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FISCAL
YEAR 2007 |
January
31 , 2008
Dear
Friends of Creative Alternatives,
Using the art of drama, Creative Alternatives
of New York (CANY) helps thousands of
children, adolescents and adults find
hope and renewed possibility in their
lives. We are proud of the CANY artists
who have developed a transformative model
of drama therapy over the past 38 years.
Their dedication, paired with the financial
resources we receive from our supporters
each year, enables individuals, young
and old, across New York and Connecticut
to imagine a positive future and to find
the creative resources within themselves
to take steps toward that future.
This past year CANY’s talented
staff of drama therapists and theater
artists led about 1,300 groups in community
centers, residential facilities, special
schools and hospitals serving over 2,000
discrete children and adults. CANY groups
enable the most underserved and fragile
children and adults to heal through creative
expression.
With New York State licensure of Creative
Arts Therapists in 2006, CANY has focused
on two important areas this past year
to move into this new phase of professionalism
in the field of mental health treatment
through drama therapy.
• Program Staffing: In 2006 CANY
hired Lucy McLellan, RDT, LCAT as our
full time Program Director and May of
2007 brought on Heidi Landis, RDT, LCAT
as our full time Program Manager. Both
Heidi and Lucy work closely with with
CANY Artistic Director, Emily Nash, LCAT,
who has developed our unique drama therapy
model over many years.
• Outcomes Measurement: Documentation
of impact on the clients we serve has
become an increasing focus with CANY both
due to the demands of the current funding
environment as well as to improve our
own internal evaluation of our services.
This past year CANY implemented more comprehensive
tools for documenting the impact of our
programs on our group participants. We
will further develop this over the coming
year. Heidi Landis, Program Manager, is
currently completing in an outcomes measurement
training program and funding is anticipated
for an outcomes software program to assist
in evaluating quantitative data.
We see the potential for serving more
individuals who can benefit from the special
approach of creative arts therapies for
healing trauma and for expanding our model
of drama therapy on a wider basis. We
hope we can count on your support as we
continue helping children and adults heal
through creative expression.
Thank you,
 |
 |
 |
Jonathan
Hilton
Executive Director
|
|
Elizabeth
Goldstein
Board Chairperson |
The Creative Alternatives
Model of Drama Therapy:
The Creative Alternatives method
of drama therapy has been developed
to respond to the diverse ways
in which emotional disturbance
fragments the self, severs interpersonal
relationships and severely impairs
the developmental process. The
CANY method has developed over
38 years of clinical practice
and has been informed by an array
of creative and therapeutic influences
over time, reflected in a staff
of theater artists and drama therapists
alike. Groups are not fixed or
formulaic in nature but respond
to the unique needs of the clients
gathered in that moment to commune,
create and heal. With that said
group leaders follow a clear set
of guiding principles, informing
both the creative and therapeutic
interventions made:
• Metaphor as therapeutic
tool
The creation of dramatic fiction
is central to the therapeutic
process, providing a safe container
for diverse and difficult feelings,
experiences and thoughts. Metaphor
allows access to stories that
need to be told in order for the
individual to function in a healthier
way; meaningful life stories that
can often only be accessed through
the freedom of the fictional realm.
Through the use of fictional
characters, dramatic enactment,
poetry, art and music, our clients
begin to discover and explore
their inner worlds, tapping into
dormant creative energies within.
Themes, evoked by the group or
introduced by the leader, produce
stories which in turn are brought
to life as group members cast
one another to enact the storyteller’s
journey. In this way, the metaphorical
world serves the therapeutic process.
As the client engages in the creative
process, they gain access to the
healing potential of the imagination,
experiencing a sense of mastery
and new possibilities.
• Group as therapeutic
agent
The group process lies at the
heart of the CANY model. Groups
serve to bridge experiences that
build connections between participating
clients. The interactive process
of creating stories and building
dramas generates a sense of commonality,
interpersonal identification and
an environment in which relationships
of trust can be developed and
restored in the here and now of
the group.
