This module introduces collage as a transformative art therapy modality, effective in the treatment of traumatic loss. Collages are works of art created from the pages of magazines. Images and words are cut and/or torn, altered, arranged and glued onto paper or cardboard.  This “therapy of the imagination,” is particularly well suited as a sense making tool in a world suddenly challenged and changed by the coronavirus pandemic.  This non-verbal creative approach weaves together art therapy based theory and practices with current grief and bereavement theories such as Neimeyer’s Meaning Reconstruction, Worden’s Task Model of Bereavement and Rynearson's Restorative Retelling Model. Case studies include collage images created by the presenter in response to the suicide of her daughter, as well as images created by the bereaved. An experiential component will provide learners with an opportunity to explore and express an internal landscape and piece together a personal and/or professional experience of loss. 

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Conceptualize the collage process and product through a Meaning Reconstruction focus on the event story and back story narrative;

• Identify questions that support a creative process grounded in Rynearson’s Restorative Retelling;

• Describe three creative interventions that support grief work, anchored in Neimeyer’s framework of bracing, pacing and facing; and

• Identify  three creative process “Brass Tacks” that support sense making, benefit finding and identity reformation.

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Note:  Completion of this program (total 3-hour activity, including approximately 90-minute recorded webinar and 90-minute collage making and reflection) and return of the Responsive Journal satisfies 1 Practicum Module required for Certification in Art-Assisted Grief Therapy.

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PROGRAM CONTENT

This program contains the following video segments:

1. Working with the Fragments: Architecture of the Sessions (26 mins)

2. Putting It All Together: Case Studies in Traumatic Loss (29 mins)

3. Diving In: An Experiential Exercise (23 mins)

4. The Art of Collage: Guidelines for Practice and Processing (23 mins)

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COURSE PACK CONTAINS...

• A PDF copy of the presentation slides​;

• Detailed instructions for the use of therapeutic collage;

• Recommended guidelines for orienting clients to the work and questions to prompt processing of it afterward; and

• The Responsive Journal that, upon completion and return, confers 1 credit of Practicum Module leading to Certification in Art-Assisted Grief Therapy.