Give others the tools and techniques to explore new roles and relationships.
Develop an understanding of how the intentional use of improvisation, storytelling, role-play, performance, and other dramatic action methods can communicate inner experience, strengthen relationships, and promote well-being.
Prepare to qualify to become a licensed mental health counselor by learning from leaders in the fields of drama therapy, psychodrama, and expressive therapies. Pursue careers in a variety of settings, including schools, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, community organizations, correctional facilities, and private practice.
As a drama therapy student, you’ll promote spontaneity and creativity in relationships and combine the study and application of dramatic action techniques with a trauma-informed, culturally responsive approach to mental health counseling. Through theory and practice, explore and examine issues of form, aesthetics, and principles central to performance. You'll come to understand the use of creativity in healing from a broader perspective as you master your chosen specialization as well as learn from others. Learn how to assess clients of all ages and backgrounds and select the most appropriate treatment approach.
To enroll in this program, you’ll need to show proof of your:
Bachelor’s degree
GPA of 3.0 or better
Background in acting, improvisation, performance, or applied theater, life experience, and/or volunteer work related to human services
Completed coursework in:
6 credits of completed coursework in psychology with grades of B or better. Not all coursework must be complete before you apply. Contact Graduate Admissions for details.
Required drama therapy courses in drama therapy theory, psychodrama, performance, group work, and a choice between drama therapy with children and adolescents or developmental transformations with children and adults
Required core courses in principles and practice of expressive therapies, theories of mental health counseling, research and evaluation, assessment, human development, cultural competency, and ethics
The goal of the Expressive Therapies master’s degree programs is to provide students the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to practice in a range of professional settings, including health care facilities, schools, community agencies, and private practices. The Expressive Therapies 60-credit programs meet the academic and field training requirements for mental health counselor licensure (LMHC) in Massachusetts. (Students intending to work outside of Massachusetts are advised to review their state's regulations to determine their eligibility for licensure.) Specialization tracks prepare graduates for certification or registration by their respective professional associations.
The Expressive Therapies faculty established these program goals. Aligned with the mission of Lesley and the Graduate School of Arts & Social Sciences, they are also specific to the Graduate Expressive Therapies Department, with deep consideration of our program’s history and the contemporary landscape of expressive therapies and mental health counseling.
1. Dual Identity as a Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Expressive Therapist
Students will demonstrate a dual identity as a clinical mental health counselor and expressive therapist, and an understanding of the ways in which the professions enhance and complement one another.
2. Professional Orientation and Ethics
Students will demonstrate an understanding of the counseling profession and their modality profession. Students will demonstrate the capacity to provide counseling services within the ethical codes of the counseling profession and their modality specializations, and with an understanding of legal issues.
3. Clinical Mental Health Counseling Theory
Students will gain substantial knowledge of core counseling theories as applied to individual and group processes, skills, and approaches.
4. Human Development Across the Lifespan
Students will assess and cultivate an understanding of human growth and development throughout the lifespan, including an understanding of arts-based development, and the connection between developmental theory, clinical issues. Students will be able to design interventions, as well as apply considerations of environmental, biological, and cultural factors.
5. Clinical Skills and Helping Relationships
Students will demonstrate counseling skills and techniques which exhibit awareness of self and other in the therapeutic relationship. Students will demonstrate the ability to document and evaluate progress towards treatment goals.
6. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Students will develop a critical multicultural lens of the sociocultural foundations in the counseling and expressive therapy process, including developing an awareness and knowledge of power, privilege, and oppression at the micro, macro, personal, and interpersonal levels. Students will develop strategies to identify and eliminate cultural barriers, prejudice, and discriminatory practices.
7. Career Development
Students will demonstrate knowledge of vocational counseling theory and apply career development methods to individual professional development.
8. Group Process in Counseling and Expressive Therapies
Students will develop a theoretical and embodied understanding of group process and dynamics, theory, skill, and approaches.
9. Assessment
Students will gain knowledge and skills in understanding and utilizing formal assessment instruments and information gathering techniques, used in case conceptualization, treatment planning. Students will also be able to analyze and critique assessment tools regarding ethical usage and multicultural competency.
10. Research and Program Evaluation
Students will develop the ability to locate, read, critique, and evaluate research to inform clinical practice. Through this activity, students will contribute knowledge to the profession of counseling and their modality specializations.
11. Psycho-diagnostics and Treatment
Students will gain an understanding of the broad spectrum of psychopathology and diagnostic criteria utilized in the current DSM 5 and ICD 10 to inform ethical clinical practice and evaluation within a diverse context.
