*Registration Opens at 8am*

All Day Workshops

9:00 am - 4:30 pm

PC 1: Principles of Drama Therapy
Jason D. Butler, PhD, LCAT, RDT/BCT, President
Laura Wood, PhD, LMHC, RDT/BCT, President-Elect
Drama therapy is comprised of drama and theatre approaches that support individual and social change in clinical, 
educational and community settings.  This experiential workshop will introduce principles that guide the practice 
of drama therapy.  Attendees will gain experience with three approaches and learn how they might be used for 
healing and social action.
(6.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

PC 2: Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Ethnodramatherapy
Stephen Snow, PhD, RDT/BCT
Ethnodramatherapy is an integrative method devised by Dr. Stephen Snow for research projects at The Centre for the Arts in Human Development at Concordia University. It combines the research practices of Ethnodrama with the clinical process of Drama Therapy, and, in this way, provides a therapeutic experience for research participants.
(6.0 CE hours - NBCC)

PC 3: Sociodrama Intensive: The Facilitator's Toolbox
Nancy Sondag, MA, LCAT, CDP, CADDCT, RDT/BCT
This experiential workshop introduces classic sociodrama, a powerful, effective group action method that allows its members to creatively enact and examine issues that are common to the group. Participants will learn to choose from an aray of techniques to facilitate a sociodrama while safely honoring the strengths and wisdom of the group. 
(6.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

PC 4: Mindfulness, Meditation, and Drama Therapy: Adding Insight Improv to Your Therapy Toolbox
Joel Gluck, MEd, RDT
Mindfulness and meditation are now an important part of any therapist's toolbox, and work beautifully in conjunction with creative arts therapy approaches. Come explore how to integrate mindfulness into one's drama therapy practice, using sitting meditation, authentic movement, psolodrama, and other techniques from Insight Improvisation.
(6.0 CE hours - NBCC)

Early Morning Short Workshop

9:00 am - 10:30 am

PC 5: Response-Based Drama Therapy: A Viable Option for Youth Experiencing Anxiety
Kim Sholinder, MA, RCC    
Laura Brown, MA, RCC                        
Response-Based practice and Drama Therapy techniques lend themselves well to working with youth experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Kim and Laura provide a clear overview of Response-Based language to provide non-pathologizing support in a drama therapy group designed for youth experiencing anxiety in a community mental health setting. 
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

Late Morning Short Workshop

11:00 am - 12:30 pm

PC 6: Changing Locus of Control through Drama Therapy
Sally Bailey, MFA, MSW, RDT/BCT
Through drama therapy techniques learn what Locus of Control (LOC) is and why it is a valuable therapeutic concept. 
You will leave the session with your current LOC score and an understanding of how drama therapy can transform
external LOC to an internal one.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

Afternoon Long Workshop

1:30pm - 4:30pm

PC 7: Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Theory and Application for Drama Therapists
Cecilia Dintino, PsyD, RDT
Mary Roohan, MA 
We will explore the theoretical underpinnings of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), emphasizing both emotion 
regulation and dialectical orientation. We will demonstrate how to teach a number of key DBT skills through 
drama therapy techniques. Our goal is to make these skills accessible for drama therapists to incorporate into 
their own practice. 
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

Late Afternoon Short Workshops

5:00pm - 6:30pm

PC 8: Creating Peer-Led Drama Therapy Support Groups in Colombia
Jessica Northam, MA
This session will examine the year long experience of drama therapy groups for internally displaced women in 
Barranquilla, Colombia's barrio Las Gardenias and the development of peer-led drama therapy support groups to
improve community well being in government constructed relocation housing. 
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

PC 9: Family Centered Treatment and Drama Therapy: Utilizing Embodied interventions in Family Therapy
Lisa Hilt, MA, LCAS-A, RDT,
Family Centered Treatment (FCT) is an evidence based family preservation model of home based treatment. 
Participants will gain knowledge of the four phases of the FCT model and practice integrating embodied 
interventions in each phase to prevent the dissolution of the family due to external and internal stressors and 
circumstances. 
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

PC 10: The Drama Therapist's Marketing ToolBelt
Jodi Rabinowitz, MA, LPC, RDT
Congratulations- you got your Master's in Drama Therapy! Now what? Learn creative and effective tools to 
promote yourself in the job market as a Drama Therapist. This practical and experiential workshop is aimed 
at students, new graduates, and clinicians looking to improve their careers.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

PC 11: Clown Personae: an Embodied Approach to Existential Psychotherapy
Daphne Morin, BA
This presentation aims to investigate the clown persona's potential to bypass defenses formed around existential 
anxiety. Using humor, the clown bumbles through the absurdity of existence. I will argue that the clown has the 
potential to develop a more flexible relationship between the self and potentially ego-threatening existential 
concerns. 