At the heart of our philosophy
is a belief in the healing capacity
of community. Just as our clients
gather in group to connect and
grow, so CANY invests in a parallel
community, in which our staff
engages in group and individual
supervision, acknowledging the
therapeutic process as an essential
part of training for effective
group leadership. Following this
model, we run our groups in teams
of two with the belief that co-leadership
models for the client the therapeutic
benefits of a healthy partnership:
cooperation, communication and
mutual support. In addition, we
provide training workshops to
clinical staff at a number of
program sites, focusing on the
group process and healing through
relationship.
• Creativity as
health
A central objective of CANY groups
is to explore and connect the
individual with their creative
potential. Groups do not focus
on pathology but rather possibility
and the capacity for health, transformation
and the expression of a full range
of feelings. Groups focus on the
writing of new life stories and
the playing of new roles, providing
a safe and containing environment
in which to explore and enact
new possibilities. CANY groups
seek to meet maturational gaps;
holes in the developmental process
that continues to influence life
choices and therefore hold the
client back from their potential.
The CANY model addresses this
maturational deficit through imagination,
fiction and play, all within the
context of the group experience.
|
Creative
Alternatives of New York: Fiscal
Year 2007 Highlights
Summer/Fall,
2006:
- CANY Presents at the national
conference of the Association
of Drama Therapists (NADT). Artistic
Director Emily Nash and Program
Director, Lucy McLellan present
at the Their workshop was titled:
The Therapeutic Muse: Awakening
the Spirit from Mozart to Shakespeare
to Langston Hughes
- CANY hires new Operations Manager:
Michelle Durante
- Professional development workshop
for staff at Family and Children’s
Aid in Danbury, CT, led by Artistic
Director Emily Nash and Program
Director, Lucy McLellan
- All day symposium for agencies
in Connecticut working with traumatized
children and youth hosted by CANY
and The Children’s Center
of Hamden. Workshop led by Artistic
Director Emily Nash and Program
leader, John Rainer. Workshop
titled: Embracing
the Metaphor: the therapeutic
use of drama in the healing process
with traumatized children.
- John Rainer, CANY Program leader,
co-presents at the National Conference
of the American Music Therapy
Association in Kansas City, Missouri
with music therapist, Claire Ghetti
and Recreation Director Kendra
Ray. The presentation: Postitive
Empowerment: Drama, Music and
Recreation in an Adult HIV/AIDS
Day Treatment Program
- CANY program participants at
St. Mary’s presented an
original theater piece for community
members as part of World AIDS
Day on December 1st, 2006. The
CANY program is lead by John Rainer
who worked with the groups to
write and perform their own presentation
titled, My Life Upside
Down.
- CANY Art Benefit: Seven
Voices, Seven Views,
at G.R. N’Namdi Gallery
in Chelsea. www.grnnamdi.com
“Seven Voices, Seven Views”
featured the work of seven renowned
contemporary artists, particularly
those of Marjorie Guyon. Proceeds
from the sale of artwork were
donated to Creative Alternatives.
December, 2006:
Creative Alternatives prints a NEW
Brochure and launches a
NEW Website. Both
projects were in development throughout
the fall of 2006.
CANY sends out its first monthly
E-Newsletter.
Winter/Spring, 2007
- CANY starts a pilot program
for staff and residents at an
assisted living center for older
adults with alzheimers and other
forms of memory impairment.
- The Human Rights Campaign
(HRC) selects CANY as the recipient
of their annual Community Service
Award, given at their gala on
February 10th at the Waldorf Astoria.
The award is for an organization
which contributes to community
and to improving lives in the
GLBT community.
- WBAI Radio interview with Executive
Director, Jonathan Hilton and
Artistic Director Emily Nash about
CANY programs
- CANY Annual Spring
Benefit: Coram Boy
on Broadway.
- Heidi Landis is
hired as Full-time Program Manager.
Heidi is a Registered Drama Therapist
(RDT) and Licensed Creative Arts
Therapist (LCAT), who has worked
as a CANY group leader part time
for two years.
- CANY presents at a symposium
hosted by The Louis Armstrong
Center for Music and Medicine
at Beth Israel Medical Center
as part of a panel of creative
arts therapies.
- Lucy McLellan completes training
program at the International Trauma
Studies Program of Columbia University.
The program focuses on multi-disciplinary
approaches to traumatic stress
grounded in individual, family
and community oriented interventions
based on a resilience framework.
