|
The terms (synonyms) such as art therapy, creative art therapy, art psychotherapy and expressive art therapies imply specific professional fields in a broader sense: music therapy, dance – movement therapy and body symbolisation, drama therapy and psychodrama, art (painting) psychotherapy, creative therapy, art sophrotherapy… Regarding development of the professional context of art therapies, it seems appropriate to mention at this point that, for instance, in the 16th century the Croatian physician Dr. Gjuro Baglivi of Dubrovnik, in his book written in Latin – On Health and Ill Motor Tissue / De fibra motrice et morbosa, also wrote about possibilities to use music and dance in treatment of various diseases… as well as about the way of life of the Pythagoreans. It is certainly one of the indicators that some time is needed for awareness development in general, i.e. for a discipline or a professional direction to develop. For example, at the end of the 18th century, Dr. Julije Bajamonti wrote a book under the title On Music and Medicine, and Ivan Krstitelj Betini wrote his dissertation “On the Influence of Music on Treatment” at the beginning of the 19th century. In recent times, many authors in the fields of pedagogy, psychiatry, physical medicine and rehabilitation, sophrology and other deal with a number of issues regarding the application of various forms of arts in education, diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation. The experts in various disciplines – employed with different institutions, clinics, rehabilitation centres – apply art therapies within their basic profession. Or these are the art therapists who have been recognised as practitioners, depending on their education. Various forms of art therapies are applied as complementary supportive approaches in the protection and maintenance of mental and physical health, as well as in various fields of education, diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation. Every other year, with the support of the Ministry of Science and other auspices from Croatia and abroad, the Department of Motoric Disturbances, Chronic Diseases and Art Therapies, in cooperation with other universities and clinical institutions from Croatia and abroad, organises international symposiums on complementary supportive therapies under the title “Art and Science in Life Potential Development”, including also various topics in the field of art therapies. The Department also publishes bilingual editions with contributions of a number of collaborators from various disciplines.The University of Zagreb provides a possibility to study various aspects of art therapies in the study field of the so-called educational rehabilitation, as well as to earn a university degree within new programs of studies, although the professional title has not been recognised yet. It is considered that for that purpose specific courses should be established, through which the students would be enabled to acquire knowledge in biomedical, humanistic, social and other studies, as well as in various fields of arts. This is also one of the criteria for the evaluation of professional competencies of art therapists. The Senate of the University of Zagreb has established the committee for recognition of diplomas in art therapies, acquired by the candidates who completed their university studies abroad. However, the possibility of education in the field of art therapies within undergraduate and postgraduate studies does exist – within interdisciplinary studies of applied educational and rehabilitation sciences at the University of Zagreb. There are also other levels of additional education programs in art therapies out of the university, however with different programs and values.
UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB - Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences Department for the Studies of Motoric Disturbances, Chronic Diseases and Art Therapies The University of Zagreb is the oldest Croatian university and also the oldest university in South-Eastern European. The university was officially founded in 1669 by Emperor and Croatian and Hungarian King Leopold I Habsburg who issued a diploma granting the status and privileges of a university to the Jesuit Academy of the Royal Free City of Zagreb. Department for the Studies of Motoric Disturbances, Chronic Diseases and Art Therapies is a part of the Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Zagreb in Croatia.
Undergraduate studies (Baccalaurean, B.S. – three-year studies) Within the interdisciplinary field of applied educational and rehabilitation sciences and in accordance with the contemporary “Bologna process” at European universities, the new program of undergraduate studies provides a possibility to study various approaches in the field of creative therapies and art /expressive therapies. The students interested in art therapies may take different courses, such as Neurology, Development Psychology, Introduction into Complementary Therapies, Creative Therapy, Clinical Practice in Creative Therapy, Psychosomatics and Methods of Clinical Assessment, Motoric Disturbances, Chronic Diseases and Sophrology, etc. “Ex-Gen” Creative Therapy, for example, is defined as an integrative somatotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic concept, and the course includes the fields of painting therapy, dance – movement therapy, drama and psychodrama, various models of psycho-physical relaxation, guided imagery etc. According to the basic theoretical model, “Corporal, sonorous, rhythmical, iconic ... images, inspire the process of creation between before and after containing simultaneously ecstasy and genesis.” Since induction of ecstatic, generic and aesthetic experience is the key word in development of this integrative prophylactic, somatotherapeutic, psychotherapeutic and existential approach, it seems appropriate to use the term “Ex-Gen Therapy” as a name for this original model of creative therapy. Clinical practice in this field is conducted at specialised centres, psychiatric clinics, clinics for physical medicine and rehabiliation, clinics for oncology, children centres etc. Within the first three years of studies, the students may acquire basic knowledge in various fields of art therapies and other complementary therapies. That knowledge can be broadened during the two years of graduate studies within these two modules: A - Rehabilitation and Sophrology, and B – Creative Therapy and Art/Expressive Therapies.
