As a state, Utah has a rich history of using the arts for well-being. The more recent groundswell of emerging arts and health initiatives in various pockets of health care has illuminated the growing interest in and reliance on dance, music, drama and art in healing from injury, improving psychological and emotional health and bettering the overall quality of life.
The need is clear, and the University of Utah College of Fine Arts is answering the call with a new foundational series of courses in the evidence-based field of Creative Arts Therapies (CAT), which will be open to all students at the institution and professionals in the community.
It’s a proud historical moment to be able to launch the first group of combined introductory courses in clinical Creative Arts Therapies in Utah, focused on providing students with an introduction to a field of clinical professional training in art therapy, dance/movement therapy, drama therapy and music therapy, building a new stream of the health care industry, and expanding providers’ capacity to support effective care that enriches the quality of life, especially in ways that already bring so many comfort and joy.
“Arts and health have been intersecting since the beginning of humanity,” said Katie Lahue, music therapy course instructor.
“Students who are in the arts know the health benefits firsthand because of their personal experiences, and why they are drawn to it. Learning more deeply about these intersections will help students be able to use their talents for their own health as well as potentially open up unique and fulfilling career opportunities!”
Drama therapy instructor Anna Beck is most excited for theatre students to begin shifting focus from product (performance) to process through the lens of therapy.
“Being able to create and express with a process orientation rather than a product orientation can be so freeing,” she said. “Most students pursue the arts because of the way it makes them feel. These courses will be a way to understand and begin to harness the process of why and how the arts can make someone feel something. An essential part of becoming a well-rounded artist is to know oneself, and these courses will help anyone understand their own mental/emotional health and experiences with the art form.”
All four Creative Arts Therapies courses will begin this spring semester and are taught in a hybrid model: weekly online modules with regular in-person residencies on campus. When in residency, all CAT students will meet together, offering an opportunity to learn about and cultivate a rich interdisciplinary community. At the final residency, students will prepare and present clinical interventions informed by their cumulative learning.
Led by College of Fine Arts Associate Dean for Research and Director of the Arts & Health Innovation Lab at the U Becky Zarate (who is herself a licensed Creative Arts Therapist, Board Certified Music Therapist and certified Vocal Psychotherapist), the team of seasoned therapists launching CAT courses asserts that the market is ripe for growth: both in new therapists joining the workforce and in Utahns served.
“Students who are in the arts know the health benefits firsthand because of their personal experiences, and why they are drawn to it. Learning more deeply about these intersections will help students be able to use their talents for their own health as well as potentially open up unique and fulfilling career opportunities!”
—Katie Lahue
“I spent the first 10 years of my career in Southern California, where the market is nearly flooded with art and other expressive therapists,” Art Therapy instructor Malissa Morrell explained. “Moving to Salt Lake City was a unique experience for me; for the first time, I got to feel like a pioneer in establishing the future of my profession!”
She went on, “Nearly 15 years later, Utah is still a pioneering state for creative therapies, but establishing these courses at the University of Utah is another step toward broader acceptance and accessibility for the people of this state. The more expressive therapists there are, the less you will encounter untrained clinicians who wish to harness the power of creativity in health care but don’t yet have the training and ethical framework to facilitate artmaking in the most powerful and healing ways. I’m so pleased to be on this front line of offering expressive therapy education to the many, many interested health care and mental health care workers in Utah.”
Sara Schmidt, instructor for Dance/Movement Therapy, agreed. “There is such a need for these programs, as they are few and far between in the area,” she said. “We have a shortage of creative arts therapists in Utah and need good, qualified therapists to fill them. Ideally, the expansion of creative arts therapies at the U can fill that gap. I hope that this is just the beginning of developing more coursework and degree programs in creative arts therapy.”
Beyond the launch of the four introductory courses, the team is in the development of additional courses, addressing neuroaesthetics and neuroarts, for example. Music therapist at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute, Emily Polichette is one of many campus collaborators invested in the long-term success of the program. Polichette is looking forward to supporting all courses in highlighting the measurable impacts of art engagement for both the well and the unwell.
“Silos that have separated arts from health and healing are breaking down,” Polichette said.
“We are seeing connections in the clinics and in the research and even animal studies that are demonstrating the benefits and cost-effective applications of arts toward community and individual health. Wherever you go after the course, you will have a foundation of knowledge and encouragement to pursue your curiosities of how to reimagine sustainable, culturally reflexive health care.”
The Principles and Practices of Art Therapy
ART 4805-001
Instructor: Malissa Morrell
Malissa Morrell is a Board-Certified and Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC), Art Therapy Credentialed Supervisor (ATCS), licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and current Ph.D. student who has been working in the field since the late 1990s. In more than 20 years of being an art therapist, she has worked in inpatient and outpatient settings, including community mental health, medical hospital, residential treatment, and private practice settings. She has also taught graduate students since 2016 and supervised new therapists and art therapists since 2007. She served on the Accreditation Board for Art Therapy Education (ACATE) for 3 years and as the founding vice president and then president of the Utah Art Therapy Association (UATA) for 8 years.
The Principles and Practices of Dance/Movement Therapy
DANC 3960
Instructor: Sara Schmidt
Sara Schmidt has a master’s in Mental Health Counseling: Dance Movement Therapy, an Associate Mental Health License, and is a Board Certified Dance Movement Therapist. Schmidt started the dance movement therapy program at Primary Children’s Hospital in 2019, ran behavioral health movement groups at the Wasatch Canyons Behavioral Health Campus, and worked at the main hospital in Salt Lake City. She is currently focused on patients and families at the main hospital full-time. As a BC-DMT, she has worked with children and adolescents with anxiety, depression, and complex medical diagnoses, and with the elderly with dementia. She uses movement to help individuals build new relationships with their bodies, identify emotions, and find a connection between their mind and body.
The Principles and Practices of Drama Therapy
THEA 3790-002
Instructor: Anna Beck
Anna Beck is a Registered Drama Therapist and loves working to facilitate expressive and creative healing. Anna grew up with a passion for performing, but what she found most captivating was the opportunity for growth and expression inherent in drama and theatre. Anna works at an inpatient psychiatric facility with teens, where she facilitates drama therapy groups and individual sessions. She also works in the wellness space for women, hosting retreats and workshops using drama therapy. You can also find her TEDx talk online where she shares her passion and drama therapy work.
The Principles and Practices of Music Therapy
MUSC 4899-004 and MUSC 6899-002
Instructor: Katie Lahue
Katie Lahue has been a music therapist for 10 years working in a variety of settings including skilled nursing, school settings, inpatient and residential mental health, and private practice. The majority of Lahue’s career has been spent in the pediatric medical setting. She now has the privilege and honor of managing a team of almost 20 expressive therapists across several pediatric medical and behavioral health sites and developing expressive therapy programs to meet the needs of pediatric patients. Lahue studied undergraduate music therapy and music education and completed a master’s in music therapy and clinical mental health counseling.