Creative Arts Therapy Careers is a collection of essays written by and interviews with registered drama therapists, dance/movement therapists, music therapists, art therapists, poetry therapists, and expressive arts therapists.
The book sheds light on the fascinating yet little-known field of the creative arts therapies - psychotherapy approaches which allow clients to use creativity and artistic expression to explore their lives, solve their problems, make meaning, and heal from their traumas. Featuring stories of educators in each of the six fields and at different stages of their career, it outlines the steps one needs to take in order to find training in one of the creative arts therapies and explores the healing aspects of the arts, where creative arts therapists work, who they work with, and how they use the arts in therapy. Contributors to this book provide a wealth of practical information, including ways to find opportunities to work with at-risk populations in order to gain experience with the arts as healing tools; choosing the right graduate school for further study; the difference between registration, certification, and licensure; and the differences between a career in a medical, mental health, educational, correctional, or service institution.
This book illuminates creative arts therapy career possibilities for undergraduate and graduate students studying acting, directing, playwriting, creative writing, visual arts, theatre design, dance, and music. It is also an excellent resource for instructors offering a course to prepare arts students of all kinds for the professional world.
About the Author: Sally Bailey, MFA, MSW, RDT-BCT, is a Professor of Theatre and Director of the Drama Therapy Program at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. She also directs the Barrier-Free Theatre for adults with and without disabilities and worked for 13 years in the Washington, DC area as a registered drama therapist with recovering addicts and with people of all ages with disabilities. A past president of the North American Drama Therapy Association, she is a recipient of their 2006 Gertrud Schattner Award for distinguished contribution to the field of drama therapy in education, publication, practice, and service and their 2018 Teaching Excellence Award.
