Expressive Arts Therapy
Bachelor of Arts Major & Minor
An Alzheimer’s patient listens to music from their past and starts to form words they haven’t uttered in years. A wounded soldier creates a sculpture to sort through a traumatic incident on the battlefield. An abused child paints a picture to share the pain they cannot communicate in any other way. All are methods of expressive arts therapy, and they are vital tools in psychological treatment.
The expressive arts therapy major emphasizes the creative process as healing. You’ll integrate psychology, social work and the expressive arts, such as music and art, while exploring the cultural, historical, and global context of these artistic expressions. Through this program, you’ll learn the creative processes that help individuals improve their well-being – psychosocial, emotional, physical, and neurological.
Why Expressive Arts Therapy at Warren Wilson?
- A Better Approach: Our unique approach allows students to develop expertise in the arts, psychological theories, and therapeutic modalities.
- Hands-on Practice: You have immediate opportunities to practice skills throughout your time at WWC with community-engaged courses and practical work on campus crews.
- A Key Location: Asheville’s rich culture of arts and social justice means that you are in a great position to connect with a variety of professionals and agencies where you can put their knowledge, skills, and energy into action, promoting wellbeing for individuals and positive change for our community.
Every student will complete community-engaged coursework, an internship, and original research as part of their major
A Sample of Our Partnerships
- Arts for Life
- Asheville City Schools
- Center for Conscious Living and Dying
- Hendo Care Farm
- Hinds’ Feet Farm
- LEAF Global Arts
- StoneCreek Health and Rehabilitation
- Transformation Village
Preparing for Your Future
A bachelors in Expressive Arts Therapy gives you a solid and competitive background that prepares you for graduate training, certification, and careers in expressive arts therapy or art therapy.
In addition to a direct path to a MA in Art or Music Therapy programs, you’ll be prepared for several other types of graduate programs by choosing to combine the Expressive Arts Therapy major or minor with other majors or minors, such as:
- MA or PhD in Counseling or Clinical Psychology (when combined with Psychology)
- Masters of Social Work (when combined with Social Work or Psychology)
See how Expressive Arts Therapy students put our education into action
Internship
Kendall Hite led a Therapeutic Songwriting with Long-Term Care Residents program with older adults at StoneCreek Health & Rehabilitation. She led group singing and 1-on-1 songwriting sessions to address isolation and increase wellbeing.
Community Engaged Course
In the course Theories and Techniques in Counseling and Psychotherapy, you partner with a local nursing facility to explore a variety of approaches used in psychotherapeutic settings and practice counseling skills like empathy and problem solving with patients alongside professional mentors.
Work
You can work on any crew as a student but many Expressive Arts Therapy majors choose to be on crews such as:
Holden Arts
Music
Writing Studio
PEAL literary magazine
Wellness
Herb Crew
Study Away
A Personal Book of Hours
Especially popular in the Middle Ages, Books of Hours were devotional manuscripts that contained daily prayers and meditations that covered topics in everyday life from weather, to travel, to death and grief. You will make your own Book of Hours and explore the psychology behind mindful journaling. This course concludes with a trip to Ireland where you’ll learn from primary sources held in the Special Collections at the Royal Irish Academy and the Book of Kells at Trinity Library.
Senior Capstone
Through her Capstone Practicum project with Hendo Care Farm, Anna Blezard explored how nature-based art therapy and equine-assisted therapy can support the development of self-regulation and positive relationships in school-age children. In this role, she was also able to practice professional skills essential to running a small, farm-based business, including administration, marketing, and group facilitation.
Senior Capstone
For her Capstone Practicum, Ani Jaffe worked behind the scenes with the Angel Band Project to support individual survivors and an organization that creates music, hosts concerts and educational events, and promotes advocacy. Through this project Ani explored how trauma-informed music therapy can help those impacted by sexual and intimate partner violence.
Popular Courses
The Art of Art Therapy
Through reading, reflection, discussion, and creation, you’ll learn about the history and development of art therapy, explore theories that ground professional practices, and develop skills used in art therapy with individuals, groups, and communities.
Introduction to Music in Therapeutic Settings
In this course, you will explore research, theory and practical applications of music therapy and music psychology for psychotherapeutic, medical, and rehabilitative settings.
Expressive Arts Through Movement
Examine the relationships among bodily movement, health, and healing. Learn theories and principles behind dance and movement-based therapeutic practices. You’ll also explore the way movement can support personal growth and well-being, build empathy, and foster social change.
Robert Swoap, Ph.D.
Research Interests
- Music and Movement
- Health Psychology
- Sport and Exercise Psychology
“I am committed to co-creating a rich and meaningful experience for students. Whether in the classroom, on a field course, or on the dance floor, I love to help students learn, grow, connect, and thrive.”
“I will never forget getting to be a part of a peer tutoring crew in the women’s prison built up of a small group of inside and outside students with such a wide range of ages, cultures, backgrounds, sexualities, and life experiences — it was the most meaningful experience I’ve ever had and we all cried when it ended.”
Madison England
(she/her)
Major, Minor, Concentration, Crews
- Expressive Arts Therapy Major
- Crews: Dining, Admissions, Inside Out
Where Our Expressive Arts Therapy Graduates Go
- Appalachian State University
- No Taste Like Home
- RHA Health Services
- Thresholds Health Services
- Asheville City Schools
