The Drama Therapy Institute of Los Angeles
All classes are held on Zoom, and might offer a hybrid in-person option for local students. Please contact your instructor to explore in person options.
Core Classes
Research, Assessment and Treatment Drama Therapy (3 units)
Dates: January 20, 27, February 3, 10, 17 and 24, March 3, March 10
Time: 12:00 am to 5:00 pm (PST)
Possible Change of Earlier Start Time (depending on participants)
Cost: $899
Facilitator: Pam Dunne, Ph.D, RDT-BCT, NT
Participants explore research practices and relevant drama therapy and creative arts
assessments such such as the Role Playing Test, Six Piece Story Making, Tell a Story, Role
Profiles, EPR, 6 Keys, Family Puppet Interview, Communicube, and more. They also
examine evidenced based, narrative, and practice based research approaches and identify a
drama therapy topic of interest for research. A short research paper or proposed plan for a
pilot study will conclude the course.
One to Three Day Classes
Authentic Movement In Exploring Mind Body Connection (7 hours/CE’s)
Dates: January 22 and 29
Time: I2:30 pm to 4pm (PST)
Facilitator: Pam Paulson MA, LMFT, RDT, NT, Authentic Movement Practitioner
Participants will explore authentic movement to promote self-expression and healing through
mindful body listening and the discovery of ways to reawaken essential mind-body
connection and deepening empathy with self and others. Witnessing practices
involving expressive arts will also be explored and application made to educational
and therapeutic settings.
Drama Therapy with Adolescents (7 hours, .5 unit)
Date: February 26
Time: 10:30 am to 6:00 PM ( PST)
Facilitator: Cynthia Kelvin
Drama Therapy with Adolescents (7 hours, .5 unit)
This course explores how drama therapy and other expressive arts therapy techniques can
be utilized in the treatment of adolescents. Participants will be introduced to drama and
expressive arts interventions for some common presenting issues among adolescents, such
as anxiety, depression, exploration and formation of identity, and challenges associated with
both peer and adult relationships. Relevant research findings, theoretical orientations, and
case examples will be discussed. Through experiential exercises using projective tools and
embodied expressions, participants will explore practical and potential applications of drama
and other expressive arts in assisting adolescent clients in developing emotion regulation
skills, adaptive coping, and pro-social skills while cultivating a healthy self-image.
Drama Therapy with Indigenous Populations (7 hours/ CE’s)
Date: March 5
Time: 8:00 am to 3:30 pm (PST)
Facilitator: Renda Dionne Madrigal, PhD, RDT, NT
Required for Narradrama Training
Participants will learn and practice specific drama and creative arts interventions (based on
Narradrama) to deepen understanding of the intergenerational impact of history,
colonization, and oppression on Indigenous communities, health, and well-being, apply
embodied mindfulness-based compassion practices that can be used by providers to work
with obstacles to care such as internalized oppression and compassion fatigue, and develop
an understanding of the relationship of cultural practices such as storytelling and arts to
activism and healing. By practicing these approaches, participants will increase the possible
methods of therapeutic intervention and communication
Exploring Birth and Motherhood through Poetry and Drama Therapeutic Methods (7 hours/CE’s)
Dates: February 5 and 19
Time: 9 am to 12:30 am (PST)
Cost: $169
Facilitator: Terhi K. Korkiakangas, Ph.D, CL. Hyp
Life in utero and the experience of birth shape us, leaving subconscious and somatic imprints in our lives. Participants will learn about exciting research on prenatal parenting and how the earliest attachment bond begins in the womb, and explore the stories of their own births, the births of their babies, and the ancestral narratives of birth in their families, including birth trauma, loss, and the cultural silencing around grief in motherhood. Through a range of published poems about birth and motherhood, and using creative exercises from drama therapy and meditation, participants may awaken dormant memories, uncover stories beneath stories, shift perspective, affirm intuition and inner wisdom, and rewrite an empowered version of birth focusing on acceptance, healing, and appreciation. Participants will take away creative approaches to support other moms and babies in pregnancy and beyond.
Winter semester registration form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfG-isJxXrk1PpRVRqi2GkpVDHyuiEaHCsXnziFY2UdJkhr1w/viewform