***NEW DATES FOR 2021***

We will continue to offer the following programs in-person for 2021:

1.  Expressive Arts Training - Level One Certificate, January - June 2021

January 15-17
February 6 & 7
March 6 & 7
March 27 & 28
May 1 & 2
May 29 & 30



2.  Expressive Arts Training - Level One Certificate Immersion, Calgary, AB

First Immersion Dates:  April 9 - 16, 2021
Second Immersion Week:  July 4 - 10, 2021


3.  Expressive Arts Training - Level Two Certificate (2 classes offered in 2021!!)

June 11 - 24, 2021

June 11 - Friday 

June 12 - Saturday 

June 13 - Sunday

June 14 - Monday 

June 16 - Wednesday

June 17 - Thursday 

June 18 - Friday 

June 19 - Saturday 

June 21 - Monday 

June 22 - Tuesday 

June 23 - Wednesday 

June 24 - Thursday 

August 4 - 17, 2021

August 4 -Wednesday

August 5 - Thursday

August 6 - Friday

August 7 - Saturday

Day Off - August 8

August 9 - Monday 

August 10 - Tuesday

August 11 - Wednesday 

August 12 - Thursday

Day Off - August 13th

August 14 - Saturday 

August15 - Sunday

August 16 - Monday

August 17 - Tuesday

**Please contact Carmen at carmenr@telusplanet.net for further information or registration.

Training Program Changes 2020 - 2021

Please note that there have been many changes to the training programs due to the impact of the pandemic on gatherings of all kinds.  Change.  And so, we have made changes.  The current Level One Certificate will be completed on-line.  The remainder of programs will be postponed until 2021.  Going with the flow of change has not been without grief and challenges.  Change invited me to hold close the following words by Danna Faulds in her poem,

ALLOW

There is no controlling life.

Try corralling a lightning bolt,

containing a tornado. Dam a

stream, and it will create a new

channel. Resist, and the tide

will sweep you off your feet.

Allow, and grace will carry

you to higher ground. The only

safety lies in letting it all in—

the wild with the weak; fear,

fantasies, failures and success.

When loss rips off the doors of

the heart, or sadness veils your

vision with despair, practice

becomes simply bearing the truth.

In the choice to let go of your

known way of being, the whole

world is revealed to your new eyes.

Introductory Workshop in Expressive Arts

One Day Workshop in Expressive Arts

Friday, October 2, 2020

-an experiential day of expressive arts for therapy, education, and community building
-excellent introduction for therapists, child care workers, nurses, social workers, psychologists, art therapists and educators
-an opportunity to personally explore how the arts may be used both individually and in group format 

Date: Friday, October 2, 2020
Time: 9:30 - 4:30
Location: 57 Bearspaw Summit Place
Cost: $175 on or before September 7, 2020 and $195 after
To Register:  carmenr@telusplanet.net

One Day Workshop in Dance Movement Therapy

ONE DAY WORKSHOP IN DANCE MOVEMENT THERAPY
with Dr. Marja Cantell

The Moving Body:  Applications of Dance Movement Therapy into your Expressive Arts Practice

Date: Saturday, March 28, 2020
Time: 9:30 - 4:30
Location: TBA
Cost: $170 (e-transfer to email below) on or before March 1, 2020 and $195 after March 1st.
To Register or for further info: carmenr@telusplanet.net

Come join Marja for this one day refresher/introductory workshop in dance movement therapy.  Whether you are looking to refresh your skills or this is your first taste of dance movement therapy, you are welcome!

The primary goal of the day is to experience for yourself, how to apply dance/movement with different client groups.  The day is based on the idea of a creative movement cycle: beginning from a range of warm ups, witnessing movement qualities, choosing suitable themes and finding a shared ending for your own sessions. The day will empower you to tune into each person’s unique choreography and how the creative movement process can be applied in the context of an Expressive Arts practice. 

Marja Cantell, PhD Psychology (University of Lancaster, UK), Postgraduate Diploma in Dance Movement Therapy (Roehampton University, UK) and Postdoctorate in Human Movement Science (UWA, Australia). Her multidisciplinary research on motor development and research capacity building among health care professionals has been published for example in Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy, Canadian Art Therapy Association Journal, Research in Developmental Disabilities and Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports. In 2000, she was a co-founding member of the Finnish Dance Therapy Association. For many years, she danced in MoMo Dance Theatre in Calgary, Canada. Since 2010 she lives in the Netherlands and works as Assistant Professor in Inclusive and Special Needs Education at the University of Groningen, and as research coach and teacher in the Master of Arts Therapies, Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam. In her private practice she applies the concept of ‘Movement for All’ (www.movementcantell.com).

