Department of Creative Arts Therapies at Columbia College Chicago

Today is the day!
What would Marian say?

Student/Faculty Dance Concert
Creative Arts Therapy Programs/Dance Department
Columbia College Chicago

Wednesday, July 18, 7 p.m.


You are cordially invited to attend the 19th (and final) Annual Student/Faculty Dance Concert of the Creative Arts Therapy programs, showcasing research, practice and performance as therapy.

Special community guest performers include participants from the Caring for Kids program with Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and from CONNECTIONS with Artistry of Change.

Reception to follow
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago
1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605

Please purchase tickets online to avoid lines in the lobby:
http://tickets.colum.edu/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=8454

See you tonight!

tickets.colum.edu Events, things to do, extracurricular, activities

What would Marian say?

Student/Faculty Dance Concert
Creative Arts Therapy Programs/Dance Department
Columbia College Chicago

Wednesday, July 18, 7 p.m.


You are cordially invited to attend the 19th (and final) Annual Student/Faculty Dance Concert of the Creative Arts Therapy programs, showcasing research, practice and performance as therapy.

Special community guest performers include participants from the Caring for Kids program with Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and from CONNECTIONS with Artistry of Change.

Reception to follow
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago
1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605

Please purchase tickets online to avoid lines in the lobby:
http://tickets.colum.edu/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=8454

What would Marian say if you didn't get your tickets yet?

Student/Faculty Dance Concert
Creative Arts Therapy Programs/Dance Department
Columbia College Chicago

Wednesday, July 18, 7 p.m.


You are cordially invited to attend the 19th (and final) Annual Student/Faculty Dance Concert of the Creative Arts Therapy programs entitled, showcasing research, practice and performance as therapy.

Special community guest performers include participants from the Caring for Kids program with Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and from CONNECTIONS with Artistry of Change.

Reception to follow
The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago
1306 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605

Please purchase tickets online to avoid lines in the lobby:
http://tickets.colum.edu/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=8454

tickets.colum.edu Events, things to do, extracurricular, activities

For our final Center Stage feature of 2018, we'd like to recognize the Class of 2018 as May's Center Stage spotlight! Congratulations on becoming future dance/movement therapist and the world's future game changers! We wish you success in your future endeavors!

The Center Stage spotlight for the month of April is Eve Viner. Eve is a first year student in the dance/movement therapy and counseling graduate program. About three years ago, she was on track to graduate a Bachelor of Science in Social Work with minors in Dance and Psychology. Social work seemed to be a good fit, but she wanted to find a way to incorporate the love and peace she received from dancing into helping others. That is when she happened to stumble upon Dance/Movement Therapy, and as she read article after article, she fell into deep curiosity about this profession that she have never heard of. She continued on with a research fellowship at Viterbo University, where she investigated the effectiveness of dance/movement therapy of various populations. This led to her determination to seek out programs, such as Columbia and others, to receive the education that she is currently working on today.

She was given the honor recently of receiving the
DMTC Alumni Fellowship scholarship to help aid her through her educational journey. This scholarship will help bring her one step closer to her dream occupation which is to open a non-profit arts therapy organization center called BeliEve Studios. She wants to be able to provide arts therapies back in her hometown where arts therapy options are scarce. She would want to be able to bring in clients from both hospitals within the city and other non-profits as well to provide healing that they have never had access to before. She is elated to continue this journey and keep the learning going this summer and next fall through her field placement at Jesse Brown VA Hospital and internship at Between Friends

Mindfulness Mondays: “The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.” – Pema Chödrön

Mindfulness Mondays:“You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.” – Pema Chödrön

The March Center Stage Spotlight recognizes Natiya Reggans

Natiya Reggans began her dance training at the age of three, at
Shirley’s Dance Studio and later Xtreme Dance Force in Naperville,Illinois. At these studios she has trained in the styles of ballet,tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, pointe, and hip hop. She joined the competitive dance team at age nine until the end of her high school career. She graduated from Joliet Catholic Academy’s High School, where she was on the Varsity Dance team for four years and captain her last.

Natiya continued her dance education at Grand Valley State
University, where she received her degrees in Dance and Communication, with a Business minor. While being at Grand Valley, Natiya had the opportunity to work with numerous guest artist. Natiya was president of Move to the Beat dance organization, as well as a member of the Grand Valley Laker Dance Team.

Natiya currently resides in Evanston, Illinois where she has
recently received a Master's of Science In Leadership for the Creative Enterprises at Northwestern University. Since her relocation to Illinois, She has danced in the professional Hip Hop companies CODA and The Puzzle League, as well as teaching creative movement to children, teaching at multiple dance studio's, free-lace,and commercial work related to the dance/entertainment industry.

