In response to a series of conversations with Canadian mental health practitioners, this chapter emerged with the intention of helping advocate, connect and create professional development and research opportunities for members that employ the intentional use of art, dance/movement, drama, photography, music, play, sand tray, and/or creative writing in their practice.
With the encouragement of Wayne Clifford, Past-President of the Quebec Counselling Association (QCA) and Quebec Anglophone Director to the CCPA, Past-CAC President Nisha Sajnani submitted a proposal and set of bylaws to the board of the then Canadian Counselling Association to establish the formerly named Creative Arts in Counselling chapter in May 2003. The proposal was accepted with an interim executive board with the following members: President: Nisha Sajnani, Secretary/Treasurer: Priya Senroy, Communications: Angela Colangelo. This interim chapter board was unanimously voted in for a two-year mandate at our first AGM in May 2004. We appointed the following provincial representatives: Kristin Boettger (Alberta), Csilla Przibislawsky (Manitoba), Tony DiGiacomo (Ontario), Leigh Bulmer (Quebec), Mark Kelly (Yukon), Judy Weiser (BC), Cindy Newton (Saskatchewan).
The presently Creative Arts in Counselling and Psychotherapy (CACP) Chapter provides a tangible forum through which mental health practitioners who employ the use of the arts in/as therapy can engage in open dialogue on issues pertaining to training, research, and practice. In 2018, our chapter members voted to change our name to better reflect and include clinicians, mental health practitioners and allied professionals beyond the counselling profession.
Creative arts therapists and expressive arts therapists are often registered counsellors and psychotherapists who use these modalities in their treatment receive training from an accredited academic institution, with specialization in one or more creative arts modality in combination with intense clinical training related to emotional and cognitive human development and the therapeutic process.
This chapter also serves as a vehicle for lobbying appropriate university departments and facilities, governments and agencies to meet their goal of preparing competent counsellors and psychotherapists by providing education on the variance between the creative arts modalities in counselling and therapy.