- CANY welcomes NEW Board members:
Ann D. Gross and Betty Morningstar
|
Our
Direct Service Programs with Children
and Youth:
NEW IN 2007
Aegis Domestic Violence Safe House:
Children’s Program
Opened
in 1981, Aegis is a Domestic Violence
Crisis Shelter that provides short-term
residence and support services for
women and their children impacted
by domestic violence. It seeks to
provide a non-competitive atmosphere
that fosters open communication,
respect, and cooperation among advocates
and women who are abused. This year
after serving the women of Aegis
House, CANY received further funding
to provide our drama therapy program
for the children victims/witnesses
of domestic violence, living in
the shelter with their mothers.
Andrus Children’s
Center
Andrus Children’s Center is
a private non-profit community agency
offering prevention, assessment,
educational, treatment and research
programs that help children and
families achieve healthy, stable
lives throughout Westchester County
and the tri-state area. Over the
past two years, CANY groups have
served as an integral part of this
therapeutic and educational model
of work, running a program at two
discrete sites on the Andrus campus.
- The Orchard School offers highly
specialized instructional services
for students with special needs
and strives to create a welcoming
environment where children feel
safe, address affective issues,
acquire academic skills, and anticipate
a more hopeful future. The teachers,
assistants, social workers, and
administrators all play an active
role in the drama therapy program
at the Orchard School. In addition
to the usual CANY methods, the
program staff also incorporates
insights and practices from the
SANCTUARY model, whereby traumatized
children learn how to create a
safe and nurturing environment
in which to grow and develop.
- The Diagnostic Center provides
shelter, safety and a fresh start
for a group of youngsters whose
lives have been profoundly traumatized
or endangered. The children participating
in the Diagnostic Center groups
range between six and ten years
of age. The group is small in
size due to the behavioral and
psychological challenges and needs
of this traumatized group of children.
CANY activities have sought to
reintegrate play into the lives
of these psychologically battered
individuals, restoring imagination,
safety, connection and trust into
their bodies, hearts and minds
of group members.
Children’s Aid Society
–
The Children’s Aid Society
strives to fill the gaps between
what children deserve and what life
has dealt them. The organization
has been serving children for more
than 150 years, a testament to their
ability to adapt to the ever-changing
needs of today’s youth. CANY
runs drama therapy programs at two
Children Aid Society sites:
- Hope Leadership Academy
is a center dedicated to adolescent
development, working with youth
to design intervention/prevention
services. To participate, youth
must commit to provide service
to the community by becoming a
Peer Educator and Leader. After-school
programming focuses on in-school
youth and provides peer education,
and enrichment activities such
as the CANY program of groups.
- Next Generation
is a one-stop center designed
to meet the needs of young people
transitioning to adulthood and
self-sufficiency. The mission
of NGC is to provide support,
guidance, training and opportunities
to young people, ages 14 to 24,
in the Bronx. There is a special
focus on youth in foster care
and those who have aged out of
foster care. CANY groups have
become an integral part of this
specific rite of passage, providing
opportunities to rehearse new
life choices and roles.
Children’s Center
of Hamden
Founded in 1833, "the Children’s
Center of Hamden is Connecticut’s
oldest chartered private child-caring
agency. While most clients are from
Greater New Haven, the center welcomes
children from throughout the state
of Connecticut, targeting emotional
and behavioral problems, physical
or sexual abuse, learning disabilities,
and substance abuse.
CANY seeks to offer a creative
space for the children at Hamden
to explore their often tumultuous
life experience through metaphor,
story and drama. Groups allow participants
to celebrate in their creativity
and imagination, so often denied
children in crisis. At Hamden, CANY
staff runs three one-hour groups
each week, one boys group and two
separate girls’ groups, responding
to the needs of each group in terms
of age, gender and life situation.
Children's Village
The residential treatment center
at the Dobbs Ferry campus serves
deeply troubled children from within
the foster care system, the majority
of who come from impoverished, inner
city neighborhoods, rife with crime
and violence. The Children’s
Village works to undo this damage
by providing intensive clinical
services in a safe, nurturing environment,
and by working with families to
prepare them to foster an environment
of love and support that their children
will need upon returning home. CANY
works with emotionally disturbed
youth at The Children’s Village,
offering a separate boys and girl’s
group with children aged 5 through
17.