Newcomer Dinner 

6:30pm - 8:00pm

ND 1: Newcomer Dinner 
This offsite event is for people who are attending their first NADTA conference or are new to the drama therapy community and is an opportunity to get to know other new conference attendees. Participants will be asked to pay for their own meals, and NADTA members will be available to answer questions and welcome you to the community. 

Evening Performance

7:00pm - 9:00pm

P 1: "Only a Girl", the life of Irene Gut Opdyke
Jen Faith Brown, MFA
“Only a Girl” is a two-character play with music and film images that chronicles the true story of Irene Gut Opdyke. Irene was a 17-year-old Polish girl who helped save hundreds of lives during World War II and the Holocaust. The play is based on personal interviews with Mrs. Opdyke. 
(2.0 CE hours)

Student Forum

8:30pm - 10:00pm

SF 1: Student Forum
Paula Heller, MA
The student forum is fantastic opportunity for students in various programs and also from the alternative track to connect in person and begin developing professional networks.   Experimental dramatic play and group activity round out this social experience.

*Registration Opens at 7:30am*

Early Morning Offering
8:00am - 9:00am

TM 1: Developmental Transformations (DvT) and Yoga - A Yoga workshop inspired by DvT!
Mira Rozenberg, MA, RDT/BCT
Yoga engages the mind and body through a series of postures, breathing and meditation. Developmental Transformations (DvT) is an active, playful, embodied practice. This workshop will get right into the body through a yoga practice spiced with a playful DvT flavour. Your opportunity to energize, relax, stretch, move, breathe and play! 

All Conference Event - Opening Ceremony

9:00am - 10:30am

OC: Opening Ceremony with Omega Theater and Guest Speaker, Saphira Linden
Ms. Linden, Director of The Omega Transpersonal Drama Therapy Certificate Program (in its 18th year): How can we drama therapists take our work into the world with populations who we are passionately drawn to and want to help? With RDT graduates, faculty and RDT candidates from Omega’s Drama
Therapy program, we will showcase the application of Omega’s transpersonal principles into action.
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

Bio: Saphira Linden, MA, LCAT, TEP, RDT/BCT is the director of the Omega Transpersonal Drama Therapy Certificate Program (Boston). She is the 1st recipient of the NADTA outstanding teacher award, a fellow of ASGPP, adjunct faculty at Lesley University and Endicott College, IIP, India, and artistic director of Omega Theater/Theater Workshop Boston, Inc (since 1967).

All Conference Events

Regional Meetings 
10:45 AM – 11:45 AM
Join the Regional Representatives for the break-out regional meetings [Western Region, Central Region, Eastern Region, Canadian Region, and International Region].

Annual Membership Meeting and Luncheon 
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Please join us for a luncheon and the annual NADTA membership meeting. We will celebrate the work of volunteers over the past year, honor award recipients and engage in a discussion about how we as a community of members and volunteers would like to see the organization develop.

Afternoon Long Workshops

2:00pm - 5:00pm

A 1: A Poetry-Based Toolkit for the Drama Therapist
Susana Pendzik, PhD, RDT
Drama therapy is poetically inspired: We chose words for their suggestive resonance, use simile and metaphor as interventions, and draw on poetic resources like word repetition, personification, and oxymoron, in dramatization. Participants will explore a range of poetry-based techniques that can be applied in drama therapy with individuals and groups.
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

A 2: Measure for Measure: Tools to Research Drama Therapy
Calli Armstrong, PhD, RDT
Meredith Dean, MA, LCAT, CASAC, ICADC, RDT
Christine Mayor, MA, RDT
Nisha Sajnani, PhD, RDT/BCT
Jason Frydman, MA, LCAT, RDT
Shea Wood, PhD, CCC
This experiential workshop aims to help participants discover the excitement, adventure, and creativity involved in 
engaging in research. Explorations will include work with stories, improvisation, and images. Participants will be 
guided through all the steps of the research journey, from identifying a research question to submitting articles 
for publication. 
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC & NYS)

