Virtual Training Series

This professionally facilitated Peer Experience, designed for anyone who wishes to know what it’s like to be a member of a poetry therapy or applied poetry facilitation group, will meet one Sunday per month, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, from mid-January through mid-May (5 sessions in total). This group is not therapy per se, but serves as a form of training for those who want to learn about the uses of poetry in personal growth and healing, as well as those who are considering the possibility of seeking credentialing as a certified or registered poetry therapist or certified applied poetry facilitator. The 10 hours in this Peer Experience can be counted as part of a credentialing training plan now or applied retroactively to a training plan at a later date.

The series is equally suitable for those who are not interested in credentialing but simply want to expand their firsthand knowledge of a powerful approach to growth and healing, and to connect with like-minded peers under the guidance of a respected longtime leader in the poetry therapy profession. Participants will gain direct experience of the power of working with preexisting poems and expressive writing in a small-group setting, accruing a total of 10 hours toward the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy credentials of Certified Poetry Therapist, Registered Poetry Therapist, or Certified Applied Poetry Facilitator. For those who are not seeking certification, the experience will serve as a meaningful opportunity for personal growth and professional development, and will provide a helpful introduction to what it is like to be in a poetry therapy group.

Shanee Stepakoff, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and registered poetry therapist, holds a MFA in creative writing, and is currently completing a second PhD, in English, at the University of Rhode Island, where in Spring 2021 she will teach an undergraduate course on The Short Story. She was the psychologist for the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone for over two years. She also spent two years as psychologist/trainer for the Center for Victims of Torture, first in Guinea and later in Jordan. Additionally she has provided training and consultation to trauma treatment programs in Liberia, Cambodia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, as well as in a variety of settings in the United States. Dr. Stepakoff is the author or co-author of nearly two dozen scholarly articles and book chapters, and has won several professional and literary honors. Her first book, a collection of poems about the Sierra Leone Civil War, is due out from Bucknell University Press in June 2021. Dr. Stepakoff is a graduate of the two-year training program in Biblio/Poetry Therapy at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC, is credentialed as a mentor/supervisor by the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy, has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Poetry Therapy, and was the 2019 recipient of NAPT’s Outstanding Education Award for leadership in advanced training programs and academic graduate studies in poetry therapy. She has taught poetry therapy courses in graduate programs at Lesley University and California Institute of Integral Studies and has been on the teaching faculty of the Kint Institute since Spring 2016.

Adolescence is an exciting time of discovery and daring, as well as paradox. Teens experience superior health and peak immune functioning at the same time that they face heightened mortality due to a roller coaster of emotions, which can manifest in risky behavior, substance abuse, self-harm, sexual experimentation, and careless driving. There is a developmental mismatch that informs these paradoxes, as teen brains are primed to pursue novelty and social reward without having a fully developed braking system. Sensation seeking activities in the context of faulty impulse control can quickly devolve into a tightrope walk between high risk and healthy discovery.

In this workshop, we will explore the challenges for adolescents in navigating through choices, temptations, and consequences. Utilizing a multi-model approach, this experiential workshop will integrate drama, art, music, and creative writing with key clinical points in order to promote an understanding of teens from the inside out. Exploring the everyday mini worlds of 21st century teens, we will offer a multi-tiered approach to problem-solving risky behavior while also keeping the doors to adventure and discovery open.

Craig Haen, Ph.D., RDT, CGP, LCAT, FAGPA has been working clinically with people impacted by interpersonal, developmental, and familial trauma for over 20 years. He provides acute crisis intervention following acts of violence and atrocity, trains crisis teams and schools in responding to mass trauma events, and has consulted with organizations on the implementation of trauma-informed care. He has a private practice in White Plains, New York where he treats children, adolescents, adults, and families. Dr. Haen is a graduate adjunct faculty member at New York University and Lesley University. He has published widely on both clinical practice and research, and is editor of four books, including Creative Arts-Based Group Therapy with Adolescents: Theory and Practice with Nancy Boyd Webb and Handbook of Child and Adolescent Group Therapy with Seth Aronson. He serves on the Editorial Boards of The International Journal of Group Psychotherapy and The Arts in Psychotherapy, where he has guest edited two Special Issues on the arts and trauma treatment. In addition, he is a Fellow of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, where he co-chairs the Community Outreach Task Force, a group that provides both frontline and secondary support in response to trauma events in diverse communities.

Allyn Sitjar, M.A., RDT, LCAT, is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist with a specialty in Drama Therapy. She has been practicing for over fifteen years. Currently, she is a Clinical Supervisor and Program Coordinator of Early Childhood Mental Health at Union Settlement (Johnson Counseling Center) in New York City. She utilizes trauma-informed therapy and creative arts therapy with the diverse population of East Harlem. She is also the Director of Action Arts Center (private practice in New Jersey and New York) that utilizes Creative Arts Therapy with children, adolescents and adults. Ms. Sitjar is also the founder and artistic director of Youth Theatre of NJ and Summer Theatre Institute-NYC. This non-profit theatre group is a forum for original theatre works that reflect the voices of young people utilizing improvisation and creative writing.