Church Street School for
Music and Art
Church Street School for Music and
Art is a not-for-profit community
arts center, established in 1990,
dedicated to arts education in Lower
Manhattan, and serves as a common
meeting ground for students from
diverse backgrounds. CANY groups
seek to respond to the needs of
a community resting at the edge
of the World Trade Center site,
focusing on developing connections
between participants as well as
creating a safe space to share stories
and experiences, feelings and thoughts.
Funded by the American Red Cross
to assist affected residents of
9/11, CANY groups seek to find ways
in which participants can express
feelings and thoughts in a contained
and therapeutic manner.
Graham-Windham Services
to Families and Children: Langston
Hughes PS 30M
Graham-Windham serves children and
adolescents with a history of delinquency,
incarceration, and/or emotional
disturbance, offering programs at
multiple sites in New York State
including P.S. #30 in Harlem. Graham-Windham
groups serve young people aged between
ages 11-14, diverse in cultural
and socioeconomic backgrounds. Creative
Alternative’s program goals
over the past year were to increase
cooperation, build self-esteem,
foster appropriate self-expression
and practice conflict resolution
skills.
Hawthorne Cedar Knolls
As part of the Jewish Board of Family
and Children's Services in Westchester
County, Hawthorne Cedar Knolls serves
residential and day students with
behavioral, emotional, psychological
and familial problems with the continuing
mission of rehabilitating youth
so they can rejoin their families
and the community. The CANY program
was greatly expanded at Hawthorne
this year due to an increase in
funding, enlarging to eight groups
a week at Linden Hill Middle School,
Cedar Knolls High School and, during
second semester, a group at the
newly opened Elementary School.
Group members present with a diverse
range of emotional psychological
and behavioral needs:
Mount Sinai Medical Center:
Inpatient Child and Adolescent Units
CANY staff runs groups on both the
child and adolescent units at Mt
Sinai. While the younger group serves
children aged between five and 12,
the adolescent group consists of
young people aged between 13 and
17. Duration of stay can be anywhere
between two weeks to two months
and clients present with a diverse
range of diagnoses and symptoms,
including major depression, attention
deficit disorder, poor impulse control
and anger management, self mutilation,
and trauma from sexual, physical
and psychological abuse.
NEW
IN 2007 New York Hospital: Payne
Whitney Psychiatric Clinic
The Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic
of New York Presbyterian Hospital
is a voluntary facility that provides
state-of-the-art mental health caring
for acutely ill adolescents, adults,
and the elderly. This is the first
year that CANY has run a program
of groups at New York Presbyterian,
offering two weekly groups, serving
both the adolescent and adult units.
NEW
IN 2007 St. Luke’s Outreach
Program for LGBT Homeless/Runaway
Youth
The Church of St. Luke in the Fields
is a lively, inclusive parish located
in the heart of New York City's
Greenwich Village. St. Luke's has
a longstanding commitment to the
support and full inclusion of Lesbian,
Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered
people in the Christian church and
celebrates their complete integration
in every aspect of our parish life.
An average of 60 youth (ages 13-20)
gather every Saturday to participate
in outreach programs. CANY has recently
become a part of this Saturday evening
program, offering a 90-minute group
each week. The group has developed
into a committed core of creative
and vivacious street youth, who
are increasingly able to express
their experiences, feelings and
thoughts in theatrical form.
Wildcat Academy
Wildcat Academy is an alternative
high school for youth-at-risk, targeting
students with a history of poor
attendance and academic achievement
as well as behavioral problems or
criminality, offering students an
innovative approach to engage them
in their educational and social
development. For the past several
years, CANY has run two 90 minute
groups, twice a week, with Wildcat
students. CANY groups are structured
to respond to an integral part of
the Wildcat curriculum, seeking
to improve concentration and motivation,
enhance articulation of feelings
and thoughts, increase positive
social exchange, as well as raise
self-awareness and self-esteem.
