Talk

MPS Art Therapy presents Dr. Girija Kaimal, EdD, MA, ATR-BC, who will give this year’s Valery Daniels Memorial Lecture—“Past, Present, and Future: How the Arts Hold Our Stories Throughout Our Lives.”

In this virtual lecture, Dr. Girija Kaimal will present an overview of how the arts are intertwined with human history.

Dr. Girija Kaimal, EdD, MA, ATR-BC, is Professor and Chair of the Creative Arts Therapies department at Drexel University. In her Health, Arts, Learning and Evaluation (HALE) research lab, she examines visual and narrative self-expression's physiological and psychological health outcomes. She has published over 80 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and two books including The Expressive Instinct with Oxford University Press. Her research has been continually funded since 2008 by federal agencies like the Department of Defense, Department of Education and National Endowment for the Arts as well as foundation and academic centers, and was featured by NPR, CNN, The New York Times as well as a range of media outlets worldwide. Her studies examine outcomes of art therapy for post-traumatic stress among military service members, an integrated nutrition and creative arts therapies intervention for post-menopausal women, and, arts-based approaches to mitigate chronic stress among patients and caregivers in pediatric hematology/oncology units. Additional international research projects include examining the therapeutic underpinnings of indigenous and traditional art forms and a book forthcoming with Save the Children on arts-based psychosocial support for children and families in adversity. Living out her research interests, she has been a lifelong visual artist and her art explores the representation of inner lives and values. Dr. Kaimal has a doctorate from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, a Master of Arts from Drexel University, and a Bachelor's in Design from the National Institute of Design in India.

School of Visual Arts, MPS Art Therapy Department is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed creative arts therapists.

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2.0 CE hours available for LCATs