A 3: The Who, What, When, and Why of Drama Therapy Interventions
Paige Dickinson, PhD, RDT/BCT
Sally Bailey, MFA, MSW, RDT/BCT
The purpose of this workshop is to provide a model for students and early career drama therapy professionals to identify appropriate drama therapy interventions for specific populations and help them understand why different drama therapy interventions are used for similarly named symptoms in different populations. 
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC & NYS)

A 4: The FEAR Project: Face Everything and Recover, Theatre Tools for Personal Change
Jessica Litwak, MFA, RDT
In The FEAR Project Workshop, participants will obtain specific tools for creating engaged theatre for personal 
change. Combining theatre, drama therapy and a 13-question interview format, participants will devise deep, 
humorous and truthful theatre pieces that can inspire audiences and clients to communicate about fear in a safe 
space.
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

A 5: The Powerful Partnership of Transactional Analysis and Drama Therapy
Armand Volkas, MFA, MA, LMFT, RDT/BCT
Transactional Analysis (TA) is a dynamic theory of personality and accessible system of interactional therapy. 
Its goals are autonomy, spontaneity and intimacy. When TA is combined with drama therapy, clients quickly learn 
to identify and change self-defeating “life-scripts”. This workshop introduces TA as an illuminating therapeutic 
template for drama therapy. 
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

A 6: The Play that Kills us Makes us Stronger: Vicarious Resilience & Drama Therapy
Adam Reynolds, PhD (abd), MSW, MFA, LCSW, CASAC, RDT/BCT
The concept of Vicarious Resilience (VR) names a paradox in the treatment trauma survivors -- our exposure to 
clients' resilience in the face of great suffering can have positive effects on therapists. Drama therapists are 
uniquely positioned to illuminate and experience this effect through the powerful empathic connection of play.
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC & NYS)

A 7: Exploring Self with the Communicube: A Dramatherapy Tool & Method by John Casson
Myriam Savage, PhD, RDT/BCT
The Communicube, a therapeutic intervention tool, created by British dramatherapist John Casson, relies on projective approaches as part of the Therapeutic Method of the Five-Story Self-Structure he devised for individual or group therapy, supervision, teambuilding and play. The containing "cube" a five-tiered transparent plastic tower is implemented by using small abstract objects (i.e. buttons) and storymaking to help clients explore the self through symbols and roleplaying.
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

A 8: The Brecht Toolkit: Old Ideas for New Times 
Anna Seymour, PhD, PFHEA, PG Dip Drth, Dip Sup., HCPC reg Dramatherapist
Bertolt Brecht's (1898-1956) theatre was created to respond to what he described as the 'dark times'. As we face our own 'fears and miseries' this workshop revisits the key concepts of his theatre praxis as essential practical and theoretical tools of the Dramatherapist's craft. 
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC & NYS)

A 9: Learning To Love: Using Drama Therapy and Sandtray to Explore Attachment in Children and Adults 
Lucy McLellan, MA, LPC, LCAT, RDT/BCT 
Learning to Love is an experiential workshop that will fuse theories of attachment and trauma with 
drama therapy and sandtray to explore the ways in which adults enrole and perform in relationships, 
as parents, as lovers, and as clients in the therapeutic playspace. 
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

All Conference Event – Body of Knowledge
5:30pm - 7:00pm 

BoK: “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House”: Embracing Intersectional Feminism
Intersectional Feminist Drama Therapists:
Darci Burch, MA, LCAT-P, RDT
Maria Hodermarska, MA, CASAC, LCAT, RDT/BCT
Kate Hurd, MA, LCAT, RDT/BCT
Katherine Lee, MA, CCLS, RDT
Christine Mayor, MA, RDT
Lucy McLellan, MA, LCAT, RDT/BCT
Nisha Sajnani, PhD, RDT/BCT
This performative roundtable explores the praxis of intersectional feminism, a theoretical paradigm that 
interrogates how multiple systems of oppression interlock to create inequality as well as solidarity. Through 
radical listening and loving inquiry, this session asks: How are gendered, racialized, neurodiverse, and queer 
bodies and perspectives quieted in our field?
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

Evening Performance 

7:00pm - 8:30pm 

P 2: THE SHOW: Therapeutic Theatre illuminating Intersectionality of Race, Power & Privilege
Adam Stevens, MA, LCAT-P 
THE SHOW is a stylized, satirical musical that explores the intersections of race, power, privilege, and performance. This exciting therapeutic theatre work is an arts based research project that illuminates unique stories of people of color. THE SHOW is presented through the frame of a 1950's sitcom and features the beautiful, bodacious Black Family.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

All Conference Event – Reception Hosted by the Omega Theater and Lesley University
8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Omega Theater and Lesley University welcome and invites you to meet old friends and make new ones over refreshments. Omega, now in their 50th year, will be previewing a documentary as they also celebrate their 16th year as an alternative training program in drama therapy. Both local institutions, Lesley is one of 5 NADTA accredited programs.

