Caldwell University
September 13, 2022
Caldwell University Offers Counseling Art Therapy Treatment Services to Community
Caldwell University’s Art Therapy Center is offering counseling art therapy services to adults in the local community through a new pilot program.
In addition a fall 2022 Art Therapy Career Exploration Conference will be held Sunday, Oct. 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Attendees can speak with professional art therapists, participate in art workshops, attend panel discussions, listen to clinical stories and network with art therapy professionals.
Through the pilot program, individual and group counseling art therapy treatment services for adults will be available by appointment and fees will be based on a sliding scale. No artistic ability or experience with art materials is necessary to reach personal goals in counseling art therapy. Sessions are held in a comfortable studio environment in the Art Therapy Center on Caldwell University’s campus. Services are provided by credentialed counselors with art therapy specializations and advanced master’s students under the supervision of program faculty.
Cindy Concannon, director of the Counseling Art Therapy Community Treatment Center at Caldwell University, says the University is delighted to be able to offer this service to the community. Concannon is a registered, board-certified art therapist and a licensed associate counselor and an alumna of the University’s Master of Arts in Counseling with an Art Therapy Specialization program. She has worked with people of all ages and abilities, providing counseling and art therapy integrated services.
Her work with those who have experienced trauma and grief, survivors of domestic violence, stroke and traumatic brain injury especially people living with aphasia, is enhanced by a combination of verbal and non-verbal counseling that offers a kinesthetic therapeutic experience through art materials and re-imagined everyday objects.“I am so happy to come home to Caldwell University in a new role. I hope to share with our clients and interns, the genuine warmth and sense of community that I have always felt here,” said Concannon.
The American Art Therapy Association defines art therapy as “an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship. Art therapy, facilitated by a professional art therapist, effectively supports personal and relational treatment goals as well as community concerns. Art therapy is used to improve cognitive and sensorimotor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and advance societal and ecological change.”
To find out more about counseling art therapy education at Caldwell contact the program coordinator, Dr. Annette Vaccaro at avaccaro@caldwell.edu or call 973-618-3668.
For information on receiving art therapy services, call the Counseling Art Therapy Community Treatment Center 973-618-3668 or email the director at cconcannon@caldwell.edu.
CU Art Therapy Center History
Caldwell University has been training mental health counselors with Art Therapy Specialization for over 20 years. The program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Program (CACREP) and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP). Graduates are prepared to pursue licensure in New Jersey as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Licensed Professional Art Therapist (LPAT). Find out more about counseling art therapy education through the program coordinator, Dr. Annette Vaccaro at avaccaro@caldwell.edu
In 2017 Caldwell University unveiled the Art Therapy Center, a dedicated space featuring a dynamic learning environment with workshop and classroom spaces equipped with state of the art technology, such as digital smartboards, computers and collaborative office and art display areas. Caldwell student interns have provided over 9,500 hours annually at sites ranging from physical rehabilitation to pediatric units to schools and programs that serve those facing mental health problems. The Art Therapy Center allowed Caldwell to reach more sites and the most vulnerable populations who may not have the language to express themselves in words but can accept an offer to make art for self-expression and healing.