Yvette Lyons, Ph.D. received her Doctoral in Clinical Psychology, with a Specialty in Expressive Art Therapy. She is a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist (C.E.A.T.) as well as a Certified Life Coach. As an educator, for the past decade, Dr. Lyons has been the Director of the Expressive Arts Therapy Department at the San Diego University for Integrative Studies. She has trained students from all over the world on Expressive Arts Therapy for Healing and Transformation. Additionally, Dr. Lyons has been teaching at the Master’s Degree and Doctoral level in the Clinical Psychology, Marriage and Family Therapy and Expressive Art Therapy since 2006.

 

Dr. Lyons has facilitated workshops in Expressive Arts Therapy as well as Mandala Assessment Research Inventory (MARI), and Sandtray Therapy. As a therapist, Dr. Lyons worked in individual therapy and group therapy.

She has worked in a variety of setting from private practice as well as San Diego County Mental Health Programs. She has consulted with county and private programs on the use of Expressive Arts with their organization and trained their therapists and employees. Dr. Lyons dedicates her life to education in Expressive Arts Therapy as well as increasing public awareness on how the arts are used for self-awareness, healing and transformation.

Carla Bittencourt, M.A. Holds a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Expressive Arts Therapy. She also studied Gestalt-therapy at Pacific Gestalt Institute in Los Angeles. Currently Carla is working with individuals in therapy along with group therapy. She has been the Co-Creator of The Creative Healing Arts Center since 2018 where they facilitate workshops and trainings in Expressive Arts Therapy.

Carla’s primary focus is mindfulness based expressive Arts. The benefits of a mindfulness practice has been experienced for thousand years throughout Eastern and Western cultures, and from religion to science. Her work is based on a relational approach, and her goal is to support people to learn mindfulness techniques through a creative practice which will help them deal with personal and relationships and to become more authentic.
This approach can be used with any population from children to the elderly, and with any health conditions physical or mental. She works with such issues as depression, anxiety, trauma, etc.

Today, Carla is combining her knowledge in mindfulness and creative therapies with individual and group therapy, workshops and trainings in a private practice setting.


Education/Training

• Master of Arts, Counseling Psychology
  
  
• B.A.,Behavioral Sciences
  
  
• Studied Gestalt-therapy at Pacific Gestalt Institute in Los Angeles
  
  
• Certified Expressive Arts Therapist
  
  
• Certified Sandtray Therapist

Jane Goldberg, Ph.D., L.M.F.T, R.E.A.T., C.E.A.T. is a licensed practicing Marriage and Family Therapist (1982), a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (1993), and a Certified Expressive Art Therapist (1985). She founded the Expressive Arts Training Institute in Newport Beach in 1986 and has been leading professional certification training programs and group workshops locally, nationally, and internationally for over 38 years. She is a founding member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA) and has served on their board from 1998-2000.

As a University Professor and then Department Chairman at UHS and the San Diego University of Integrative Studies, beginning in 1990, Dr. Goldberg designed the master's, doctorate, and post-doctoral programs in expressive arts therapy and created the curriculum which was approved by the state of California in 1999.

In her clinical work, she began her Private Practice in 1982 and has worked with diverse populations, ages, and orientations. She has led groups in recovery centers, chronic pain centers, mental health centers, battered women’s shelters, psychiatric hospitals, and local high schools.

In 2006, Dr. Goldberg gathered leaders in the Expressive Arts Therapy Field from around the country at a National Conference in Newport Beach she entitled, “Treasures of the Imagination: An Expressive Arts Conference.” 136 people came from around the world to participate, learn and create art and community. 42 Workshops, Presentations, and Events were held over the 4 days for Therapists, Educators, Artists, and Everybody who wanted to come.


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“I bring to the Creative Healing Arts Center my rich background in the Expressive Arts field as well as all my various other explorations into Psychology, Spirituality, and Art when I co-create workshops and ritual/ceremonies here. I am continually re-inventing myself every year as I teach/guide/listen/learn/create in new locations, with new people, with new ideas, new modalities, and new approaches. The joy in this lifestyle is that I am continually open, curious, and often surprised; filled with awe and wonder about the new!

I fell in love with Expressive Arts Therapy because there is always a new medium/method/modality to experience the present moment, to gain a new perspective. The multidimensionality of singing, dancing, painting, drumming, writing, acting, collage....allows one to come alive on all levels....body, mind, heart, and spirit. Opening to the present moment with images; visual, auditory, and kinesthetic, invites neuroplasticity and deeper discoveries. In my own Art right now, I am excited by the colors I see while I am painting large abstract acrylic paintings.

I am currently studying with Dr. Gabor Mate in his Professional Year-Long Training Program in “Compassionate Inquiry” exploring his approach with Trauma Recovery. I am so excited to learn and practice new tools and techniques to awaken consciousness, creativity, and well-being in myself and in my clients and students. I am especially moved by the growth and expansion in the psychology field with new methods to transform shadow material with compassion, mindfulness, kindness, and care.”

I am so grateful for the work, the healing, and the relationships I get to create/experience here at the Creative Healing Arts Center.”

Christine Dennis, LCSW has a Masters's Degree in Social Work and is currently obtaining a Doctorate in Educational Psychology. She is a licensed clinical social worker with specializations in alternative treatment modalities. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT 200) and a Registered Children’s Yoga Teacher (RCYT). She is also a Certified Expressive Arts Therapist (C.E.A.T) and completed her program through The Creative Healing Arts Center, with additional level 2 training in sand tray and sound healing.

At the center, Christine shares her love of the arts by providing sound bath meditations. She is also available for private and corporate sound baths on weekends. Christine values the experience and benefits of being immersed in sound while giving oneself permission to explore within. When we slow down our bodies to focus on our breathing, heartbeat, and thoughts, we are often challenged with finding a way to separate ourselves from our racing minds. Being alone with our thoughts can be intimidating, and silence is when we are most vulnerable. Through sound baths, Christine provides an opportunity for people to experience their subconscious while still drifting in and out of awareness as they are encapsulated by sound.

 

Education/Training

• Licensed Clinical Social Worker
  
  
• Master of Social Work (MSW)
  
  
• B.S Psychology with Clinical Specialization
  
  
• Certified Expressive Arts Therapist
  
  
• Certificate in Play Therapy (2 year program)
  
  
• RCYT and RYT 200