North American Drama Therapy Association

#InternationalWomensDay
~Sherry Diamond, President
On this International Women’s Day, I find myself reflecting on the women in my life and career, their support, mentorship and love, my foolish disappointment when I discovered their humanity, their flawed selves; the paradox of my mother’s resilience and fragility; my own role as Jung’s good mother/terrible mother personified, and my daughter's relentless push to make me into who she needed and her forgiveness when I couldn't. I am overwhelmed by the sheer volume of roles we live, the demands we meet and the plates we juggle – and indeed, occasionally drop. To name the formidable and extraordinary women in drama therapy is a fool’s errand. There is not a single one who has not already changed the world. So, instead I will thank you – women of NADTA -- for the innumerable ways you’ve inspired, trained and mentored me and so many others. I am a better drama therapist because of you. But I honor you most for picking me up when I stumbled, and holding me close when I was broken, and lifting me up in my own eyes when I could not see my own goodness. For that, I am a better human.

An E-Blast went out today, but be sure to RSVP for the NYU Drama Therapy/NADTA CHEDC Committee:
Disability Justice Affinity Group
Topic: Drama Therapy as Care Work 💜
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#NADTA #Dramatherapy #CHEDC #CulturalHumility #Equity #Diversity #accessability #DisabilityJustice

NADTA president Sherry Diamond shares her experience of #myblackhistory in the most recent e-blast and on our page.
As drama therapists, activists and allies alike, we share in the enduring grief of our nation’s citizens of color, our BIPOC colleagues, our beleaguered clients with rich and poignant ethnic and religious traditions, and our allies, ever hopeful in this still necessary pursuit of liberty and justice for all. We encourage all of our followers to share your experience of #myblackhistory in the comments below. Let’s be brave and passionate in this work together💜

It is with great admiration that the NADTA supports the efforts of the NYU drama therapy program on the annual Research Symposium! 💜
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Every February, the NYU Program in Drama Therapy opens the doors to our Theatre & Health Lab to present their latest research, examine current and emerging innovations, and inspire a culture of inquiry in drama therapy. LCAT and RDT CEs available including CHEDC CEs. Free for students. Read the full program and register: https://bit.ly/3GKPqq1

Share your impressions: @nyusteinhardtdramatherapy #theatreandhealthlab22.

The NADTA has been made aware of a series of profound losses within our community in recent weeks and months, and in honor of giving each member their own space through which we can reflect and respond, we are offering individual announcements with pertinent details to our community.

JULY 6, 1964 – SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

Alan Edward Pottinger, RDT, BCT died tragically and suddenly on September 13, 2021 at the age of 57.

A gifted, writer, poet, actor, and drama therapist, he discovered his passion for the performing arts as a student at the renowned High School of the Performing Arts in NYC. In 1986, Alan earned his BFA in Theatre Arts and Film at SUNY Purchase, graduating from the Professional Actor Training Program. A freelance actor and proud member of SAG-AFTRA and the Actors Equity Association, Alan delivered memorable performances on the big screen and the small stage. While Alan enjoyed considerable success as an actor in both film and stage, he knew that his true calling was to serve others. He attended and graduated from NYU’s Master of Arts in Drama Therapy Program in 2001. That was followed by a one-year fellowship with the NYU Psychoanalytic Institute.

Weaving his love of the theater, his clinical skills, and passion for people, Alan began his formidable career at Bellevue Hospital Center in NYC, working on the adolescent inpatient unit. His spirited approach and unbridled energy were infectious. Early on, he came to appreciate and embrace the power of play. He had natural gift for embodied empathy, was simultaneously strong and vulnerable, and always accessible for “his kids” as he called them. It was not unusual to hear the sound of laughter walking down the hallway on the 21st floor, where Alan and a few of “his kids “would be shooting hoops. Alan often reminded me that some of the most important moments and breakthroughs took place on the basketball court where barriers seemed to fade and relationships were built.

I first met Alan in 1998. Over the years our worlds intersected in both expected and surprising ways, collaborating for drama therapy workshops, performances, and special projects. Some of my fondest memories were sitting with Alan, developing scripts, and rehearsing with his keen director’s eye, his tremendous wit, and impeccable sense of timing. Often, during our time together, Alan would reference and then casually rattle off stanzas of Shakespeare, Homer, Plato, Chekov, the Bible.

