Course Description

This course provides an overview of the essential ethics and legal issues in working with traumatized children, with an emphasis on expressive arts therapy, art therapy and play therapy principles. Participants will complete in quizzes including multiple choice and matching, short responses to course material, and expressive activities to learn and explore key principles. This 6 hour continuing education culminates with a comprehensive quiz related to ethical practice of arts and play-based approaches with children.


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.

Institute Faculty

Cathy Malchiodi, PhD

Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT, ATR-BC, REAT holds a doctorate in psychology and is a licensed and board-certified art therapist and mental health counselor and has published numerous books, chapters, and articles in the field of art therapy including, Trauma and Expressive Arts Therapy: Brain, Body, and Imagination in the Healing Process, Creative Interventions with Traumatized Children, Breaking the Silence: Working With Traumatized Children, and Understanding Children's Drawings, which are standards in the field. She has trained counselors, therapists, and teachers throughout the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe. In 2011, Cathy founded the Trauma-Informed Practices Institute to meet the need for professional education in the use of arts therapies, expressive therapies, mind-body approaches and resilience-building in trauma integration and recovery for children, adults and families. You can learn more about Dr. Malchiodi at her website https://www.cathymalchiodi.com/

Course curriculum

  1. 1

    • About Your Instructor

    • Welcome!

    • An Overview of Syllabus, Goals, and Content

    • Walkthrough Your Course and Its Features

    • Reference List
  2. 2

    • A Brief Overview of Expressive and Creative Therapies

    • Play Therapy Film

    • Art Therapy Film

    • Quiz Instructions

    • Ace this Quiz! Review of Art, Play, and Other Expressive Therapies
  3. 3

    • A Summary of Expressive Arts and Play Therapy Ethics Codes

    • Play Therapy Best Practices Document (2020)

    • Artistic Assignment: Let's Pretend You Are a Child Client

    • Submit Your Drawing Here

    • Feedback: Three Ethical Considerations | Short Written Assignment

    • Three Ethical Considerations

    • American Counseling Association and Other Ethics Codes
  4. 4

    • Art Therapy Credentials Board [ATCB] Code of Ethics

    • Feedback: Brief Response to Ethical Code

    • Ace this Quiz: Art Therapy Professional Practice

    • Scope of Practice in Expressive Arts Therapy, Play Therapy and Art Therapy
  5. 5

    • Ethics and Children's Art Expression: Child Abuse and Neglect

    • Children of Darfur: The Smallest Witnesses

    • Feedback: Drawings as Admissable Evidence

    • Your Short Written Response

    • Final Thoughts on Darfur and Drawings as Evidence

    • The Convention on the Rights of the Child
  6. 6

    • Children, Ethics and the Internet Age

    • A Facebook Fan Page for Your Private Practice?

    • The Brain and Digital Technology: How Devices and Social Media Impact Us Across the Lifespan

    • Feedback: Facebook and Social Media-- Ethical Issues

    • Your Response [Short Answer] to Social Media and Ethics

    • After Posting Your Feedback
  7. 7

    • Play Therapy Ethics: Best Practices and Touch

    • Play Therapy Best Practices

    • Play Therapy and Touch

    • Ace this Quiz: Play Therapy Best Practices
  8. 8

    • Using Expressive Arts and Play in Disaster Relief with Children

    • Feedback: Expressive Arts and Play Therapy in Disaster Relief: What Do You Think?

    • Response to Using Expressive Arts and Play Therapy in Disaster Relief

    • More on Disaster

    • DART Center Document

    • Trauma Survivors and Posttraumatic Play
  9. 9

    • Cultural Competency, Ethics, and Children

    • Artistic Assignment: Time to Draw!

    • Upload Your Drawing Here

    • Feedback: What Does Your Drawing Tell You About Your Cultural Background

    • Short Written Response: What Does Your Drawing Tell You About Your Cultural Background?
  10. 10

    • Final Exam

    • Final Exam Instructions

    • Final Exam

    • You are almost finished!

    • Final Evaluation

    • Certificate of Completion Qualification

    • Certificate of Completion