Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy Live Webinar Series

Registration Closed: Five-Session Introduction to the Principles and Practices of Nature-Based and Expressive Arts Approaches Starting August 5, 2021; 18 CE or Professional Development Hours

Do you know that there are 5 Universal "Movements and Rhythms" found throughout nature? How do we introduce nature-based approaches to support regulation, synchrony, and restoration of the self? What about the experience of awe and the immune system? Where does bilateral stimulation and Polyvagal theory fit into all of this? What do we need to think about with climate grief and "nature privilege?" Nature-Based 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, cultural and ecological humility, nature-based and equine-assisted therapy, and expressive arts therapy are foundational to this course.
art work by Cathy Malchiodi PhD-- collage about nature and mountain trails

Instructor(s)

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.

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/
Watch Intro Video

Video: Entrainment, Synchrony, and Trauma

A Nature-Based Approach to Regulation and Restoration

Required Course for Equine-Assisted Expressive Arts Therapy Certificate Training

This Live Webinar Series is offered as a continuing education course and also as 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. Please check back for the exact date and registration process of this Certificate training.

Course curriculum

    1. ▶️ ZOOM LIVE format: notes and tips!

    2. Walkthrough this Live Webinar Site and Its Features

    3. About Your Instructors

    4. Equine-Assisted Expressive Arts Therapy | An Introduction to Dr. Warson's Work

    5. Syllabus, Goals and Objectives of this Course

    6. Special Note About Materials and Expressive Arts Assignments!

    7. Introduce Yourself Here!

    8. Nature Images for Collage and Course Experientials

    9. More Nature Images for Collage and Contemplation

    1. ▶️ ZOOM Link and Supplies!

    2. What is Expressive Arts Therapy? A Review or an Introduction!

    3. The MSSS Model of Expressive Arts and Nature-Based Approaches: Cultural, Psychotherapeutic, Counseling, and Educational Perspectives

    4. Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy: An Introduction

    5. Nature-Based Approaches: Ecotherapy

    6. Nature Therapy: A Summary

    7. Resensitizing the Body Through Expressive Arts

    8. How Might Contact with Nature Promote Human Health? A Mini Overview

    9. Nature Therapy & Expressive Arts Therapy

    10. The Privilege of Nature During a Pandemic

    11. Climate Grief and Collective Trauma

    12. After Session One...Share Just One Thing Here

    13. Please UPLOAD an image from Today's session!

    14. Replay Part One | Cathy Malchiodi Lecture August 5 2021

    15. Replay Part Two | Elizabeth Warson August 5 2021

    16. Replay Part Three | Elizabeth Warson August 5 2021

    1. A Review: What is Sensorimotor Expressive Arts Therapy? An Integrative Approach to Trauma and Restoration of the Self via Psychology Today

    2. ▶️ ZOOM Link and Supplies!

    3. Film Presentation: Foundations of Sensorimotor Expressive Arts Therapy with Dr. Cathy Malchiodi

    4. The Five Sense Benefits of Nature: A Chart

    5. Releasing Stress Through Music: The Role of Nature Sounds

    6. Nature Sounds Research: Evidence for What Supports Wellness

    7. Be Your Own Researcher -- Sound Senses Number One: River Sounds

    8. Sound Senses Number Two: Winds Sounds

    9. Sound Senses Number Three: Singing Birds

    10. Bilateral Movement and Artmaking

    11. Evidence: Processing Sensory Experiences to Address Posttraumatic Stress

    12. Somatic Awareness Measure

    13. Measuring Somatic Awareness: Research

    14. Dysregulation Measurement

    15. Visual Journaling and Nature-Based Expressive Arts Therapy

    16. American Indian Medicine and Expressive Arts Therapy

    17. Why is Biomarker Research in Art Therapy Important

    18. Why is Biomarker Research in Art Therapy Important

    19. Warson Consent for the Use of Client Artwork

    20. Efficacy of Nature-Based Therapy

    21. Equine-Assisted Nature Based Therapy

    22. After Session Two...Share Just One Thing Here

    23. Please UPLOAD an image from Today's session!

    24. Replay Part One Lecture August 12 2021

    25. Replay Part Two of Lecture August 12 2012

    26. Native Dancers at Red Rock Canyon | Grass Dance

    1. ▶️ ZOOM Link and Supplies!