Our Direct Service Programs with
Adults:
Aegis House
Opened in 1981, Aegis is a Domestic
Violence Crisis Shelter that provides
short-term residence and support
services for women and their children
impacted by domestic violence. It
seeks to provide a non-competitive
atmosphere that fosters open communication,
respect, and cooperation among advocates
and women who are abused. The “Drama
Mamas” group at Aegis uses
theater to foster a sense of safety,
trust and community amongst clients,
creating an environment in which
experiences of survival can be shared
and transformed into new stories,
possibilities and roles. “Drama
Mamas” runs for an hour each
week and generally consists of between
three to eight participants, diverse
in age, race & socio-economic
background.
Bronx Veterans Administration
Medical Center
The Bronx VA Medical Center is the
oldest facility of its type in New
York City and has been providing
care for veterans with physical
and/or mental disabilities for over
75 years. Since 1984, CANY has provided
year-round services to inpatient
and outpatient psychiatry, working
with three different units at the
Bronx V.A.: Psychiatric Support
Services, the Acute Care Unit, and
the Substance Abuse Treatment Program.
The clients at Bronx VA are adult
men and women with a history of
military service, originating from
a wide range of cultural and socioeconomic
backgrounds
Gouverneur Hospital
Gouverneur Healthcare Services has
been meeting the healthcare needs
of New Yorkers for more than a century,
serving as both an acute care hospital
and nursing facility to residents
of Manhattan’s lower east
side. Multicultural and bilingual
services are available with a focus
on Chinese and Spanish immigrant
populations, responding to the discrete
needs of the local population. CANY
works with elders in an outpatient
day program at Gouverneur, most
of who are Asian and Latino in origin
and seeks to respond to the cultural
intermingling that makes this program
so unique, encouraging a rich sharing
of stories, life experience through
the metaphorical world of theater.
St. Mary’s Center
St. Mary’s is a skilled nursing
facility in Harlem, operating as
both a residence and day treatment
center for individuals diagnosed
with AIDS and HIV. CANY conducts
four sessions at St. Mary’s
each week, providing a safe and
containing environment for clients
to explore issues of existence,
identity and community. The majority
of clients are people of color,
especially men between the ages
of 30 and 50 who are attempting
to adopt new healthy behaviors while
obtaining continual treatment and
education from a medical staff.
Mount Sinai Medical Center:
Adult In-patient Units; MICA In-patient
& Out-patient units
Mount Sinai has been Creative Alternatives’
primary program site and partner
for over 30 years. Groups are run
in a diverse array of mental health
programs ranging from inpatient
psychiatry, outpatient day treatment,
substance abuse, and geriatrics.
all within the Department of Psychiatry.
In addition, Creative Alternatives
runs a weekly training session at
Mount Sinai in which CANY artists
in training and NYU interns from
the Program of Drama Therapy able
to hone their therapeutic skills
and develop group techniques with
the guidance of Emily Nash, Director
of Training.
|
Our
Fiscal Year 2007 Program Statistics
During
fiscal year 2007 Creative Alternatives
conducted 1,285 therapeutic theater
groups to clients from five to eighty
years old. Sessions took place at
17 discrete hospitals, schools and
community facilities.
Program participants were 63% male
and 37 % female. Ethnic composition
across all programs was 43% African-American,
27% Latino, 22% Caucasian, 6% Asian
and 2% other. 55% of groups served
children and adolescents and 45%
served adults.