Early Morning Offerings

8:00am - 9:00am

SM 1: Developmental Transformations (DvT) and Yoga - A Yoga workshop inspired by DvT!
Mira Rozenberg, MA, RDT/BCT
Yoga engages the mind and body through a series of postures, breathing and meditation. Developmental Transformations (DvT) is an active, playful, embodied practice. This workshop will get right into the body through a yoga practice spiced with a playful DvT flavour. Your opportunity to energize, relax, stretch, move, breathe and play! 

SM 2: Alternative Track Meeting 
Adam Reynolds, PhD (abd), MSW, MFA, LCSW, CASAC, RDT/BCT
Open to anyone who is curious or who has questions about Alternative Training in drama therapy.

SM 3: Ethics Meeting
Patrick Hughes, MA, RDT, LMHC
Join a discussion with members of the Ethics Committee about issues pertaining to ethics, the organization and this year’s conference theme. 

All Conference Event - Keynote Speech

9:00am - 10:30am

KN: Keynote Speech - Drama Therapy and the Invisible Realm
Susana Pendzik, PhD, RDT
Dramatic reality—a resourceful composite of imaginary & tangible worlds that are reinvented when clients agree to partake of them—intersects with shamanism, arts, spirituality & psychotherapy; a profound awareness of the invisible & a focused engagement with it is shared, intertwined through exploration as it illuminates & is illuminated by drama therapy thinking.
Click Here for more information on the Keynote Presentation
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

Bio: Susana Pendzik, PhD, RDT is head of the Dramatherapy Graduate Program at Tel Hai Academic College, lecturer (Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Dramatherapy Institute, Switzerland), supervisor and therapist in private practice.

Morning Short Workshops

10:45am - 12:15pm

B 1: Holding the Holocaust: The Witness Theater Model of Therapeutic Theater 
Sally Shatzkes, MA, LCAT, RDT
Jessica Asch, MA, LCAT-LP, RDT
Barbara Kaynan, MA, LCAT-P
Andrea Stefens, MA, LCAT, RDT
Jenny Velarde, MA, LCAT, RDT
Witness Theater is a trauma-informed therapeutic theater model.  Through this workshop, participants will be 
equipped with practical tools from the Witness Theater model to structure and hold therapeutic theater processes,
including the following stages: group cohesion, story sharing, theater training, script development, play building, 
public performance and reflection & processing. 
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

B 2: Digging Deep For Ancient Tools: Drama Therapy and Dementia Care
Maria Scaros-Mercado, LCAT, RDT/BCT
Can it be drama therapy if the group's communication is confabulated and familiar objects are unrecognizable?  
This session will explore how reexamining our theory and practice and those of other interventions can inform 
the search for character and story in a group of lost identities and fractured thoughts. 
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