Currently, Natiya Reggans is a second year student attending Columbia College, Chicago on a full scholarship and assistantship studying Dance Movement Therapy and Counseling. Currently she is interning at Timberline Knolls Residential treatment facility in Lemont, Illnois, as a Dance/Movement Therapy intern. Natiya plans to bridge the gap between her creative and analytical passions, as she uses movement as a form of healing to serve others. Upon graduation, she hopes after graduation are to find a residential facility where she can work as a therapist.

Mindfulness Mondays: “Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.” – Jack Kornfield

Happy Thursday! Stay tuned for our Center Stage student of the month!

Mindfulness Mondays:“Many people are alive but don’t touch the miracle of being alive.” – Thích Nhất Hạnh

Mindfulness Monday:“The best way to capture moments is to pay attention. This is how we cultivate mindfulness.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn

This month's Center Stage Spotlight recognizes Triniti Williams!

Triniti is a first year graduate student, who has several years experience in Fitness, Wellness and Dance. She has worked in the industry with artists such as Wyclef Jean, Keith Sweat & LSG, Brandee and more. She has also had some time on the screen and TV in Stomp the Yard, The Notebook and Tyler Perry’s House of Pain. As a choreographer her experience ranges from volunteering in dance for youth groups & performances, high school galas & debutante balls, dance ministries, dance & fitness workshops and movies. She has done choreography for Wyclef & the Fugess European Tour and most recently was Assistant Choreographer for Table 19, starring Lisa Kudrow, Anna Kendrick, and Craig Robinson. It is her goal to expand her experience as a performer in entertainment while enhancing her expertise with others in dance, fitness, & wellness. Triniti possesses strong customer service, sales, and management skills and has led artistic teams in dance, musical & on-camera productions, and project management.

As a Fitness & Wellness Professional, Triniti is a Level II Reiki Practitioner with over 15 years of Wellness coaching, Fitness training, Public & Motivational speaking on work life balance & healing and Lifestyle wellness consulting. Triniti is a firm believer in the Holistic approach to healing & restoration and is dedicated to championing and educating all those she encounters to build awareness and empowerment in personal wellness. Several years ago Triniti was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes which was devastating for her. However, dance and movement was her saving grace. She remained motivated to help others as she diligently worked to maintain her state of well-being and dance was at the core. This past year she again was faced with another physical challenge as she was losing sight in her left eye. Again, dance and expressive movement was at the core of her recovery.

As a DMT, it is Triniti's desire to share from her personal experience, how dance and movement enlivens the human spirit and how truly healing it is. She plans to incorporate Dance/Movement Therapy in her current field of work and is excited about the opportunity to work with various populations ranging from young children to older adults. She hopes to become a trailblazer in introducing various cultures to this amazing gift of healing through movement.

Upcoming Training Opportunity!
The Interplay Between Mental Health, Trauma, and Substance Use

When:Thursday, March 29, 2018 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Where: Northside College Prep High School
5501 N Kedzie Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625
Driving Directions

The Training Resource and Information Network's (TRAIN) Fifth Annual Symposium which will focus on the complex relationships between mental health, substance abuse, and trauma. The keynote address Slipping Through the Cracks: Intervention Strategies with Clients with Co-Occurring Disorders will be presented by Mark Sanders an international speaker in the behavioral health field and an author of five books on addiction and recovery.

Continuing education credits (CEU) will be provided for LSW, LCSW, LPC, LCPC, and PsyD. CEUs through the Illinois Certification Board, Inc. for drug treatment credentials are pending. License information is required at registration.

To learn more about this exciting event click the link below!

http://files.constantcontact.com/c5c06c90701/a5632ba5-4824-4ce4-9c8d-ad2b8b9cf6ee.pdf

Register Now!

files.constantcontact.com

Last Day for Early Bird Registration!

Movement Matters: Integrating the Body in Therapy conference marks the advent of a new era of Dance/Movement Therapy in the field of helping professions in Illinois. This very first IL ADTA conference is a platform to share information, knowledge, and research supporting the use of the body and movement and their nuanced manifestations in therapy, clinical work, and/or self-exploration. Seven CEs will be provided for LCPC, LPC, LCSW, LSW, LMFT, and psychologists.