| Program
Site |
Population
& Setting |
Group
Numbers |
| Aegis
House / Palladia |
Adult
female survivors of domestic
violence
Child survivors/witnesses of
domestic violence
Safe
shelter |
44 |
| Andrus
Children’s Center |
Psychiatrically
disabled/At-risk children
Residential facility
|
118 |
Bronx
Veterans
Administration Medical Center |
Psychiatrically
disabled adults
Inpatient
psychiatry & Day treatment
program |
134 |
Children’s
Aid Society:
Hope Academy
|
At-risk
youth
After-school program
|
32 |
Children’s
Aid Society:
Next Generation
|
Youth
aging out of foster care
After-school program
|
27 |
| Children’s
Center of Hamden CT |
Psychiatrically
disabled children
Residential
facility
|
97 |
| Children’s
Village |
Psychiatrically
disabled children
Residential facility
|
74 |
| Church
Street School of Music &
Art |
Affected
residents of 9/11
After-school
program
|
69 |
Gouverneur
Hospital (NYC)
|
Psychiatrically
disabled geriatric
Day
treatment program
|
47 |
| Hawthorne
Cedar Knolls School |
Psychiatrically
disabled/At-risk children &
adolescents
Residential
facility
|
117 |
| Icahn
House East |
Homeless
children
Transitional living facility
|
4 |
| Inwood
House |
At-risk
youth
Mental health model for
teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS
prevention
|
4 |
| Mount
Sinai Medical Center |
Psychiatrically
disabled older adults, adults,
adolescents & children/substance
abuse adults
Inpatient psychiatry &
Day treatment
|
226 |
| New
York Presbyterian Hospital |
Psychiatrically
disabled adolescents & adults
Inpatient psychiatry &
Day treatment program
|
42 |
| St
Mary’s Center |
Adults
living HIV/AIDS
Day
treatment program
|
182 |
| St
Luke in the Fields |
Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender
homeless/runaway youth
Community
outreach center
|
18 |
| Wildcat
Academy - Manhattan |
At-risk
youth
Alternative high
school
|
50 |
| Totals |
|
1285 |
|
Our
Training Programs:
Creative
Alternatives Staff Training Program
at Mt. Sinai Hospital
Creative Alternatives
provides an intensive six-month
training in our methodology, an
exclusive program for potential
new CANY artist staff. The training
is both didactic and experiential;
participants are given the opportunity
to train as part of ongoing CANY
groups within inpatient psychiatry
at Mount Sinai Hospital. Training
additionally includes weekly staff
supervision attendance as well as
training groups with a range of
program populations in various groups
led by CANY training staff.
NYU
Drama Therapy Graduate Student Internship
Program
Creative Alternatives
provides graduate internships to
NYU Drama Therapy second year students,
developing and honing clinical tools
and creative techniques. Other drama
therapy students may also apply
for this internship program. Interns
are supervised and evaluated by
CANY Program Director, Lucy McLellan,
in the following areas: Knowledge
of basic theories and practice of
group dynamics; ability to function
in the role of group leader and
to provide the necessary structure
and setting of limits; ability to
formulate appropriate drama therapy
goals for group, and to implement
and modify the different techniques
of drama therapy to meet the goals;
ability to identify roles and interactional
patterns of group members, facilitating
effective socialization with the
drama therapy modality; ability
to work with a co-leader in a group,
recognizing the special problems
of resistance that occur with this
dynamic.
Trainings
workshops for professional development
The CANY training
program is rooted in the understanding
that all group leaders benefit from
their own groups in which they can
explore professional issues and
emotional needs, building a stronger
and more conscious working community.
CANY staff facilitates training
workshops at sites in which our
programs already operate as well
as organizations unfamiliar with
our model of therapeutic theater.
We provide a hands-on opportunity
for staff to experience the healing
and creative aspects of a drama
therapy group experience. Participants
are offered a forum for reconnection
and rejuvenation, engaging in a
professional community-building
process through creative self-expression,
discussion and play. Workshops will
offer and explore:
- The art of creating safe
communities through group process
- Working creatively with resistance,
aggression and fear
- The creation of therapeutic
dramas through improvisation
- The use of character and role
to facilitate constructive self-expression
- The therapeutic use of story,
poetry and myth
I was
absolutely changed from my experience
in the workshop. I had no idea
how effective the theater arts
could be in helping individuals
re-connect with their true self.
It was a transforming experience.
--Jennifer
Bates, drama therapy workshop
participant
|
Training
Workshops and Seminars:
| Training
Site |
Description |
Andrus
Children’s Center
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
|
Social
Work Intern Training
A one-off workshop with Master’s
level social work interns at
Andrus. This 90-minute training
explored the application of
drama therapy tools & techniques
in diverse clinical settings. |
Andrus
Children’s Center
Hastings-on-Hudson, NY |
Staff
Training Workshop
Workshop with mental health
professionals in the field of
residential & crisis care.
This training focused on team
building amongst participants
& the practical application
of creative therapeutic techniques
with traumatized children. |
Children’s
Center of Hamden
Hamden, CT
|
Drama
Therapy Symposium
This symposium focused on the
use of therapeutic theatre with
children & adolescents.
