Story Drama in the Special Needs Classroom – An Interview with Jessica Perich Carleton

“The formula (called the Dramatic Formula) in the book presents each step with a specific skill that the students need in order to succeed in the drama, while at the same time balancing the level of stimulation for the students so they can focus on each section. Structure and balance of stimulation are the two main factors which give this book success. These two elements allow the students to succeed in a safe and nurturing environment.”

The rebirth of Ritual Theatre as a potent healing force – An Interview with Claire Schrader

“…the book is about how ritual theatre can be expressed in a contemporary way that fits in with the way our lives are. People are hungering for this because the technological age is making us more and more disconnected, more in our heads and this is producing tremendous suffering under the labels of stress, fatigue and health problems. Ritual theatre along with the Arts Therapies counteract this. So the book includes ways in which ritual theatre is being brought into hospitals, institutions and work with marginal groups as well as to the general public.”

Using creative activities to help young people achieve their therapeutic goals and build a positive self-concept

“I think the most common problem I encounter with the students I work with is defiance – not doing what is asked of them in the classroom setting. However, after working with the student and finding out more about him, there are almost always other issues that are impacting the student and influencing his behavior. He may be behind his peers academically and feel embarrassed in the classroom… She may not have a consistent place to live or not know where her next meal is coming from each day. Arts-based activities provide students with a safe outlet to discuss these issues and allow the student and counselor to identify ways to handle them.”

Integrating Psychodrama and Systemic Constellation Work – An Interview with Karen Carnabucci

“Psychodrama and systemic constellation work – sometimes called family constellation work – look very similar yet have some specific differences. Psychodrama explores the conscious story that we tell ourselves about what has happened in our lives or what we wish would have happened. Constellation work goes deeper, delving into the distorted unconscious energies in the family system and allows love to flow more fully through the system. Because we may have various levels of consciousness about various parts of our lives and the lives of our family members, it’s helpful to be able to choose different methods for different situations.”

Incorporating Music into Speech and Language Therapy for Kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders – An Interview with Dr. Hayoung Lim

“Children with ASD appear to have intact pattern perception and production ability. They also tend to follow the Gestalt style of language acquisition which is based on the pattern perception. In parallel, all of the musical behaviors require pattern perception and production; and these abilities are commonly found in children with ASD. It follows that patterns in music can facilitate the Gestalt style of language acquisition and the consequent speech- language development in children with ASD.”

“One should never underestimate the capabilities of children with special needs or their creativity.” – An Interview with Johanne Hanko

“…one of my favorite games [in the book] is ‘Contemporary Music or Drawing Music’ (activity #80, page 103) because I was told not to use this game with children with differentiated capacities or in mainstream classes because it would lead to failure: ‘Children in special education and elementary school children cannot compose,’ I was told. Well I can tell you this is not true. I was amazed to see the creativity of some of the children, while all came up with something different and interesting; some compositions were quite beautiful. One should never underestimate the capabilities of children with special needs and their creativity.”

Art Therapy and Postmodernism – An Interview with Dr. Helene Burt

“This book comes at a time when world events indicate our need to see from the perspective of the other or others… Authors from different communities and cultures come together in this book to help us all stretch our ways of seeing and practicing. Art therapists are in a unique position to use our life-giving creative energies to create positive change in the world.”