April 7th, 8:30am - 5pm at 623 S Wabash Ave, Chicago

Early Bird Rate (by 2/28/2018): Student/ $50.00 Professional/ $100.00

http://www.iladta.org/events/conferences/

Local Conference – Illinois Chapter of ADTA

Mindfulness Mondays
“There’s only one reason why you’re not experiencing bliss at this present moment, and it’s because you’re thinking or focusing on what you don’t have…. But, right now you have everything you need to be in bliss.” ~Anthony de Mello

Reminder!

Movement Matters: Integrating the Body in Therapy conference marks the advent of a new era of Dance/Movement Therapy in the field of helping professions in Illinois. This very first IL ADTA conference is a platform to share information, knowledge, and research supporting the use of the body and movement and their nuanced manifestations in therapy, clinical work, and/or self-exploration. Seven CEs will be provided for LCPC, LPC, LCSW, LSW, LMFT, and psychologists.

April 7th, 8:30am - 5pm at 623 S Wabash Ave, Chicago

Early Bird Rate (by 2/28/2018): Student/ $50.00 Professional/ $100.00

http://www.iladta.org/events/conferences/

Local Conference – Illinois Chapter of ADTA

Mindfulness Mondays:
“If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.” ~Rabbi Harold Kushner

Movement Matters: Integrating the Body in Therapy conference marks the advent of a new era of Dance/Movement Therapy in the field of helping professions in Illinois. This very first IL ADTA conference is a platform to share information, knowledge, and research supporting the use of the body and movement and their nuanced manifestations in therapy, clinical work, and/or self-exploration. Seven CEs will be provided for LCPC, LPC, LCSW, LSW, LMFT, and psychologists.

April 7th, 8:30am - 5pm at 623 S Wabash Ave, Chicago

Early Bird Rate (by 2/28/2018): Student/ $50.00 Professional/ $100.00

http://www.iladta.org/events/conferences/

Local Conference – Illinois Chapter of ADTA

Mindfulness Mondays:
“Our lives are lived in intense and anxious struggle, in a swirl of speed and aggression, in competing, grasping, possessing and achieving, forever burdening ourselves with extraneous activities and preoccupations.” ~Sogyal Rinpoche

Mindfulness Mondays
"Mindful and creative, a child who has neither a past, nor examples to follow, nor value judgments, simply lives, speaks and plays in freedom.” ~Arnaud Desjardins

This month's Center Stage features four students and their participation in the FACT (Filipino Americans Coming Together) Conference this past November. This conference took place at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which held students worldwide to discuss topics on professional development. Through MOVED, these members created a presentation and experiential entitlesd"Treat Yo Self," which explored self-care practices, cultural identity, college stressors, and the "emerging adulthood" developmental stage. Below are short bios of each student (from far left to far right)

Grace Harmon is a first year student hailing from Philadelphia, PA. Her future DMT interest include trauma informed care. She hopes to begin this work in her upcoming internship working with immigrants and refugees in the Chicagoland area.

Bria Campbell is a second year student from Chicago, IL. Her current clinical internship focuses on inpatient and outpatient substance abuse. She is also the creator of the student spotlight initiative "Center Stage." Upon graduation, Bria plans to service adolescents suffering trauma in a mental health facility.

Christina Hudgins, originally from Southeastern Virginia, is a first year student in our program. She is currently working with children primarily diagnosed with cerebral palsy in a therapeutic dance setting. Her joy comes from teaching and guiding others to see what their bodies are capable of and how valuable their expression truly is.

Surya Watkins is a first year Philly native with a passion for dance and service. Prior to Columbia, Surya found an interest in working with hospice patients as a volunteer project. Moving towards internship, she hopes to work in a clinical setting with children on the Austism Spectrum.

Stay Tunes for February's spotlight!

Mindfulness Mondays
“We have only now, only this single eternal moment opening and unfolding before us, day and night.” ~Jack Kornfield

Happy First Week of Spring Semester!

Mindfulness Monday: “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” ~Seneca

Have a safe and Merry Christmas!

Mindfulness Monday: “It’s only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.” ~Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Mindfulness Mondays: “Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” ~Sharon Salzberg

Mindfulness Mondays
“In this moment, there is plenty of time. In this moment, you are precisely as you should be. In this moment, there is infinite possibility.” ~Victoria Moran

Beauty in the Face of the Beast: Aesthetic Responses to Violence in our Community

Please join us at Rush University Medical Center for a collaborative performance by the arts in healthcare undergraduate students, music composition, and danc/movement therapy & counseling graduate students of Columbia College Chicago responsing to violence in the community through art making.