12. Trauma and Crisis Intervention
Students will demonstrate trauma-informed skills within clinical practice, including knowledge of crisis intervention, and risk and suicide assessment. Students will understand current research and application in how the arts are used in trauma-informed practice, including individual, community, cultural, and systemic complex trauma across the lifespan.
13. Embodied, Experiential and Creative Clinical Practices
Students will be able to articulate, embody, and apply the transformative nature of creativity and the arts intrapersonally, interpersonally, and clinically, demonstrating the integration of knowledge and skills within practice.
14. Mental Health and Community Systems
Students will demonstrate knowledge and apply skills associated with working in diverse communities and multi-disciplinary teams. Students will critically analyze methods of treatment, referral, and interdisciplinary collaboration from a global health perspective.
15. Personal Growth, Insight, and Congruence
Students will develop and engage in multifaceted processes which foster self-awareness, and awareness of others’ experiences with cultural sensitivity. Students will develop and begin to articulate and evidence, in their scholarship and clinical practices, their theoretical orientation.
Students take courses in a scheduled sequence, where learning takes place in increments that align with their emerging competencies as clinicians. Following the program's course sequence ensures that students build upon knowledge and skills in a manner that maximizes their learning efforts, and that is appropriate and supportive, as they begin to practice in the field.
Cambridge, MA
A nexus for higher education and mental health counseling practice and research, each year 250,000 students arrive to Cambridge from around the globe. The intellectual and cultural capital runs deep, and so do your opportunities addressing barriers to wellness. From Lesley’s location, access innovative community, hospital, and school-based mental health programs.
On-Campus Option
Become part of a community of artists and scholars in Cambridge while pursuing your degree. Gain in-person access to leaders in the field and benefit from Lesley’s professional network in and around Greater Boston and New England. Taking three to four courses per semester, immerse in rigorous study and complete your program within a three year sequence.
Best if you:
Live near Cambridge or are able to relocate
Enjoy the rigor of an intensive program and want to take advantage of internships in Greater Boston
Want face-to-face time with faculty and peers and to become integrated into campus life
Are not planning to work full-time during your studies
Participate in one 3-week summer residency per year on Lesley University’s Cambridge campus. Between residencies, continue your studies online with Lesley faculty and through supervised field experiences in your community. Your courses correspond with those of our on-campus program, and will be completed within three years.
Best if you:
Live at a distance
Enjoy the flexibility of online learning
Want to take fewer courses at a time
Would like to complete internships/research in your community
Student location:
If you are are located in, or plan to be located in New York or North Carolina at any time during your enrollment, you are not eligible to enroll in our Low Residency program, due to regulations that exist in those states.
If you are located in, or plan to be located in Arkansas, California, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Wisconsin at any time during your enrollment, please discuss your location and licensure plans with an admissions counselor in order to determine if you are eligible to enroll in our program.
Depending on your professional goals, where you reside or plan to practice, and the licensure requirements within that state, there are different pathways toward licensure or credentialing that may be relevant. In accordance with Lesley University’s institutional participation in SARA (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement) and with federal regulations, we strongly encourage prospective applicants who intend to pursue licensure in a state other than Massachusetts to visit the Lesley University Licensure and Credentialing webpage and review the “Licensure Information for Students and Applicants” document for their specific program.
Field Work
1,150
Hours you’ll spend turning theory into practice through field training and internships.
Graduate Programs
95%
of our 2019 graduating class is employed or furthering their education.
Graduate study is an investment. That's why we offer generous merit scholarships. Awards are based on your admissions application and are announced when you're accepted.
If you don't have a background in psychology, Lesley offers training in advance of your program. Before starting your program you can take online Psychology Boot Camp courses to get the training you need.
Remote Learning at Lesley University
Fact
40+
Number of years since Lesley pioneered the study of Expressive Therapies.
Gain Professional Credentials
Upon completion of the program, you’ll be prepared to apply for the Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) credential and the Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) credential in Massachusetts.
How Creative Expression Can Benefit Older Adults
Expressive therapies professor Raquel Stephenson talks about the power of art making.
Graduate study is an investment. That's why we offer generous merit scholarships. Awards are based on your admissions application and are announced when you're accepted.
If you don't have a background in psychology, Lesley offers training in advance of your program. Before starting your program you can take online Psychology Boot Camp courses to get the training you need.
FAQs
Have questions about the expressive therapies master's program? View our frequently asked questions to find your answer.