Alan championed those who had been overlooked, silenced, abandoned, marginalized, disenfranchised, forgotten. Never a bystander, Alan spoke the truth as he saw it. As Assistant Director of Creative Arts Therapies, he spearheaded multiple initiatives and special projects. Alan supervised programming on the Adult Male Prison/Forensic Units, Child /Adolescent Units, both in-patient and out-patient, along with the Adult Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program. Alan also served as Chairman of the Mental Health Consumer Advisory Board , and taught master's level occupational therapy and pastoral counseling students. He served as Co-Director of the Spirituality Group initiatives and was the driving force behind the first afterschool poetry /spoken word program on the Lower East Side for the adolescents in psychiatric outpatient care. He generously made time each year to introduce our NYU students to the world of acute care, and I know several people whose trajectories were altered because of their experience.

Alan took great pride in his work, quietly sharing his thoughts with his mother and sister. He once wrote of his work with child and adolescent patients:

“They are lifted up one at a time. When we win here. When we send a child back on course. Back to a path of self-evolving; we too are blessed to share in that vision. Statistically, we may sometimes lose more than we win. We are few and the pitfalls of the world are legion. Whenever I get blue and feel just what is the point? When one tough day follows another. When I bear witness to narratives that make me ashamed to be human; I remind myself it is not my task this day to save them all. To heal all the wounded children around me.
Just one.
And If I but try, I will have become, in my own eyes; less ashamed of my culpability in the shortcomings of humanity. And I can celebrate that one victory and humbly pray for one more.”

Alan E Pottinger was a force of nature, an alchemist, a magician, a wounded healer, a warrior, a gentle soul. Most of all, Alan was my friend, and I will miss him.

- Sara McMullian, RDT, BCT

Do you want to advocate for social justice within drama therapy and the world at large? Are you ready to address issues of power, privilege and oppression? Do you want to be a part of the change happening within the NADTA? If your answer is, “Yes, I do!” CHEDC is looking for you!

CHEDC is currently recruiting new members for 2022!

To apply: fill out our application by December 15, 2021. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfJVmiIYf7p1ikf6uLDx2_rnux_LVuvls6NWia0gk1ZSjEdVg/viewform

For accommodations, support, or assistance in completing this application, or any additional questions, email [email protected]. 

We can’t wait to connect with you!

Big thanks to our NADTA Government Affairs committee for all their hard work and advocacy! Pictured here is the Canadian branch!

If you're interested in volunteering with the GAC to support their work in the US and Canada, email [email protected]!

#NADTA #Dramatherapy #creativeartstherapy #creativeartstherapies #NADTABoardBusiness #Advocacy

The @who teamed up with the @metmuseum in a 'cultural call to action' to act on the evidence base for the health benefits of the arts across the lifespan. A Healing Arts Symposium, co-produced by drama therapist Nisha Sajnani, will be livestreamed from the Met on 11/14/21 from 10:30am-5pm ET. Other drama therapists involved include: David R. Johnson, Adam Stevens, Idalmis Garcia Rodriguez, and Ana Bess Moyer Bell and the event will feature other creative arts therapists as well. Several drama therapy students have also been working on the event behind the scenes: Max Durrant, Monica Gamboa, Akhila Khanna, and Jahmar Ortiz. Click the link below for the full program and to view the livestream

https://www.metmuseum.org/events/programs/met-speaks/free-lectures/healing-arts-symposium?&eid=A001_%7b46396EAF-AE35-4A88-BBE0-4A3FF17B4587%7d_20211105154228

@nyusteinhardt @nyusteinhardtdramatherapy @culturunners #artsandhealth #dramatherapy #creativeartstherapies #thefutureisunwritten
@artsandmindlab

Don't miss the #NADTA Educational Competencies Roll Out Info Session tonight, 5pm-6pm PST, 8pm-9pm EST!

This is an All Conference Event for #NADTA2021, so visit dramatherapyconference.com and your member portal for more information!

#Dramatherapy #AnnualConference #dramatherapyeducation #DramaTherapyStudents #NADTAStudents

The NADTA been made aware of a series of recent and profound losses within our community in recent weeks and months, and in honor of giving each member their own space through which we can reflect and respond, we will be offering a series of announcements with pertinent details over the coming days

A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF ADAM…
and as Adam would have it - Everyone is invited!

Saturday, November 20, 2021
11:00 to 1:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada) New York
05:00 PM - 07:00 PM Central European Time (CET) Paris, Rome

Bring your stories, sense of humor, songs, favorite memories, gifts he shared and gave us all.
Let’s be like Adam and show up spontaneously with presence, love, and, above all, a sense of humor

Hosted by ASGPP, Lorelei Goldman, Tzivia Stein-Barrett, Patty Phelps, Daniela Simmons, Nancy Kirsner

PLEASE REGISTER HERE:
https://forms.gle/ASRCHKY61Zs8wH57A
https://conta.cc/3GLVcYM