2014 - NADTA 35th Annual Conference

 

In Harmony with the Elements:
Drama Therapy and Wellness

North American Drama Therapy Association

Yosemite National Park
October 30 - November 2, 2014

      

Life in Yosemite is a place of contradictions and paradox, a site where the various elements join in a tenuous balance to sustain life and foster growth. In order to maintain the cycle of life, destruction and rebirth coexist in the delicate dance of nature. The heat and destruction of fire are required in order for the majestic sequoia groves to bring forth new growth. Water carves constant change through intricate canyons of solid stone, and the atmosphere is frequently charged with intense and powerful electrical storms. It is rugged and peaceful, intense and calm, filled with immovable rock and flowing water, raging fire and glacial ice.

Similarly, the work of drama therapy is rich with paradox and contradiction, an active dance to balance the various elements of change. As drama therapists, we see this balancing act in the lives of those we work with as well as our own lives. How does drama therapy foster balance? What are the elements of healing at work within our practice? How does one play, engage, perform and negotiate the paradoxes? How do we as drama therapists engage with differing cultures and contrasting identities? How do we respond to imbalanced social roles and power dynamics? We engage with our clients’ narratives and witness their imbalances and contradictions on a daily basis – how does this affect our personal story, creativity, and expression as drama therapists? As human beings? How does balance in our lives impact that in our clients? Can we create a place for the wildfire to rage, and simultaneously hold the tenderness beneath that makes way for new growth? Can the ancient solid foundation and constantly moving flow co-exist?

Within the paradox and contradiction, like the wind or the water, we act as forces for change – altering the landscape. Through drama therapy we create space for natural healing and hold the contradictions, allowing our clients their solidness and fluidity, their fire and ice, their own process of healing and sprouting new growth. As we find balance and create room for paradox we help to create a paradigm shift that molds the very fabric of our culture and our community.

Please join us for the NADTA 35th Annual Conference at the beautiful and restorative Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite National Park, California, from October 29th – November 2nd, 2014. Together we will navigate and explore the elements of healing and change through drama therapy. We will examine the contradictions and paradoxes and see how to find balance for ourselves and those with whom we work

If you have any questions regarding the conference, please email [email protected]

Registration

EARLY REGISTRATION EXTENDED!  Ends Midnight, Pacific Time, September 28, 2014 ONE-DAY ONLY RATE: $185.00, Except Sunday $100.00 (All Levels). 

REGISTRATION: Received AFTER September 21, 2014 ONE-DAY ONLY RATE: $200.00, Except Sunday $110.00 (All Levels)

There is a $15.00 handling fee for all mail-in registrations.
MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNTS: If you would like to join NADTA in order to qualify for membership discounts, click here.
MEALS: The Awards Luncheon is included with the Registration Fee. All other meals are the responsibility of the attendee. Vegetarian and Kosher meals are available if requested by September 21, 2014.
TRANSPORTATION AND LODGING: Transportation and lodging are not included in the price of registration.

NO REFUNDS AFTER SEPTEMBER 26, 2014.
Refunds prior to 9/26 will be subject to a $25 processing fee.

Continuing Education (CE)

Take advantage of the NADTA Conference Continuing Education (CE) credits.  Ensure that your credentials stay up to date and you have the latest information in the field to continue developing skills in drama therapy, psychotherapy, and theater.

NADTA Conference sessions are valid for the following types of Continuing Education credits: 

  • NADTA RDT CE Hours.
  • CEUs for California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT) and California Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW).

The NADTA is an approved CEU provider through the California Board of BBS (Behavioral Heath Services.)

If you are looking for CEs or CEUs for a license or credential not listed above, please contact your licensing or credentialing organization to ask if they will accept CEs/CEUs from the North American Drama Therapy Association/National Association for Drama Therapy or from a provider approved by the California BBS.

CE/CEU certificates will be given out at the conference. CEU Certificates for California LMFT or LCSW will be sent after the conference to 

attendees who complete and return the California CEU forms.

Keynote Speaker 

The Stage is All the World: Performing the Changing Landscapes Performing Us

Modern mental health tends to focus on the insides of human beings. But if deep psychological wellness is not separate from the health of nature, place, and Earth, how do we facilitate wholeness on a changing planet? This presentation will offer examples of how the elements and contours of the places we visit and inhabit interact so deeply with us that we often repeat historical, ecological, and geological motifs without realizing it. Tracing these relationships brings forth ideas and practices for cherishing the diversity within, between, and ar

ound us and for coming home not only to ourselves and to each other, but to the presence of our long-neglected homeworld.

Keynote Speaker: Craig Chalquist, PhD

Craig Chalquist, PhD., is the program chair of the East-West Psychology department at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA. Craig focuses his scholarly writing and teaching on depth psychology, ecopsychology, qualitative research, Systems Theory, ecotherapy, and mythology from a psychological perspective. He practices what he refers to as "Deep Education": the kind that invites the human relationship to nature, elements, creatures, and Earth to shift from mere utility to deep appreciation. "'Deep' also means encouraging the learner to probe through appearances, surfaces, and customary explanations to explore persistent motifs, images, collective fantasies, and other structural forces that shape institutions, works of culture, and technologies and that constitute the true foundations of our time."

He also trains psychotherapists in ecotherapy techniques, has presented at Bioneers, and gives local presentations on "Gardening and Mental Health." He is on the editorial board of the journal Ecopsychology and a member of the International Association for Ecotherapy.

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