B 3: Once upon a hospital stay: Therapeutic Storymaking with Children in the Medical Setting
Rebecca Versaci, MA, LCAT-P, CCLS, RDT
In this workshop participants will explore how therapeutic storymaking might be used meet the psychosocial 
needs of children within the medical setting. Participants will experience several storymaking interventions with 
the goals of helping pediatric patients improve coping, facilitate emotional expression, and promote insight.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 4: The UK Dramatherapist's Toolbox: BADth’s Journal Writing & Work Survey Project 2017
Emma Ramsden, PhD, BADth member UK
Alyson Coleman, PhD, BADth member UK
Having delivered the keynote address at the British Association of Dramatherapists (BADth) annual conference in 
September, Dr. Emma Ramsden is joined by the current Chair, Dr. Alyson Coleman, to illuminate ’The UK 
Dramatherapist's Toolbox’.  This paper presents findings from the journal writing and work survey project
conducted in Spring 2017.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 5: Research: Focus Group & ABR on Roles/Tools of Drama Therapists in Schools
Christine Mayor, MA, RDT
You are invited to a semi-structured focus group discussion and arts-based research data collection on the 
question: What are the roles and tools drama therapists draw upon when working in K-12 schools? Workshop 
participants must sign informed consent to participate, including being audio-recorded and photographed. REB approval #5439
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 6: Designing Social Equity Position Statements, Creation of Theory and Better Practice
Jessica Bleuer, MA, MEd, CCC, RDT
Patrick Hughes, MA, LMHC, RDT
As encouraged in the Guidelines on Cultural Response/Ability, Drama Therapists engage in advocacy and acts 
of solidarity on issues that negatively impact our clients, and support organizational discourse and policy 
development. Let’s explore, delve into the theories behind, and improve the practice of generating NADTA’s 
position statements.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 7: Trauma Drama: An Evidence-Informed, Improvisational Theater-based Intervention for Youth
Sarah Kostecki, MA, LMHC, RDT   
An introduction to the Trauma Drama model and interactive demonstration of how Trauma Drama uniquely synthesizes elements of improvisational theater and cooperative play into a therapeutic framework grounded in the core components of complex trauma intervention for treatment of youth with complex trauma. 
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 8: Going Mental:  Stopping Mental Health Stigma Through Performance
Randy Mulder, MA, RDT/BCT
How can performance stop stigma?  This workshop examines the process and outcomes when adults with chronic psychiatric disabilities train and perform with a professional company, Village Playback Theatre, to provide interactive performances for audiences and performers to speak up about their relationship to mental illness. 
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 9: Drama Therapy and Refugees: Finding Home
Nisha Sajnani, PhD, RDT/BCT
Heidi Landis, LCAT, TEP, RDT/BCT
Drama therapy has been used to support displaced persons. Participants will become familiar with relevant terms 
and statistics and will be guided through the use of trauma-informed drama therapy with refugees resettling in the 
USA. Three experiential examples will be provided and followed with discussion.
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

Afternoon Long Workshops

1:15pm - 4:15pm

B 10: Adding Omega Transpersonal Drama Therapy Techniques to Your Toolbox 
Saphira Linden, MA, TEP, LCAT, RDT/BCT
Petrina McGowen, MA, RDT, LMFT
Daniel Wiener, PhD, Lic. Psychologist, LMFT, RDT/BCT
Nathaniel Warren-White, MA, RDT
Jackie Newman, MA, LSW, CNS, LDN, RDT
Chris Carbone, MA, CHHC, E-RYT, RDT
This workshop features mini-presentations of distinctive techniques from five drama therapists affiliated with 
Omega Theater. In small groups, participants share the experience of using these presented techniques, which 
embody Omega’s 12 Transpersonal Drama Therapy principles. Participants may then discover how some of 
these principles inform their own drama therapy work.
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

*CANCELED*

B 11: The Embodiment of Attachment in the Mirror Game
Rinat Feniger-Schaal, PhD
This workshop is based on a multidisciplinary study that used the mirror game as a paradigm to study interpersonal interaction. Resulting from this study, we developed a rating scale for the mirror-game which we find to be connected to attachment classification. In this experiential workshop we will share the knowledge we gained. 
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

B 12:  Whose Sex Life Is it, Anyway?  An Ethnodramatic Exploration with Adults with DD/ID
Stephen Snow, PhD, RDT/BCT
Miranda D’Amico, PhD
Eric Mongerson, MFA
Mira Rozenberg, MA, RDT
Shyam Anandampillai, MA 
Christina Opolko, MA
Michael de Jong, BA
Shelley Snow, Ph.D., MTA

This panel examines the results of a study which investigated how the ethnodramatherapy approach helped adults with developmental disabilities explore their experiences of intimacy, romance and sexuality. Results demonstrated the empowering effects on the participants, expressing their authentic voice on this topic, as well as audiences’ responses to their performance.
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

B 13: Addressing Sociopolitical Traumas From Theory-To-Practice Through Theatre of the Oppressed 
Jessica Bleuer, MA, MEd, CCC, RDT
Carmen White, PhD, RDT/BCT
Diana Elizabeth Jordan, MFA/OTA
Idalid Diaz Posada, MA, CCC
Kamran Afray, PhD 
As Drama Therapists we are encouraged to learn about the sociopolitical issues that impact the psychological 
welfare of our clients (Guidelines 3: Commitment to Cultural Response/Ability). Let’s use Theatre of the 
Oppressed techniques to process, theorize and practice addressing 2017 sociopolitical traumas for ourselves, 
our clients, and our communities.
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