Attended by 100 mental health
professionals from CT, the symposium
provided participants with an
opportunity to explore alternative
treatment approaches in their
diverse clinical settings. |
Children’s
Center of Hamden
Hamden, CT |
Staff
Training Program
An ongoing workshop series with
educators & mental health
professionals. This 9 month
program explores issues of professional
identity & team building
as well as the use of drama
therapy in an educational/ clinical
setting |
Family
& Children’s Aid
Danbury, CT
|
Staff
Training Workshop
A workshop with mental health
professionals working with children
& their families. This 90-minute
training focused on team building
amongst staff & the practical
application of drama as a therapeutic
tool. |
Higher
Achievement Program,
St Mary of the Assumption,
Staten Island, NY
|
Staff
Training Workshop
A workshop with staff at a youth
achievement program, focusing
on the use of theater to build
confidence, community &
focus amongst the young people
that they serve. |
Higher
Achievement Program,
St Mary of the Assumption,
Staten Island, NY
|
Youth
Training Workshop
A workshop with youth attending
an ongoing achievement program.
This two-hour workshop focused
upon group dynamics amongst
the youth, developing tools
of empathy and communication.
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Adolescent
Health Center,
Mount Sinai Medical Center
New York, NY
|
Staff
Training Workshop
A workshop with clinical staff
at this outpatient health center
for adolescents. The training
provided a review of the CANY
model & ways in which drama
therapy techniques can be used
in group therapy with young
people in outpatient care. |
Ridgefield
Crossings
Ridgefield, CT
|
Staff
Training Program
An ongoing training program
with senior care staff at Benchmark
Assisted Living. The program
focuses on the use of drama
therapy techniques with elders,
exploring creative life review
techniques & the development
of a healthy, connected community.
|
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Our
Vision:
We believe in the
healing power of drama in combination
with a clinical model of group psychotherapy,
developed by Creative Alternatives
over the past 35 years. We are confident
that this model can have a major
impact on the mental health of children
and adults in New York, Connecticut
and beyond. Over the next three
years, CANY seeks to grow from a
highly efficient and effective drama
therapy organization serving the
metropolitan New York area to a
national drama therapy organization
with the requisite resources to
deliver services and trainings to
a significantly larger number of
organizations and individuals. We
also envision the positive impact
our model could have on the treatment
of traumatic stress in individuals
and communities from developing
countries and countries coping with
transitional crises.
To fulfill this
goal we will develop a core staff
of trainers capable of teaching
our model at various sites and institutes,
assisting mental health service
providers in developing the CANY
drama therapy approach at their
facilities. It is our intention
to remain among the nation’s
most highly regarded drama therapy
providers while offering a range
of training opportunities.
In addition to
expanding our reach, we will deepen
our work through increased collaboration
with our partner sites, including
integrating the CANY model into
overall treatment plans for the
adults and children in our groups,
increasing CANY groups and staff
trainings at partner sites, as well
as solidifying the measurement and
evaluation of the impact of CANY
programs. A stronger partnership
with our sites will enable clear
documentation of the impact we make
on children and adults coping with
traumatic stress and other psychiatric
disabilities in a wide range of
settings, as well as broadening
recognition within the mental health
community of the effectiveness of
drama therapy and the CANY model
of work.
We have a powerful
drama therapy model which can be
replicated nationally and internationally
in addition to reaching more children
and adults within the metropolitan
New York area. The moment is right
for CANY to take major steps forward
as there is growing recognition
within the medical community of
the creative arts therapies as a
valid and valuable treatment modalities.
In addition to
working to realize our vision, CANY
will advocate for the greater recognition
of drama therapy within mental health
care settings. The Center for Creative
Alternatives will be a vehicle in
achieving this goal.
This
is Your Life
Your life is like
a puzzle
On the day you’re born it’s
finished
Then one day a little piece falls
out from the middle
And leaves a hole
Then day by day
The hole gets bigger
Month by month even bigger
Year by year
Until your life is clinging
To the last piece of the puzzle
--Written
by an adult group member at Mount
Sinai Hospital
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We
are grateful for the support of
the many donors who believe in healing
power of the arts.
READ
2006's Annual report
READ
2005's Annual report
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