The Professional Development Workshops give you a unique opportunity to sample processes and learn from Expressive Arts Professionals from around the world.  They present live via Zoom to share their exciting work and expertise in the field with you.  They'll also hold space for a Q and A allowing you to develop a more intimate learning experience, and indulge specific curiosities.  Attending live affords you a Certificate of Completion.  We are a Florida CEU provider for LMHC, LCSW, LMFT and you can submit your certificate to your own CEU board.

We'd like to introduce you to the upcoming facilitators we are excited to host in the coming weeks-  We are honored to bring you a diverse panel of experts to learn and grow from. 

As a young child growing up in India I would cry when I saw street dogs, and poverty in its various visible forms, especially street children begging for their livelihood. By the time I became a teenager, I wanted to make a difference, but I did not know how. My drive to help vulnerable populations started playing out as a psychology student working with street children in the slums of India.  My need to make a difference combined with my education in psychology, counseling, and the expressive arts has led me to where I am today. The need for validation has been true for me personally, and in all the work that I have done over the last 30 years. Social causes are my passion and my joie-de-vivre. I bring heart, expertise, a global perspective, a lifelong thirst for learning, and an empathic and collaborative approach to all that I do.  And I still cry. -Manju Jain

I am a computer and electronics engineer who has worked in technology for over 35 years. My work in managing teams in India, Japan and the US has been a wonderfully rich learning experience. In my last position as Chief Product Officer at AWS Elemental, an Amazon company, I was privileged to see how a $35B organization can still innovate. I am passionate about the science of the mind and our ability to lead fulfilling lives by using the arts to enable neuroplasticity towards positive outcomes. I completed a course in InterPersonal NeuroBiology (IPNB), a 36-credit program offered by the MindSight Institute and Dan Siegal in 2020. I have been a junior partner to Manju in this work since we got together, and in 2019 when I joined Manju full time in her work, I quickly took to the challenge and the joy of engaging with an underserved population. I got hooked on being able to use my skills to make a difference. I bring the skills of a senior executive, a continued need to learn, a systems approach and an internal drive to make a difference in the world.- Aslam Khader

Together, Manju and Aslam have facilitated expressive arts workshops for over 5000 participants from 40+ organizations. Since the start of the pandemic they have moved their work online and have facilitated workshops for over 15 groups worldwide.

Pat B. Allen, Ph.D., A.T.R.,  is an author, artist, art therapist, and teacher who connects to the Creative Source through art and writing. Her books – Art Is a Way of Knowing (Shambhala 1995) and Art Is a Spiritual Path (Shambhala 2005) – explore the borders between art, psychology, spirituality, and social action and are considered classics in the field of expressive arts therapy. Her novel  Cronation (Blue Jay Press, 2016) offers an inspiring vision of a world infused by the revolutionary creative energy of women. Author of numerous professional articles, Dr. Allen lectures and delivers workshops nationally and internationally. Her artwork has been exhibited in a wide variety of juried and invited exhibits. Dr. Allen served on the faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago for twenty years and has taught at many colleges and universities nationally and internationally. Dr. Allen co-founded the Open Studio Project in Chicago and of Studio Pardes in Oak  Park, IL. She is currently Senior Consulting  Faculty for the Jewish Studio Project, which was founded by her daughter, Rabbi Adina Allen. Pat is the delighted  grandmother of Adina’s two boys, Remy and Tovi.

Rhonda Johnson, ATR-BC graduated Wellesley College with a degree in Economics, then pursued a career in corporate marketing.  Reprioritizing her love for art, years later she made a mid-course correction to pursue a graduate degree in Creative Art Therapies at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.  As a board-certified art therapist, and certified Open Studio Process facilitator; she offers art experiences in her home studio as well as at various community spaces.  Before the pandemic, Rhonda worked at a behavioral health center in Newark, NJ, creating and running their art therapy program for over 50 children and teens. Rhonda now provides art therapy via telehealth to kids who can benefit from art as a means of self-expression.  In her spare time, she indulges in Britcoms, knitting, drawing and reading.