The master’s program in expressive therapies only has one start term per year, which is summer. On-campus students have an online orientation course in July, with on-campus courses beginning in the fall. Low-residency students have an online orientation course in July followed by a 2-3 week on-campus residency, with online courses in the fall and spring.
Do you offer the program online?
Through the low-residency format, students attend an in-person summer residency each July on Lesley’s campus. In the fall and spring semesters, students continue their studies online with a mix of asynchronous and synchronous coursework. Field work is completed in their home community. The completion time for this model is 3 years (20 credits each year with 2-3 courses per semester). Internships take place in years 2 and 3, alongside coursework in the fall and spring semesters.
Are the online courses in the low-residency program asynchronous or synchronous?
Students in the low-residency program attend the on-campus residency each July. During the fall and spring semesters, students take their coursework online with a mix of asynchronous and synchronous learning.
How do students in the low-residency programs stay connected as a learning community?
During the 3-year program, students in the low-residency model come to campus each July for their residency. During this time, students and faculty make very strong connections that are fostered throughout the program. When learning online, students participate in both synchronous and asynchronous learning. Lesley’s Online Learning Platform also offers interactive tools that can be used for courses beyond just posting comments to a discussion board. You can use a collaborative tool to work on group projects, work with your class to find a time that works for everyone to video in to connect, instant message with faculty or peers, upload PowerPoint presentations and record yourself over the presentation as if you were giving it in person and faculty and peers can provide feedback. Faculty make the online work as engaging as possible and the in-person residency period is very hands-on and experiential! Students stay connected through email, phone, Zoom and social media as well!
How is the on-campus model formatted?
Our on-campus model has courses during the daytime, on weekdays, or in an intensive format as well (either a weekend-intensive course or a five-day intensive course). The completion time for this model is 3 years (20 credits each year with 3 courses per semester). Internships take place in years 2 and 3 alongside coursework in the fall and spring semesters.
Can I continue to work full-time while in the program?
We don’t typically recommend that students work full time while in the program. Our on-campus courses take place during the daytime as well as nights and weekends, and daytime courses cannot be avoided. Please keep in mind that there are synchronous components to the low-residency model’s online coursework. Your place of employment would need to be flexible should you be required to attend your synchronous online course during regular business hours.
In the low residency model, it may be possible to work full-time for the first year of the program, as long as you can take the required weeks off in July for residency. If you can find an internship site in your second year of the program that has nights and weekend hours, you may be able to complete the 15 hours/week that are needed and still work full time and come for residency in July. The third year of the program, however, requires about 25 hours/week at your site, making it impossible to work full time, complete your coursework, and fulfill those hours.
If my GPA does not meet the preferred requirement of a 3.0 or higher, can I still apply?
The program prefers that applicants have a GPA of a 3.0 or higher, however applicants with a lower GPA may still be reviewed. If you have a lower GPA and are concerned about it impacting your admissions decision, we recommend addressing this in your Written Personal Statement. You can address anything that may have affected your grades, or you can address why you believe you are prepared at this time to be successful in a graduate program.
How do I select a writing sample?
The Academic Writing Sample can be a previously written research-based paper from a college-level course. It should show your ability to think critically, synthesize information, and write at the academic level. Your submission can be on any topic and must be between 3 and 5 pages in length (double-spaced). If you have written a longer paper, you can submit an excerpt of 3-5 chronological pages (it is okay if the submission is out of context). If you do not have a paper from your previous studies, or if you graduated from college several years ago, you may choose to write a 3-5 page paper on a topic of interest. Please choose your best writing to submit for review.
If admitted into the program, can I defer?
If unexpected circumstances are preventing you from starting your Lesley graduate program in the term you were admitted, you may request to defer your enrollment for up to 1 year. You will be required to submit an enrollment deposit and deferral request form to hold your spot. Learn more about the deferral process.
I am interested in more than one art modality. Can I apply to multiple programs?
Although you can’t apply to more than one specialization, a unique aspect of our program is that you still get exposure to each of the art forms. Meaning, if you chose to pursue Drama Therapy, some of your core courses would still train you in the other expressive therapies in a therapeutic setting. This helps you down the road when you may be working with a client who may not respond to one specific modality. Theory and practice are interwoven into this program’s curriculum.
Which prerequisites do I need in order to apply?
Art Therapy Program
Completed coursework in:
Psychology (12 credits, including abnormal psychology and developmental
psychology, with grades of B or better). Studio Art (18 credits, with grades of B or better). Not all coursework must be complete before you apply. Contact Graduate Admissions for details.
