arts therapy are foundational to equine-assisted treatment.

  • Does this course count toward the EXAT and EXA-CE designations?

    Yes, of course! This is great opportunity to add to your knowledge of how expressive work can be integrated with equine-assisted work and understand the principles that support this integration.

Continuing Education

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. 

Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors. Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute is an Approved Continuing Education Provider by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors. Our Texas Provider Number is 2318.

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. 

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