B 14: Using Masks and Other Created Objects in Drama Therapy - Finding Hope and Meaning
Yehudit Silverman, R-DMT, RDT
Yehudit will present photographs and video clips to demonstrate the use of created objects and masks in her work 
with suicide, interfaith dialogue, and trauma. There will be an experiential component where participants will 
create a sculptural object and learn ways of integrating the created object into drama therapy work.
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

B 15: Perspectives on the Self in Performance
Pam Dunne, PhD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, RDT/BCT
David Johnson, PhD, RDT/BCT
Renee Emunah, PhD, RDT/BCT
Susana Pendzik, PhD, RDT
Stephen Snow, PhD, RDT/BCT
Armand Volkas, MFA, MA, LMFT, RDT/BCT
Nisha Sajnani, PhD, RDT/BCT
Anna Seymour, PhD, HCPC, BADth registered supervisor, PFHEA, RDT
Drew Bird, MEd, BSc (Hons) PGDip Dramatherapy, Dip SW
Maria Hodermarska, MA, LCAT, CASAC, RDT/BCT
Editors and chapter contributors of the new book, The Self in Performance will discuss Self-Revelatory and Autobiographical Therapeutic Performance. Topics include the function of the director/therapist, the role of the audience, terminology, individual vs. social impact, areas for future research, methods, and the value of theatrical self-reflection in drama therapy training.
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

B 16: Tabletop Journey
Andrew Gaines, PhD, LCAT, RDT/BCT
Combining the Hero’s Journey with Role Method and World Technique, this original framework makes the healing
process accessible for a wide variety of populations. Seated with small objects, Tabletop Journey affords greater
control and containment, yet the stories it reveals can release profound spontaneity and connection among 
participants.
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

B 17: The ACTsmart Toolbox: Engaging and Empowering Teens Using Dramatic Action Methods 
Becca Greene-Van Horn, MA, LCAT, RDT/BCT
The ACTSMART Program teaches middle and high school students to work creatively, with their own and their peers’ issues, and to give back to the community, through interactive performance. Dramatic action methods are drawn from Improv, Playback, Psycho/Sociodrama, Role Play and Drama Therapy Games. Participants will leave with practical skills.
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS

Late Afternoon Short Workshops

4:30pm - 6:00pm

B 18: Defining "Creativity" in Drama Therapy: Building a Contemporary Psychological Framework
Jason Frydman, MA, LCAT, RDT
As a profession, drama therapy situates itself among the creative arts therapies. This workshop will break down 
the contemporary core construct of creativity as it is understood by recent psychological research. Currently, 
creativity is defined as the interplay of top-down and bottom-up processes. Relevance to drama therapy theory 
and practical applications for practice will be discussed. 
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

B 19: Unpacking play: What is really happening in our sessions?
Renee Pitre, MA, RDT/BCT
In the drama therapy field, we have established through theories and methods that play is beneficial to our clients.
What we are lacking, though, is clarity on what we mean by play. Case material and ideas around play in practice
will be presented in hopes of gaining some further insight. 
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 20: The ACTing Cure - Strengths-based Group Techniques for People with Intellectual Disabilities
Andrea Szucs, LMSW, RDT
This workshop presents Strengths-based experiential Group Techniques for People with Intellectual and Psychiatric Disabilities.
TheACTing Cure – is a hybrid group model designed for the ID/DD population blending tools of Positive 
Psychology, Role Theory, Group Dynamics and Character Strengths with techniques and elements of Interactive 
Behavioral Therapy, Action Methods, Positive Interventions and Improvisation.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 21: Trauma? Do We Dare? Having the Hard Conversations
Erinn Webb, MA, RDT
Sarah Pizer-Bush, MA
Are kids experiencing trauma? How do we know if we don’t ask? What stops us from asking? Join us for an 
exploration of how to apply the trauma-centered model to working with kids & institutions. The presenters will 
draw from their work in the ALIVE program.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 22: The Little House At Pooh Corner: And Other Fairy Tales
Stephanie Omens, MA, LCAT, CCLS, RDT
Clinical case examples will be used to describe how adults attempt to control events and protect from painful 
realities by projecting these onto children. The presenter’s experience helping families face life threatening 
medical conditions in their children has helped her leverage DvT to support telling the truth.
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

B 23: Role Theory in Drama Therapy: Past, Present and Future
Robert Landy, PhD, LCAT, RDT/BCT
Robert Landy will discuss his version of role theory in drama therapy praxis since its inception in his 1986 
seminal text, Drama Therapy, Concepts and Practices. He will speak to the history of role theory and speculate 
as to its future directions within university and private training models.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