Course Objectives:

• Examine risky behavior in traumatized adolescents using principles of attachment and self-regulation.
• Apply understanding of the developmental mismatch in adolescent neurodevelopment to clinical case formulation with adolescent patients.
• Discriminate between therapist relational positioning that invites co-regulation and healthy decision-making and positioning that invites resistance, withdrawal, and impaired outcomes.

Agenda

Content Level: Intermediate

Target Audience: Psychologists, Psychoanalysts, Psychiatrists, Social Workers, MFTs, Counselors, Substance Abuse Counselors, Occupational Therapists, Creative Arts Therapists, Teachers

CE credits available: 2 CEs ($15). Click here for CE language.

Cancellation Policy: All registrations are non-refundable.

Certificates: Certificates are available following course completion at www.ceuregistration.com

Disclosure Statement: Craig & Allyn have no relevant financial or nonfinancial relationships to disclose.

CEs can be purchased through R. Cassidy Seminars.

For questions or concerns, please contact info@kintinstitute.org

Amidst the painful reality of the pervasiveness and persistence of racial injustice in United States history and society, is it possible for deeper insights and new levels of empowerment to result from engaging with carefully selected poems as part of a professionally facilitated process? This workshop, designed and facilitated jointly by an African American Certified Applied Poetry Facilitator and a white Registered Poetry Therapist, both of whom have extensive experience building hope and resilience in contexts of social suffering, uses methods derived from biblio/poetry therapy to support people of all races and backgrounds in becoming more aware of difficult truths about the historical and ongoing trauma of racism and in discovering new wellsprings within ourselves and each other to move beyond despair. By the end of the workshop, participants will have become familiar with a variety of poems germane to the realities of race and, through a respectful process of reflection and sharing, will be in touch with wider possibilities for mutual recognition and freedom.

Shanee Stepakoff, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and registered poetry therapist, holds a MFA in creative writing, and is currently completing a second PhD, in English, at the University of Rhode Island, where in Spring 2021 she will teach an undergraduate course on The Short Story. She was the psychologist for the UN-backed war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone for over two years. She also spent two years as psychologist/trainer for the Center for Victims of Torture, first in Guinea and later in Jordan. Additionally she has provided training and consultation to trauma treatment programs in Liberia, Cambodia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, as well as in a variety of settings in the United States. Dr. Stepakoff is the author or co-author of nearly two dozen scholarly articles and book chapters, and has won several professional and literary honors. Her first book, a collection of poems about the Sierra Leone Civil War, is due out from Bucknell University Press in June 2021. Dr. Stepakoff is a graduate of the two-year training program in Biblio/Poetry Therapy at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, DC, is credentialed as a mentor/supervisor by the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy, has served on the Board of Directors of the International Association for Poetry Therapy, and was the 2019 recipient of IAPT’s Outstanding Education Award for leadership in advanced training programs and academic graduate studies in poetry therapy. She has taught poetry therapy courses in graduate programs at Lesley University and California Institute of Integral Studies and has been on the teaching faculty of the Kint Institute since Spring 2016.

For the past fifteen years, Rev. Dr. Alice V. Thompson has been the Spiritual Care Director/Coordinator at Calvert Health Medical Center (Maryland). She is also a Certified Applied Poetry Facilitator (CAPF) credentialed by the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy (IFBPT). In 1996 she completed a rigorous, two-year training program in Biblio/Poetry Therapy at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital (D. C. Commission on Mental Health Services), under the co-directorship of the pioneering Registered Poetry Therapists Dr. Kenneth Gorelick (a Harvard-trained psychiatrist) and Ruth Monser (a registered nurse). She has served on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Poetry Therapy, has presented at NAPT conferences, and for several years chaired NAPT’s Diversity Committee.

Dr. Thompson is a graduate of Howard University School of Divinity’s Doctoral Program. Her many earlier and/or further credentials include Pastor of Covenant Christian Community, Clinical Member of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Care, Member of the Board of Professional Chaplains, and Certified Bibliotherapist. Dr. Thompson has served as chaplain and bibliotherapist to various hospitals and hospices in the Washington DC Metropolitan Area. Her work is informed by her particular expertise with African American families and communities yet at the same time has addressed the spiritual needs of a wide variety of cultures and faith traditions. She has served as faculty member of Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life and at George Washington University’s Program for the Elderly. Dr. Thompson devoted several years to compiling an African American History Collection titled “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.” It has been featured several times in The Washington Post and other newspapers, as has her work on the creative uses of biblio/poetry therapy with persons and communities struggling to overcome adversity and maximize strengths.