    2. A White Paper on the Experience of Awe

    3. The Positive Impact of Awe

    4. Film Presentation: The Art and Science of Awe and How Culture Shapes It

    5. 10 Indigenous Holistic Healing Practices What can Western psychotherapy learn from First Nation practices?

    6. The Calm and Connection Theory: The Instorative Impact of Nature

    7. What is Oxytocin? A Summary!

    8. Nature and Social Connectedness: Evidence

    9. Spirituality in Nature

    10. Spirals | Universal Miracle of Nature

    11. After Session Four...Share Just One Thing Here

    12. Please UPLOAD an image from Today's session!

    13. Replay Part One of August 19 Lectures

    14. Replay of Second Part of August 19 Lectures

    15. Two Gallery Photos of Participants' Images from Session Three

    1. ▶️ ZOOM Link and Supplies!

    2. Forest Bathing: A Somatosensory Bath in Nature

    3. Evidence: Forest Bathing and Therapeutic Value

    4. Indigenous Nature Connection

    5. Indigenous Wellness and Animal Assisted Therapy

    6. Are There Nature Archetypes? Evidence for 10 Types

    7. A Cultural View of the Elements of Nature: An Infographic

    8. Exploring the Concept of Mandala within Nature-Based, Expressive Approaches

    9. Nature-Based Drama Therapy from a South African Perspective

    10. Clay Re-Connection: Maria's Story

    11. Spirit of the Horse

    12. Trans-Species Art | Exploring Intersectional Views of Ecology and Environment

    13. Special Journal Issue on Nature-Assisted Arts Therapies

    14. Open Access to Special Journal Issue on Nature-Assisted Arts Therapies

    15. After Session Three..Share Just One Thing Here

    16. Please UPLOAD an image from Today's session!

    17. Replay Part One

    18. Replay Part Two

    1. ▶️ ZOOM Link and Supplies!

    2. Six-Step Model of Nature-Based Therapy Process

    3. 5 Ways Mental Health Depends on Nature and "Green Scenery"

    4. Unplug that Plasma Screen, Take Two Doses of Nature, and Call Me in the Morning

    5. Can Simulated Nature Support Mental Health?

    6. Nature-Based Guided Imagery: Evidence

    7. After Session Five...Share Just One Thing Here

    8. Please UPLOAD an image from Today's session!

    9. Replay Session Five Part One

    10. Replay Session Five Part Two

    11. Replay Session Five Part Three

About this course

  • $299.00
  • 102 lessons
  • 7 hours of video content

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 45 days after the event. We do not post the experiential portions of the event where participants are sharing experiences to protect participants' confidentiality.

  • When are the Live Webinar Sessions?

    August 5, 2021 from 12 noon-3:00 pm, August 12, 2021 from 12 noon-3:00 pm, August 19, 2012 from 12 noon-3:00 pm. August 26, 2012 from 12 noon-3:00 pm September 2, 2021 from 12 noon-3:00 pm All times are US Eastern Time/New York Time

  • 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 "Nature-Based 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.

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

    Nature-Based 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 this form of 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. 

Register Early

Join Our Expressive Arts Therapy Community

  • 00 Days
  • 00 Hours
  • 00 Minutes
  • 00 Seconds
Register Now!
  • Photo by Cathy Malchiodi PhD
  • Meme from Cathy Malchiodi PhD
  • ©2020 Artwork by Cathy Malchiodi PhD

Add Your Email to the Mailing List to Get the Latest Updates on Our Courses

Thank You