Date: December 14,2017
Time: 10:00-11:30am
Location: Rush University Medical Center
1725 W. Harrision St., Chicago,IL
Searle Conference Center
Brainard Room 542
Fifth Floor, Elevator II

All are welcome!!!

Call (888)352-RUSH (7874) to register today.

The Center Stage Student of the Month is Alison Vodnoy Wolf!

Alison discovered dance/movement therapy through her interest in the intersection of healing and creativity. Throughout her life as an artist, she noticed how the creative process holds the potential to reorganize pain and generate pleasure; she also noticed that the creative process can destabilize those who are deeply invested in it. To this day, Alison is passionate about discovering the sweet spot of creativity that catalyzes transformation, while not undoing basic stability.

Alison grew up in northwest Indiana and studied dance and acting throughout childhood. She attended the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) at The University of Cincinnati for a BFA in Acting. Her undergraduate experience was the origin point of her interest in the destabilizing nature of creativity. She became skeptical of acting techniques that encourage actors to utilize personal memories in order to generate intense emotion onstage. She noticed that many actors experienced blurred boundaries between self and the characters they were play while rehearsing and performing a role. Alison longed for alternate routes to intense emotion onstage that do not undermine actors’ mental health offstage.

Rocco Dal Vera, one of Alison’s teachers at CCM, inspired her to further pursue training in Alba Method, which was one answer to Alison’s inquiry. Alba Method is a physical method of recognizing, inducing, and expressing six archetypal emotions. Emotions are approached through specific breath, movement, and facial patterns. Neuroscientist Susanna Bloch developed Alba Method; it has been used in actor training and in therapeutic settings to help clients explore and regulate emotion. Alison was fortunate to train in Alba Method with Susanna Bloch in 2008. Alison now has ten years of training and Level 3 certification to teach Alba Method.

Since 2009, Alison has worked as a professional actor, acting teacher, and playwright. She taught acting at the University of Cincinnati for four years. As a playwright her first original script was a one-woman show, In Rehearsal, which was recognized with two Cincinnati Acclaim Awards for solo performance and solo script. Alison toured the show to the Cincinnati, Minnesota, and Indianapolis Fringe Festivals, as well as to theaters in Chicago and Minneapolis. Alison then wrote two commissioned scripts, which were performed in 2010 and 2011 by the Know Theatre of Cincinnati. In 2012, she completed a commission from CCM to adapt James Joyce’s Ulysses into a play, which was performed by the CCM Acting Department. Altogether, Alison has written seven plays, which have been performed or work-shopped in the Midwest. Her scripts tackle subjects like s*x work, dissociation, the mythological concept of the “Underworld,” critiques of capitalism and political authority, the Oedipus myth, abortion, and the child-eating witch Baba Yaga. In 2017, Alison performed in a production of Henry V with the Chicago theatre company Babes with Blades, and became an Associate Member of the company.

From 2013-2016, Alison completed an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at Goddard College through which she researched psycho-emotional challenges unique to actors and developed exercises to support actors' mental health. In Wroclaw, Poland, she led research on maintaining the health of the actor's psyche with an international group of professional actors.

During her MFA research, Alison came across Joan Chodorow’s book Dance Therapy and Depth Psychology. This book introduced Alison to the field of Dance/Movement Therapy and inspired her to apply for Columbia College’s DMT and Counseling program in order to gain clinical training, specialization in creative arts therapies, and eventually licensure as a psychotherapist so she can support performers in the pursuit of healthy, sustainable creative processes.

Since beginning the MA program at Columbia, Alison has pursued a commitment to social justice in the field of mental health. In 2016, Alison was honored to receive the Valuing Difference scholarship from Live Oak, an LGBTQ-affirmative practice in Chicago. This scholarship enabled Alison to have a yearlong mentorship with clinical s*xologist, Rena McDaniel. Rena and Alison developed a training titled “Cultural Competence in Working with Gender and Sexually Diverse Clients” and presented this training at the 2017 American Dance Therapy Association Conference in San Antonio, TX.

The dedication to refining multicultural competence continues to inform Alison’s clinical training. Alison’s field placement was at Harborview Recovery Center, where she worked with patients recovering from alcohol and substance addictions. Alison currently works as an intern therapist at Live Oak, Inc where she serves the LGBTQ population and works with many performing artists.

Mindfulness Mondays

“Everything is created twice, first in the mind and then in reality.” ~Robin S. Sharma

On this day of gratitude, we are thankful for you! Have a safe and joyous Thanksgiving!

Mindfulness Mondays

Do every act of your life as though it were the last act of your life.” ~Marcus Aurelius