Graduate studies (two-year studies) A - Rehabilitation and Sophrology, B - Creative Therapy and Art/Expressive Therapies. The modul of studies in Creative and Art/Expressive Therapies with a set of elective and compulsory courses has been prepared in line with contemporary evaluational criteria based on the European Credit Transfer System. Some of the postgraduate courses are the following: Creative Therapy, Clinical Practice in Creative Therapy, Psychosomatics and Methods of Clinical Assessment, Motoric Disturbances, Chronic Diseases and Sophrology, Psychotherapy, Aestetics and Painting etc. This refers also to the module “A”. The students in their fifth year of studies, interested in this field, prepare their graduation theses, based on their studies in literature and research, under supervision within the clinical practice. The final graduation exam takes place publicly, before a committee consisting of three university professors. During the studies, the students interested in this field are offered the benefits of cooperation with the Academy of Fine Arts and the Music Academy – University of Zagreb, the Centre for Drama Education of the Zagreb Youth Theatre (“ZeKaeM”), the Croatian Music Therapy Society, the Psychiatric Clinic and other clinical institutions, the dance studio of the “Komedija” theatre and other institutions. According to the new program of studies, it has been foreseen that the candidates who graduate from such graduate studies acquire the professional title of: A – Master of Rehabilitation and Sophrology, or B – Master of Creative Therapy and Art/Expressive Therapies. Within the module “A” it is possible for the candidates, provided that they choose adequate elective courses and carry out a corresponding number of hours of clinical practice, to choose the topic for their Master thesis from the “B” field, i.e. from the field of arts therapies.
Postgraduate Studies – (Doctoral, Ph.D. studies) The first postgraduate studies in the field of Motor disorders, Chronic diseases and Art therapies started in 2003. The studies included the students who already graduated from some of the faculties or colleges (School of Medicine, Faculty of Philosophy – Humanities, art academies etc.) and are interested in various fields of psychosocial rehabilitation, remedial education, and psychomotor therapy, supportive psychotherapy, art therapies and sophrology. These are medical doctors, physicians, pedagogists/educators, rehabilitation experts of different orientations, as well as graduates from music and art academies. The concept of postgraduate studies in this field is based on the results of research conducted in a couple of years within several projects supported by the Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Croatia. Realisation of the program has foreseen also cooperation with related university and clinical institutions abroad (exchange of lecturers, student exchange, joint research projects etc.). Some of the postgraduate courses are: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods of Research, Neuropsychophysiology of Music; Visual Expression and Aesthetic Message; Multivariant Analyses in Creative Therapy and Art Therapy; Evaluation of Voice Perturbations; Sophorology; Psychosomatics and Complementary Supportive Therapies; Music and Music Psychodrama… The programs in postgraduate studies prepares students to become skilled educators, practitioners, clinicians and supervisors in education and clinical practice, as well as in various fields of scientific work. The Ph.D. program in Creative and Art/Expressive Therapies will be also available to provide an opportunity to prepare graduates to further knowledge by research in the field of expresive therapies, through innovative approaches and clinical practice in various problem fields. Entry Requirements Pursuant to the Statutes, eligible for these postgraduate studies are all candidates who previously graduated from a faculty or college in the field of biomedical, humanistic or social studies, from the Academy of Fine Arts or the Music Academy – University or Zagreb, as well as those who graduated abroad. The candidates interested in Creative and Art/Expressive Therapies who have not graduated from interdisciplinary studies in educational and rehabilitation sciences at the University of Zagreb are obliged to take additional courses and corresponding exams during their first year of postgraduate studies, according to the Statutes.
Course Background and Philosophy The concepts of different art psychotherapeutic approaches and education of experts within the interdisciplinary studies at the undergraduate and postgraduate studies are based on various theoretical approaches: the bio-psychosocial model, existential philosophy, philosophy and pedagogy of art, psychoanalytical principles in concideration of anthropological structures of imagination, multidisciplinary interpretations of the phenomenon and psychology of creativity in man. In that respect, in his preface to the book «Art and Science in Life Potential Development» Professor Prstačić stated: «...In the light of contemporary holistic approaches, the application of a biopsychosocial model is presented in the field of prevention of mental health, education, diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation. From the epistemological point of view, art and science are presented on the same path in the discovery and support of developmental potential of life. While, on the one hand, the hierarchical relations in science are manifested in the development of traditional and new scientific disciplines, in the constant discovery of enigmas of man and the world, the primeval and magical power of various forms of art, on the other hand, constantly enters the metaphysical field of experience, as a form of vital energy and self-realisation of an individual …» During the studies, the students, their mentors, clinicians of various specialisations, are provided an opportunity to discuss various aesthetic transcultural, philosophical and deontological issues regarding the development and changes in the paradygm of the discipline, i.e. regarding the development of professional identity and professional orientations in the field of art therapies. For the purpose of further development of this field, cooperation has been established with related institutions on the level of the European Consortium for Arts Therapies Education (ECArTE). Contact addressDepartment of Motoric Disturbances, Chronic Diseases and Art Therapies |