Your professional education in expressive arts  therapy begins here.

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Mission

Service to Students

Our mission is to provide an educational experience of unparalleled quality to each student. Our programs provide the thorough academic grounding needed for professional success, with an emphasis on experiential learning and exploration through studio work, classes and workshops.Through shared art-making, students and faculty form a learning community deeply rooted in the body, senses and imagination. Students become disciplined in phenomenology: the practice of paying attention to what is present and authentic. Supervision, both in groups and individually, helps the student develop their own style, and overcome difficulties. With academic advisement, decisions about Practicum placement and Master Art Studio are a shared process. The Institute provides a safe, challenging and nurturing atmosphere for personal and professional growth.

Service to the Community

Since the beginning of the Institute, students have donated nearly 30,000 hours in their practicum placements. These include (but are not limited to) schools both public and private; hospitals, both psychiatrist and medical; women’s centers, hospice, geriatric communities, eating disorder treatment facilities, blind and deaf communities, veterans, and many more. the Institute was awarded a Mayoral Commendation for its service to San Diego in 2004 Those seeking a profession in Expressive Arts Therapy will find our courses provide a firm grounding in the skills needed to facilitate the healing of individuals and communities through the creative process. Graduate students are encouraged to use their expressive arts training to benefit the communities in which they live and work on an on-going basis.

Service to the Field

We also take seriously our mission to graduate students who will contribute to the scholarship and philosophy of the field of expressive arts through their work and research. Our student write original art-based research and their thesis offerings are acknowledged as among the finest at European Graduate School, with several taking honors. Students and graduates have presented at national and international conferences, and many have contributed to professional journals, notably POIESIS.