About this Event
ARTS IN COMMUNITY, PHILOSOPHY & PSYCHOTHERAPY
The Arts in Community, Philosophy and Psychotherapy is a certificate course and an introduction to study at the Philadelphia Association.
Participants may be completely new to psychotherapy and the arts, or they may already have undertaken psychological or psychotherapeutic training and wish to deepen their interest and practice within the ethos of the Philadelphia Association.
Participants may also be creative practitioners interested in working alongside others through collaborative and group-based processes. No prior experience of the arts or psychotherapy is required, only a commitment to participating in an engaged and arts-orientated group.
Course Overview
The course will take place over twelve Saturdays, from 10.30am–5pm, beginning January 2027 at Marty’s Yard in Hampstead, North London.
The course will consist of a morning seminar followed by an experiential afternoon session where 'making' and ‘thinking about making’ form a key part of the process. Participants will be invited to work on their own art pieces and to share ‘works in progress'.
Curiosity about experiences of making and relating will be explored across the twelve weeks.
A space will be provided at the end of the course for work to be shared, potentially with an invited audience. Participants may choose their own artistic form or medium, including film, music, photography, movement, drama, drawing, writing, poetry or performance.
Requirements
The PA has never prioritised academic qualifications over other forms of skill and experience. It is inevitable that participation in groups, and the creative process itself, can stir strong feelings. Therefore, in addition to a willingness to make space for these experiences, we encourage participants to remain open to, and make use of, the art- making process itself.
Being a student at the PA affords access to our small library, invitations to regular PA events, and opportunities to contribute to the PA newsletter.
This course is experimental at its heart, reflecting a central concern with creativity, and takes a philosophical and critically engaged approach to the arts in community and psychotherapy.
Sessions are facilitated by Arts Therapists, Psychotherapists and Arts Practitioners, most of whom are Philadelphia Association members.
Applications and Fees
Application is by interview.
Course cost: £890 (basic arts materials supplied). An initial deposit of £100 will secure your place. Full payment is required 3 weeks before the start date of the course
There are a limited number of bursaries available (50% reduction) for those on low incomes.
If you are interested in applying for this course email and we will set up an online interview before confirming your place on the course.
Amy Ison at [email protected] or Andrew Royle at [email protected] for further details.
PROGRAMME
10.30am – 1pm
The visiting facilitator structures the morning session around a modality from the arts therapies or from their own arts practice.
1pm – 1.45pm
Lunch Break
1.45pm – 3.30pm
Facilitated each week by Amy Ison and Andrew Royle
Discussion with participants regarding connections between the morning’s activities
and impulses towards 'making something'
3.30pm – 3.45pm
Break
3.45pm – 4.30pm
Participants are invited to share 'works in progress'.
4.30pm – 5pm
Plenary reflections and discussion on the day, including ideas for continuing work before the next session.
MORNING SEMINARS
9th Jan 2027
Introduction to the Arts and The Philadelphia Association - The Uses of the Arts in Community, Philosophy & Psychotherapy
Andrew Royle & Amy Ison
30th Jan 2027
Relating Beyond Words
Karen Gold
13th Feb 2027
Making Room for Soul in Therapy through the Sesame Approach
Mary Smail
27th Feb 2027:
The Therapeutic Use of Photographs: Photography and Therapeutic Photography, Del Loewenthal
3rd April 2027
Learning How To Read.
Reading as phenomenology?
Reading to better listen?
Writing to better read?
Robbie Lockwood
10th April 2027
Mask As A Means To Find Our Authentic Self
Claudia Dias
1st May 2027
Searching for Space - A journey from the psychiatric wards to the arts studio.
Andrea Heath & Cat Stevens
15th May 2027
Making Collage
Pierre-Yves Rahari-Jacobs & Amy Ison
12th June 2027
Voice Work
Jeremy Finch
3rd July 2027
Exploring ‘Hospitality’ and ‘Community’ through the PA Archive
Adrian Chapman
10th July 2027
Sharing Event
Amy Ison & Andrew Royle
31st July 2027
Closing Ceremony
Event venue & nearby stays
PHILADELPHIA ASSOCIATION, 4 Hampstead High Street, London, United Kingdom
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.