Expressive Arts and the Nervous System
experiential workshop for health-care and care-giving professionals
Expressive Arts Psychotherapy & the Nervous System Workshop Series with Amy Hupe LMHC, REAT. qualified supervisor and trainer in Mental Health Counseling and Expressive Arts Therapies
Expressive Arts & the Nervous System
This workshop series is for anyone who finds themselves in a profession of care; counselors, psychotherapist, teachers, coaches, healthcare providers and more. Through this series you will gain key and practical insights into our brilliant nervous system and learn expressive arts skills and techniques to integrate into your work.
Expressive arts are multimodal creative processes that include all art forms. In this training we will specifically focus on multimodal accessibility within the arts. This means techniques to integrate creative expressive art forms like movement, music, graphic in ways that you can access even if you don’t have arts training, a studio space or have other limitations. Expressive arts are uniquely suited to bypass the automatic everyday self structures that can present barriers to progress.
Likewise theoretically frameworks for working with the nervous system will be presented in clear and tangible ways with an intentional focus on easily accessible application in the setting you are working. Some specific areas you could expect to gain skills with;
Overcoming mustism/impacted verbalization with expressive arts
Invite nervous system state change through expressive arts
Supporting shifts from dysregulated nervous system to window of tolerance with expressive arts
Working intrusive memories
Moving with and through resistances
OCD and expressive arts
Self-care is essential to well being in this work. In these workshop you will discover how developing personal practices can support your wellbeing and deepen your capacity. You will come away with insight into how to apply what is learned to your own growth work.
The workshop series will be taught in a process-led engaged active learning style with emphasis on group work and integration. As an in-person workshop opportunity you can expect a nourishing experience of connection with peers and a safe warm environment of connection and care to support your learning. You will work with multi-model expressive arts psychotherapy and learn how this model is a powerful and safe way to get into the body and process what is stored in the nervous system. Multi-model expressive arts blends movement, image making, sound, words and more into a beautiful tapestry of insight awareness and sensation.
Each weekend series is an independent whole process. In each weekend series we will cover topics a listed; nervous system theory, expressive arts techniques, self-care. Topics listed covered in weekend 1 will likely not be covered in weekend 2 in order to support two distinct learning experiences for those who attend both. Registering for both weekends is recommended if you would like training in all topics listed earlier.
Nature-based expressive arts therapy is a powerful tradition within expressive arts. During the workshop weekends we will likely take advantage of the stunning beauty of the landscape our office resides in. This will likely be in a meadow, at Walden, or a local trail. The specific activity will be decided based on weather, number of participants, needs of participants, group dynamics and process.
.When
Weekend 1 Saturday and Sunday, March 28th & 29th 2026, 9am to 5pm
Weekend 2 Saturday and Sunday, April 25th & 26th 2026, 9am to 5pm
Where
Evergarden Psychotherapy Studio, 17 Walden St Concord Ma, 01742
This is a MaMHCA approved CE training with total of 30 CE’s possible. 15 each weekend. The weekends workshops are independent of each other, weekend one is not a pre-requisite for weekend two.
Costs $600 per weekend
Early registration $500 per weekend - February 5th to March 1st
Regular registration $600 per weekend - March 1st to April 24th.