Dance Therapy Program
6 credits of completed coursework in psychology with grades of B or better and Anatomy and Kinesiology with a grade of B or higher. Not all coursework must be complete before you apply. Contact Graduate Admissions for details.
Drama Therapy Program
6 credits of completed coursework in psychology with grades of B or better. Not all coursework must be complete before you apply. Contact Graduate Admissions for details.
Expressive Arts Therapy Program
3 credits of completed coursework in abnormal psychology and 3 credits of completed coursework in developmental psychology with grades of B or better. Not all coursework must be complete before you apply. Contact Graduate Admissions for details.
Music Therapy Program
6 credits of completed coursework in psychology with grades of B or better.
Principles and Practices of Music Therapy (3 credits) or a music therapy course that includes the history and survey of the profession, its theoretical approaches, and its application to various populations.
Not all coursework must be complete before you apply. Contact Graduate Admissions for details.
How can I gain experience in the field of human services and learn more about Expressive Therapies?
Prospective students can gain human service experience by pursuing community resources through volunteering and observation. This will greatly strengthen an application when ultimately applying to the program. Below are some resources for prospective students to explore:
Voices – An online journal that looks at social justice through the use of Music Therapy.
Jessica Kingsley Publishers – A publishing company that houses reading material for all creative arts therapies.
Barcelona Publishers – A publishing company “dedicated entirely to the field of music therapy” with the goal of expanding and moving the field forward.
How can I schedule an appointment to learn more?
Please click on the links below to schedule a time to meet with admissions or visit our campus.
Counselors, therapists, and other mental health practitioners were trained at Lesley University in the last 5 years, making us the largest provider of training for licensed mental health counselors in New England.
#1
Massachusetts is the best state in the nation for mental health care according to Mental Health America, with excellent access to care for both youth and adults.
22%
Careers in mental health counseling are expanding, with projections for a 22% increase in job openings from 2018 to 2028. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Careers
Jobs You Could Have
The field of mental health counseling is expanding rapidly, making this an exciting time to pursue graduate study. Common job titles for people with master's degrees in drama therapy include:
Mental Health Therapist
Activity Therapist
Creative Therapist
Drama Therapist
Recreation Therapist
Mental Health Specialist
Careers
Where Graduates Work
Massachusetts and Greater Boston have a large concentration of medical, healthcare, and mental health-related organizations. Graduates find careers in a range of places, including:
Use our step-by-step guide to apply for federal and university funding. Scholarships, grants, Work-Study, and loans. It’s all right here.
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Jason Butler
Professor of Drama Therapy
Dr. Jason D. Butler is a Registered Drama Therapist, Board Certified Trainer, and New York State Licensed Creative Arts Therapist. Jason is a former President of the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) and previously served on the NADTA Board of Directors as President-Elect and Communications Chair. He is the editor-in-chief for The Arts in Psychotherapy and the former training director for DvT Montreal, a satellite of the Institute for Developmental Transformations.
Prior to joining Lesley University, Jason was a professor in Creative Arts Therapy at Montreal's Concordia University, serving for a portion of that time as the graduate program director for drama therapy and a member of the Arts in Health Research Collective.
Jason is an internationally known drama therapist, having presented on drama therapy in many countries, including the Czech Republic, China, Hong Kong, South Africa, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at Lesley University and at New York University and was one of the first recipients of the NADTA Teaching Excellence Award in 2012.
Prior to being a full-time professor, Jason was the director of Goddard Riverside Community Center’s The Other Place, a psycho-social program and drop-in center for homelessness and mental illness in New York City. Prior to finding drama therapy, he was a high school theatre teacher.
His publications include articles and book chapters on drama therapy education, arts therapies pedagogy, schizophrenia, developmental transformations, and role theory. His current research includes an exploration of the drama therapy student experience as well as the application of drama therapy theory to experiential learning.
Dr. Laura L. Wood is a Registered Drama Therapist, Board Certified Trainer, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, and a Certified Child Life Specialist. Dr. Wood is a Past President of the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA). Previously, Dr. Wood served as an Assistant Professor and the Clinical Coordinator at Molloy University, where she spent four years collaborating and launching an accredited program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and supported the start of a community wellness clinic.