FINAL YEAR FOR LEVEL 1 & 2 EXPRESSIVE ARTS PROGRAMS

Prairie Institute of Expressive Arts Therapy 

Announces:

FINAL YEAR FOR 

LEVEL 1 & 2 EXPRESSIVE ARTS PROGRAMS

Prairie Institute of Expressive Arts Therapy was born in 2008 in response to the need for expressive arts training for both therapists and facilitators of expressive arts.  We have offered over 26 Level 1 & 2 programs in the past 12 years.  It has been such an honour to be able to have worked with passionate local trainers who have brought their expertise to our programs.  We have had students attend our programs from across Canada, the USA, and abroad, including Hong Kong and Egypt.  

This program has been for me a dream come true.  To be able to design a training program from a framework that I believe whole heartedly in.  The arts bring a richness to the healing world that is unique and powerful.  And yes, one must experience it personally to "know" the power of this kind of healing process.  

The year 2020 brings many changes.  One of the main changes is that 2020 will be the final year that the Level 1 & 2 programs will be offered.  There is still space in the programs at this time.  You can contact me directly if you have any questions about the programs.  carmenr@telusplanet.net

There will continue to be offerings made from Prairie Institute, so do stay tuned to see the "unfurling" of new and exciting trainings, workshops & retreats.  

Thank you trainers for bringing your best to the students over these years:  Marilyn Magnuson, Jennifer Buchanan, Marja Cantell, Connie Allcock, Karen Daniels, Dara Dines, Rosann Whale, Andrea Halwas, and Mallory Minerson.

Thank you students for saying yes to your call to the expressive arts path and trusting Prairie Institute for your learning.  Thank you for filling our spaces with images, sounds, poems, and embodied creative works of all kinds!  

Thank you to all the graduates of Level 1 & 2 for bringing the message and spirit of the arts out to your communities.  I have been deeply moved and inspired by the witnessing of the gifts that each student has brought to our trainings.  These I will miss most:  the heart to heart connections that are cultivated over the course of the training;  the witnessing of the deepening belief in their gifts; and the "showing up with love".  

One of PIEAT's trainers (thank you Rosann) sent me this following poem, Continue by Maya Angelou, in response to learning the news of closing the Level 1 & 2.  It has deep meaning for me and I believe touches the hearts of many....

Here is to a year of openings, closings and inspired change of all kinds....

Carmen Richardson
carmenr@telusplant.net

Prairie Institute's first graduating class in
Expressive Arts Training: Level One Certificate
2008 - 2009

NEW ADVANCED* TRAINING!

CHARTING A COURSE:
NAVIGATING AND ACHIEVING SAFE TRAUMA PROCESSING
THROUGH THE EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPIES

Carmen Richardson MSW, RSW, RCAT, REAT

**This advanced training is for practitioners who have attended the 3 Day Body-Focused Expressive Arts Therapy for Traumatized Children and Adolescents.

In this 2-day experiential and didactic training, participants will be presented with:

• Clinical case studies 
• Current theory related to trauma work, including Polyvagal Theory for trauma therapy
• The opportunity to develop clinical skills essential to trauma-informed practice
• A brief overview of Carmen’s Stage Model of Trauma Processing (as outlined in her book)
• Specific Expressive Arts Therapy interventions designed to support trauma processing with a focus on Phase Three of the model
• An exploration into the “Therapist’s world view” as it is related to trauma processing
• A deeper look at developing effective stewardship skills to mitigate against a therapists experience of being exposed to secondary trauma.
• The experiential learning component will provide:
• An invitation and opportunity to work with personal experiences to illuminate trauma-informed processes and support clinical skill development in the application of the Expressive Arts Therapies.

**This training will be offered in small group format (6-12 participants) to ensure optimal experiential learning.

Training Dates:  February 28 & 29, 2020
Cost: $495 on or before February 1, 2020 and $535 after 
Location: 57 Bearspaw Summit Place
For further information or to register:  carmenr@telusplanet.net

One Day Workshop in Expressive Arts

Friday, March 6, 2020

-an experiential day of expressive arts for therapy, education, and community building
-excellent introduction for therapists, child care workers, nurses, social workers, psychologists, art therapists and educators
-an opportunity to personally explore how the arts may be used both individually and in group format 

Date: Friday, March 6, 2020
Time: 9:30 - 4:30
Location: 57 Bearspaw Summit Place
Cost: $175 on or before February 8, 2020 and $195 after
To Register:  carmenr@telusplanet.net