Belinda Rego is an Expressive Arts Therapist, who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to use their creativity and imagination to tap into inner wisdom and participate in their own healing.  As a therapist she sees herself as one who facilitates and holds the space for this process of partnering with Soul, and working through layers that come in the way of the expression of one’s true Self. Her educational background is in the Visual Arts  and has a Masters in Fine arts from the prestigious Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati university. She is drawn to Jungian psychology and the transformative  power of symbols and images in the therapeutic process. She is also trained and certified in Psychodrama which she incorporates in her work.

Chandini Harlalka is a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT) from IEATA (International Expressive Art Therapy Association) and a Psychodrama Director (PD) from the Moreno Institute, Germany.  She also holds an MFA in Art history. Chandini’s work is rooted in experiential methodology and Eastern contemplative traditions. Inspired by insights into the human experience, Chandini is committed to a path of self-inquiry, examining the nature of mind and reality by applying critical enquiry and direct embodied experience. Through her work, Chandini aims to re imagine habitual patterns of behaviour by challenging perception and self-reinforcing systems of belief that lock us into cycles of dissatisfaction.  Her work combines the use of fine arts, authentic movement, drama, sand-play and other experiential forms to create a representation of thoughts and feelings, while allowing them to surface through the act of personal discovery, to foster bottom-up transformation.

Belinda and Chandini will join us from Banglore, India to share their work and passion for expressive arts.

Here's a brief introduction of what's ahead- All workshops, offerings, and training that occur throughout the year can be viewed more fully on our website.

Discover a Mindfulness Practice with SoulCollage® is a introduction to the contemplative and insightful process of self-discovery. It gently opens you to a new way of exploring your inner wisdom.  Register early to receive your kit in the mail, the workshop will be held October 6th

Join Kathleen Horne, and other creative seekers, October 17th, to shine the light of your own creative wisdom on the potent question:  Exploring a Polarity: the Mandorla.  What are you currently experiencing as a polarity, or point of tension in your life? Perhaps it is something that you go back and forth on, and resolution is elusive.

Expressive Writing Returns!  With Anne Hofland as your guide Mondays thru October and November;  Find your voice in a safe, small group of participants and explore the transformative and healing power of writing.  No experience necessary!  The foundational work of this series emphasizes that everyone is a writer and capable of expressions thru this modality. 

Save the Date!! Friday October 21 for an in-person Open Studio with Tamara and Kathleen in the morning, and SoulCollage® & the Labyrinth, with Diane Lampitt, in the afternoon! Both of these will be held at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Sarasota. It is going to be wonderful to be with some of our Sarasota-area friends again, creating and sharing together in person! All the details will be in next week's e-news!

There's still time to apply to The Certificate Program, but please act soon as the registration deadline for our in-person intensive fast approaches.

We will gather at the First Congregational United Church of Christ  near downtown Sarasota. Full of lovely indoor and outdoor space for quiet reflection and discovery, we look forward to enjoying the labyrinth on campus as well.  Close to beaches and cultural hubs, Sarasota boasts warm, calm weather in October for a stable, grounding retreat. 

Find all the information at this link here, and email us if you have questions. We are happy to help!  Ready to apply now?  There's still time, but please act quickly.  Follow this link to get started on your Creative Training Journey. 

EAFI 130: Scope of Expressive Arts introduces the continuum of Expressive Arts work –  form intrapersonal to global, from individual to group to community.

Join with a small group of creative explorers from around the US and Canada. There are still a few spaces in this course

If you haven't yet taken Creative Wisdom: Introductory Online Training you can learn more about it and sign up here. It's a pre-requisite to the Certificate Training Program and will help prepare you for the study and exploration ahead.

• Art as a Healing Practice 
• 10 Steps Personal Expressive Arts Practice
• Introduction to Mandala
• Expressive Arts Intention Setting
• Expressive Arts Discovery Self-Study
• Creative Wisdom Introductory Online Training

• Tamara Teeter Knapp, MA, NCC, REACE, MHC Intern, K-12 Art Teacher
• Kathleen Horne, MA, LMHC(S), REACE, REAT
• www.expressiveartsflorida.com