🎨 Expressive Arts & Art Therapists Working with Autistic Clients
✅ You’re Eligible If You: Are a trained Expressive Arts Therapist (or currently in training), Work with at least 2 autistic clients open to co-participation, Are open to creative reflection and personal growth, Are new to working with autistic clients or unsure how to begin--you’re especially encouraged to apply!
💡 What You’ll Gain: Collaborative art-making with your clients, Reflective journaling and interviews, FREE 16-hour training in Creative Congruence Time (CCT) (Led by a REAT / RCC / ACS with 30+ years of experience).
🌱 Benefits of Participation: Deepen your understanding of relational presence in EXA. Gain professional development in a unique, embodied model (CCT) Contribute to neurodivergent-affirming therapy practices Help elevate the field of expressive arts therapy for autistic clients.
⏳ Study Timeline & Participation: Estimated Time Commitment: 20–25 hours over 8–10 months, Flexible & fully voluntary. Pre-Training Phase: Collaborative art-making with one autistic client. Personal creative inquiry (solo arts-based reflection). One initial semi-structured interview. Begin a reflective journal (written or art-based).
Training Phase (Pacific Time): Saturday, November 8, 2025 – 8:00 AM–4:00 PM, Thursday, November 13, 2025 – 8:00 AM–4:00 PM.
Client Check-In (October 27–November 6, 2025): Therapists will choose one session to explore two guiding questions with their client: How do you experience emotional connection (a sense of connectedness) in sessions? How do you perceive therapeutic effectiveness? This includes: Rating experiences on a 1–10 scale, sharing reflections through conversation, and engaging in an arts-based response (e.g., image, movement, or poem). These reflections will be brought into the training for deeper exploration.
Post-Training Phase: Second client check-in (January 4–25, 2026). Continued journaling and personal art-making. Post-training interviews (January–February 2026). Final follow-up interviews (March–April 2026). Optional third client check-in before final interviews.
🧠 Study Title: The Role of Therapist Congruence in Expressive Arts/Art Therapy with Autistic Clients, An Art-Based, Phenomenological Exploration Principal Investigator: Ellen Eun Young Yang, Doctoral Candidate, European Graduate School 📩 Interested in Participating? Please email Ellen to express interest or ask questions: 📧[email protected]
💜 Let’s grow the future of inclusive expressive arts therapy—together. 💜
