Course Title: Diversity in Creative Arts Therapy Practices

Part A: Course Overview

Course ID: 010145

Course Title: Diversity in Creative Arts Therapy Practices

Credit Points: 12

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
PUBH1318	City Campus	Postgraduate	360H Education	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 2 2006

Course Coordinator: Ms Gerry Katz

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 54650

Course Coordinator Email: gealdine.katz@rmit.edu.au

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

PERF2037 and OTED2096 – studied within the Creative Arts Therapy Program.

Course Description

This course aims to provide opportunities for understanding the use of creative arts therapy in diverse situations and with diverse groups and communities. It examines the construction of cultural identity and difference, as well as the cultural, gendered and political contexts in which people experience illness or distress, or care for others. The course affords the student opportunities to re-examine theoretical knowledges, which apply to practice settings, to investigate arts therapies in the community, and to experiment with individual diverse approaches to creative processes.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

It is expected that as a student, you will be able to:
(a) Analyse the cultural narratives of people’s lives and the impact of these on their expressive needs across the lifespan.
(b) Design creative arts therapy programs for selected age groups and people from diverse cultural and/or special need backgrounds.
(c) Enact, embody and integrate concepts and practices of cultural safety as they feature in creative arts therapy practice
(d) Examine and reflect on your own creative processes as these relate to work with clients with diverse needs.

Overview of Learning Activities

A variety of teaching / learning experiences will be used including interactive lecture, group discussion, experiential exercises, field work, studio experimentation, and peer feedback and assessment. Students will have opportunities to participate in small group discussions and to participate in feedback sessions. Creative arts activities in the form of experiential studio workshops will be used to both enhance the learning experiences and to maintain a focus on the therapeutic use of the arts. Many of the conceptual frameworks are contained in the literature, which is set out as required, or suggested reading, provided or directed. Field Work will engender interactions with professional arts therapists and current practices.

Overview of Learning Resources

REQUIRED READING:
Course Readings and Selected Articles.
Students are expected to review the arts therapies literature, (journals and texts) which discuss arts therapy approaches and uses with specific client groups.

Overview of Assessment

E. ASSESSMENT
The assessment for the course takes the form of a submitted portfolio, and will contain materials as follows
Field Work Report
Literature Review
Peer -assessment
Self Assessment of Learning