B 24: Research, is that your tool?
Natardia Lee Soy, MA
Brooke Campbell, MA, LCAT, RDT/BCT
Jason Conover, LCAT, CASAC, RDT/BCT
When research is in your toolbox clients are better served.  Understanding a lived experience through the lens 
of the collective experience highlights the power of research.  Research gives the therapist the opportunity for 
understanding the clients’ cultural persona. When performed on stage research becomes a living story.
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

B 25: Presence and Absence in Long Distance Grief Work
Doug Ronning, MA, LMFT, RDT/BCT
Grace Schuchner
Crossing language, culture, and thousands of miles between Buenos Aires and San Francisco, two drama 
therapists - participant and facilitator - embarked on a self-revelatory grief process through seven sessions 
conducted over the internet. Come explore with us lessons learned about separation, connection, cross-cultural 
communication, scene setting, and virtual witnessing.
(1.5 CE hours - NBCC)

Evening Offerings

7:00pm - 8:00pm
S 1: Student Meet & Greet with the Board
Jason D. Butler, PhD, LCAT, RDT/BCT, President 
Laura Wood, PhD, LPC, RDT/BCT, President Elect
NADTA Board of Directors
NADTA Student Committee 
All student members of the NADTA are invited to a meet and greet with the NADTA Board of Directors.

7:00pm - 8:30pm
P 3: Marilyn, Norma Jean, & Me: An Embodied Case Narrative
Dana Trottier, MA, LCAT, RDT
Through performance, the therapeutic relationship between a drama therapist and a patient in acute care is presented. Stories that have lived in the body are performed in an aesthetic way incorporating theory and practice. Embodied Case Narrative (ECN) is introduced as a tool to communicate the work of a drama therapist. 
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

All Conference Event - President's Reception

8:30pm - 11:00pm

R 2: President’s Reception
Jason D. Butler, PhD, LCAT, RDT/BCT, President 
Join President Jason Butler in a celebration of our community. We will honor our newest Registered Drama Therapists (RDTs) & Board Certified Trainers (BCTs) and express gratitude to the many volunteers who gave of their time and energy to bring this conference to fruition. Cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, a no-host bar, and entertainment that is sure to delight.

Early Morning Offerings

8:00am - 9:00am

SU 1:     Developmental Transformations (DvT) and Yoga - A Yoga workshop inspired by DvT!
Mira Rozenberg, MA, RDT/BCT
Yoga engages the mind and body through a series of postures, breathing and meditation. Developmental Transformations (DvT) is an active, playful, embodied practice. This workshop will get right into the body through a yoga practice spiced with a playful DvT flavour. Your opportunity to energize, relax, stretch, move, breathe and play! 

SU 2: RDT Application Process
Liz Muckley, LCPC, RDT
This one-hour session will take you step by step through the application requirements. Download and print out a blank application, make a list of your questions and we will guide you through this important and sometimes confusing process. Don’t let mistakes and a lack of foreknowledge delay your achievement of this important goal.

SU 3: BCT Meeting
Adam Reynolds, PhD (abd), MSW, MFA, LCSW, CASAC, RDT/BCT
This is a required meeting for all Board Certified Trainers, moderated by Education Chair, Adam Reynolds. Bring your questions and concerns. 

Early Morning Short Workshop

9:00am - 10:30am

C 1: Life-crossroads on Stage: Integrating Life-Review and Drama Therapy for Older Adults
Shoshi Keisari, MA
Yuval Palgi, PhD
This presentation examines a therapeutic intervention for older adults, which includes drama therapy together 
with life-story work. Bringing to life the succinct life-story in one dramatic creation enhances the integrity and 
coherence of one’s life-story. Furthermore, it encourages the acceptance of dialectical perspectives and 
contradictions while enhancing a positive identity.
(1.5 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

Morning Long Workshops

9:00am - 12:00pm

C 2: Toss Open the Chest!  Attunement: Accessing Our Most Basic Tool
Kristin Long, MA, LCAT, LP, RDT/BCT
As clinicians, our most valuable tool is our self.  This workshop will explore how our mind, our body, and our 
very being impact therapeutic relationships.  We will look at definitions of attunement and how this concept
influences our work individually, in group settings, when co-leading, in supervisory dyads, and other relationships.
(3.0 CE hours (3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