Prior to being a full-time professor, Dr. Wood was the Lead Therapist at an eating disorder and trauma treatment center in the Midwest where she facilitated individual, group, and family therapy. She also spent time working in pediatric hospitals with critically and seriously ill children and in assisted living with older adults. Her focus and research areas include the treatment of trauma and dissociation, eating disorders, attachment, recovery, and grief/loss. More specifically, Dr. Wood is interested in how therapeutic theater can support individuals in various forms of recovery. She created the CoActive Therapeutic Theater (CoATT) Model with her colleague Dave Mowers. CoATT is the first manualized model of therapeutic theater and Dr. Wood is engaged in on-going research and collaboration with various recovery communities including persons with eating disorders, substance use, and aphasia.
Most currently, Dr. Wood is a co-collaborator with the UMASS Mind Team and received a National Endowment for the Arts grant using the CoATT Model with individuals in mental health recovery. Dr. Wood presents, publishes, supervises, and consults nationally and internationally. She sees clients in private practice and facilitates intensive healing retreats using drama therapy. In the classroom, Dr. Wood is passionate about teaching and supervising students to develop into present, attuned, and embodied clinicians that listen deeply. Dr. Wood works to inspire each student to think critically about the material presented and examine the role of power, privilege, and intersecting identities in the clinical encounter. Dr. Wood prioritizes mirroring and reflecting to each student their unique capacities and supporting students in unfolding into the practitioner and scholar they want to embody.
Jason S. Frydman, PhD, RCT/BCT, NCSP is associate professor of expressive therapies at Lesley University where he teaches in the doctoral expressive therapies program and co-chairs the university's institutional review board. He is a registered drama therapist/board certified trainer with the North American Drama Therapy Association, a nationally certified school psychologist with the National Association of School Psychologists, and licensed psychologist (GA). Dr. Frydman is the founder and lead researcher of the Collaborative for Creative Arts Therapies in Schools (C-CATIS), based at Lesley. He serves as the associate editor for general topics for Translational Issues in Psychological Science and sits on the editorial boards of Drama Therapy Review and School Psychology Review. Research interests include creative arts therapies in schools, research issues in the creative arts therapies, mental health literacy, and school-based trauma-informed practices. He has served as NADTA conference co-chair, communications chair, and is immediate-past research chair. He is an invited and initial member of the Mental Health Literacy Collaborative and served on the advisory board for the Foundation for Jewish Camping.
Professional service
Jason is active in professional service, including
Dr. Angelle Cook (she/her/hers) is a registered drama therapist (RDT) and a board-certified trainer (BCT) through the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA). Angelle runs her own private practice in Northern Virginia where she works with teens and adults at the intersections of dis/ability, chronic illness, and mental illness.
For ten years, she worked at a nonprofit and used an inclusive therapeutic theater model with teens and young adults with multiple types of dis/abilities to tell their stories. As director of the therapeutic theater productions from 2011-2020, her participants performed in front of more than 80,000 middle and high school students as well as to a sold-out audience at The Kennedy Center with the production, “A Will To Survive,” a show about teen suicide.
Angelle is a temporary core faculty at Lesley University, having joined Lesley as an adjunct in 2020.
She is also an adjunct at New York University and Antioch University in their drama therapy departments. She previously taught at George Mason University within their mindfulness living LLC and within Mason Life, a college program designed for adults with dis/abilities.
Since 2020, Angelle has served as the Managing Editor for the Drama Therapy Review. She is the current Research Chair of the NADTA.
Angelle holds a masters in theater education from Emerson College and completed her drama therapy course work through the alternative track program. She earned her PhD in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University. She is the author of one historical fiction novel, “The Artist and the Soldier” which won the Ben Franklin Award through the Independent Book Publishers Association in 2019.
Mental Health Field Placement and Licensure Software Subscription
$200
Comprehensive Fee
$1,500
Total
$86,100
Estimated Cost
$86,100
All graduate students are reviewed for merit scholarships through the admissions process and are awarded at the time of acceptance. Other forms of financial aid are also available. Review all graduate tuition and fees, and what they cover. Tuition and fees are subject to change each year, effective in the Summer term.
Mental Health Field Placement and Licensure Software Subscription
$200
Comprehensive Fee
$1,500
Total
$86,100
Estimated Cost
$86,100
All graduate students are reviewed for merit scholarships through the admissions process and are awarded at the time of acceptance. Other forms of financial aid are also available. Review all graduate tuition and fees, and what they cover. Tuition and fees are subject to change each year, effective in the Summer term.
Apply Now
Ready to get started? We're here to make the application process as smooth as possible. Just answer a few quick questions, and get your customized application guide.
