About this course

Learning Objectives

• Participants will explain the rationale for using creative arts within DBT skill training
• Participants will identify 1-3 creative arts interventions that will reinforce skill acquisition within each skill module
• Adapt these techniques for both group and individual therapy settings while maintaining adherent DBT

Learning Levels

• Beginner

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Hannah Heffner, ATR-BC, LPCC, DBT-LBC

  Therapist

  Hannah Heffner, ATR-BC, LPCC, DBT-LBC, (she/her) is a licensed professional clinical counselor and board-certified art therapist. She is intensively trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and is a DBT-LBC Certified Clinician™. She has extensive history working with adolescents, young adults and their families who have presenting concerns such as depression, suicidality/self-harm, anxiety, autism, low self-esteem and trauma.

  Heffner uses evidence based modalities such as DBT, DBT-PE, CBT, TF-CBT. Heffner is also a Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) provider. SPACE is an evidence-based treatment for parents of children/adolescents/young adults with anxiety disorders. Depending on the client's goals and preferences, these modalities can be combined with art making interventions to strengthen skills and insight. In addition, she has a passion for working with LGBTQ+ people who are exploring their identities. She holds a post master's certificate in Affirmative Therapy and values using evidence based approaches such as the AFFIRM model, which focuses on CBT tenets to improve the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ teens and their caregivers.

  Heffner enjoys using humor and irreverence in sessions and believes she is forever learning from her clients. She also finds pleasure in getting messy with art and house projects, kayaking, camping and experimenting in the kitchen with her partner.

Disclosure

References

• Clark, S. M. (2016). DBT-informed art therapy: Mindfulness, cognitive behavior therapy, and the creative process. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
• Drass, J. M. (2015). Art Therapy for Individuals With Borderline Personality: Using a Dialectical Behavior Therapy Framework. Art Therapy, 32(4), 168–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421656.2015.1092716
• Abbey Dvorak, Lindsey Landeck, William Dyer, Deborah Spiegel, Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Training With Music Therapy Interventions for Adults With Serious Mental Illness: A Quasi-Experimental Nonequivalent Control-Group Pilot Study, Journal of Music Therapy, Volume 59, Issue 3, Fall 2022, Pages 205–238, https://doi.org/10.1093/jmt/thac005
• Shelly R Zeiser, Creative DBT activities using music: Interventions for enhancing engagement and effectiveness in therapy, Music Therapy Perspectives, Volume 39, Issue 2, Fall 2021, Pages 216–217, https://doi.org/10.1093/mtp/miab003
• Mary Kate Roohan, Dana George Trottier. (2021) Action-based DBT: Integrating drama therapy to access wise mind. Drama Therapy Review, 7 (2), 193 https://doi.org/10.1386/dtr_00073_1
• Linehan, M. M. (2015). DBT® skills training manual (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.