C 3: Drama Therapy Praxis: Intuitive Improv or Premeditated Application?
Jami Osborne, MA, LMHC, MaCCS, RDT/BCT
Daniel Weiner, PhD, LMFT,LIC Psychologist,  RDT/BCT,
We will create a laboratory to: (1) deepen understanding of drama therapy practice, both by solving clinical problems and witnessing the creative process; (2) explore the role of improvisation in moving from known generic techniques to unique, effective interventions; (3) increase self-knowledge in the development of one’s clinical mastery.
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

C 4: Standing in Grace: Harnessing the power of Awe, Gratitude in Drama Therapy
Bonnie Harnden, MA, RDT
Isis Brisebois
Meaghen Buckley
Satara Devi Subedar
Paula Duffy
Florine Gall
Julia Griffiths-Nadeau
Koudia Gueniot
Alaya Jade Martin
Elliot Maxwell
Jeremy Park
Lillian Rivera Valerdi
Angela Tauber
Bill Wood
Anna Zipporah Doiron
How do we become more present and resilient when facing adversity, trauma, and oppression? This workshop will
present the current research on the healing power of awe and gratitude within drama therapy. Building a 
sustaining alive practice, to contain our inner worlds and those of our clients, will be central. 
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

C 5: Puppets For The People, Tools For Personal and Social Change
Jessica Litwak, MFA, RDT
Join theatre artist and RDT Jessica Litwak for this fun, creative and therapeutic puppet-making workshop. Learn 
the tools for building a puppet using simple materials, and bringing it to life. This unique form of puppet building 
allows participants to freely and deeply expresses themselves with hands, heart, body and voice.
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

C 6: Holding Space: Peer Supervision for Personal Growth and Professional Development
Nick Brunner, MA, LCAT, RDT
Allison Finder, LCAT-P, RDT
Rachel Lee Soon, MA, LCAT, RDT
Danielle Levanas, MA, LCAT-permit
Erin Roth, LCAT-P
Isabel Shanahan, MA, LCAT, RDT
Jessica Shotwell, MA, RDT
This workshop will provide participants with a lens into the benefits and challenges of establishing and sustaining 
a peer supervision group.  Attendees will learn strategies and tools from members of an ongoing peer supervision 
group, and will have the opportunity to utilize these skills in small group discussions.
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

C 7: Enhancing the Alphabet Therapies with Drama Therapy
Nancy Sondag, MA, LCAT, CDP, CADDCT, RDT/BCT
Pio Cabada-Bleier, LCSW, MPA, MSW, RYT
This experiential workshop demonstrates how Drama Therapy can be incorporated into the practice of Cognitive 
Behavior Therapy (CBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Motivational Interviewing  (MI) to make 
these Evidence-Based Practices (EBP)  more effective through the use of embodiment, perspective-taking, and
role-play.
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

C 8: Theater of Possibility for Autism & Related Challenges
Lauren Marshall, MFA, JD, BA 
Theater of Possibility (“TOP”) is geared to kids and adults with autism spectrum and other ability differences. 
TOP explores relationship skills, combining Theater of the Oppressed with principles of Relationship Development
Intervention, acting, improvisation, collaboration and playwriting.  This experiential workshop will apply theory and 
practice to working with autistic individuals.
(3.0 CE hours - NBCC)

C 9: Trauma in Our Schools: Three Approaches Addressing Widespread Trauma in K-12 Schools
Darci Burch, MA, LCAT-P, RDT
Diana Feldman, MA, LCAT, RDT/ BCT
Nisha Sajnani, PhD, RDT/BCT
Heidi Landis, LCAT, TEP, RDT/BCT
Lizzie McAdam, MA, MS, RDT
Cat Davis, MA, RDT
Christine Mayor, MA, RDT
Witness a conversation between ENACT, CANY, and the ALIVE program at the PTSC, three organizations using 
signature methods with thousands of K-12 students in public schools. Participants will gain an understanding of 
the role of drama therapy in treating complex, collective, and systemic trauma within a public health framework.
(3.0 CE hours – NBCC & NYS)

Student Forum

11:00am - 12:00pm

SF 2: Student Forum, Part 2
Paula Heller, MA
Jason Butler, PhD, LCAT, RDT/BCT, President
It’s not A Doll’s House but it’s a part 2 nonetheless. Join part 2 of the student forum for a fantastic opportunity for students in various programs and also from the alternative track to connect in person and begin developing professional networks. Experimental dramatic play and group activity round out this social experience.

All Conference Event - Closing Ceremony

12:15pm - 1:15pm

CC: Closing Ceremony
Wrap up this year’s conference with a closing ceremony led by Lesley University.