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    • Saturday, November 7th Schedule

    
    
    Welcome to the 45^th Annual Buckeye Art Therapy Symposium!

    “Amplifying Expressive Therapies”

    The following schedule will guide you through the continuing education opportunities (1 CE/hr.) offered by a dynamic array of presenters.

    Please be aware that this schedule is subject to change and we recommend checking back for updates!
    Last Updated 9/27/26

    Location:  Mount Vernon Estate  1041 US HWY 250 N, Ashland, OH 44805 Phone: (419) 606-4284 and (419) 606-4283

    
    

    Saturday, November 7th

  •   8:30 – 9:00 AM:  
    

• Registration/Check-In for Saturday-Only Registrants

  Location: Main Entrance

  Light refreshments: pastries, water, coffee

  9:00 – 10:00 AM: 

  Paper Presentations

  ·       "Collaborative Expressive Therapies Internship Supervision "

  Location: Ballroom (limited to TBD people)

  Presenters: Michelle Chavez, MA, LPAT, ATR-BC & Jennifer Walker, MA, LPMT, MT-BC     

  While art and music therapy have different education and training requirements, the culminative internship experience can present similar challenges to future practitioners of both fields. Interdisciplinary collaborative supervision can enhance the learning experience for students from both tracks while creating firmer foundations for continued clinical growth post-internship. Seasoned clinical supervisors share lessons from their own experience and their students’ before leading participants in a collaborative art- and music-making experience.

  ·       “Art, Poetry and the Inner Warrior’s Voice: An Art Therapist’s Journey of Stroke Recovery and Evolving Identity”  

  Location: Farmhouse East Wing (limited to TBD people)

  Presenter: Janice Dovel, MAT, ATR-BC, LPAT, MSW, LISW

  Janice Dovel weaves together stroke information, resources and education with her personal experience of ongoing recovery from an ischemic stroke. She shares how art making and poetry writing provide valuable means of communication and healing. Attendees will be challenged to structure interventions with the needs of the stroke population in mind.

  ·       “Virtual Expressive Arts Groups for Birth Trauma Recovery: Practitioner Responsibilities & Recommendations” 

  Location: Farmhouse West Wing (limited to TBD people)

  Presenter: Rebecca D. Miller, PhD, LPCC, LPAT, ATR-BC, ATCS, PMH-C

  In a culture of normalized 'bad' birth, how can those who have experienced birth trauma experience understanding, support, and healing? This presentation will cover definitions, prevalence, and mental health sequalae related to birth trauma; practitioner responsibilities around screening and assessment; and recommendations for expressive arts interventions within group telehealth formats.

  10:00 – 10:15 AM:  

  Break

  10:15 – 11:45 AM:  

  Ethics Plenary

  ·      “Identity of the Expressive Therapist: Reflections of the Journey” 

  Location: Ballroom

  Presenters: Mary (Molly) Kometiani, MA, LPAT, LPCC, ATR-BC & Molly O’Neill Haaga, PhD, LPC, ATR-BC, LPAT

  Navigating the therapeutic world as an expressive art therapist is an intense and rewarding challenge. This ethics plenary will focus on enriching the greater expressive therapist community and enhancing self-awareness through a reflective art making and meaningful discussion. Supportive resources and tools will be provided for future self-care strategies and professional growth.

  11:45 AM – 12:00 PM:  

  Networking

  • Visit to BATA’s 2026 Horticultural Therapy Make & Take project

  12:00 – 1:15 PM:

  Annual Membership Meeting Luncheon

  Location: Ballroom

  The BATA Annual Meeting of the Membership is a time for the OH art therapy community to come together and hear about the work that has been done with our state association over the past year. The meeting will feature introduction of the BATA Board of Directors, reports from each board position, and announcement of the winners of the annual scholarships, Honorary Life Membership, and other awards.

  Boxed lunch and drinks will be provided.

  1:15 – 2:45 PM

  Workshops*

  *Workshops do not require pre-registration this year, but may be limited to a first come, first serve based on supplies and room capacities.

  ·       “Riding the Wave: Exploring the Intersection of Surf Therapy and Expressive Arts”

  Location: Ballroom (limited to TBD people)

  Presenter: Leah Gonzalez MA, LPCC-S, ATR

  This experiential presentation introduces surf therapy as an emerging nature-based therapeutic approach integrating surfing, movement, creativity, and connection with the natural environment. Participants will explore the therapeutic mechanisms underlying surf therapy, including emotional regulation, mindfulness, self-efficacy, behavioral activation, and interpersonal connection. Art-based and sensory experiences will provide participants with an opportunity to personally engage with concepts of ocean-based therapy and explore how these approaches can be adapted for clinical practice. The presentation will also examine current research, clinical applications, and considerations for ethical and accessible implementation.

  ·       “Translating Sound into Motion and Shape”    

  Location: Farmhouse East Wing (limited to TBD people)

  Presenter: Diane Fleisch Hughes MA, LPAT, LPCC-S 

  This workshop explores therapeutic connections between music, movement, and visual art for healing, learning, and self-expression. Through experiential activities—starting with meditation then moving on to drawing with music and painting—participants engage in expressive therapy practices. Emphasis is placed on emotional expression, embodied awareness, and creative exploration to foster psychological well-being and personal insight.

  ·       “Tolkien’s Wisdom: Storytelling in Neurologically Informed Art Therapy and Counseling” 

  Location: Farmhouse West Wing (limited to TBD people)

  Presenters: Jennifer Schwartz, MAAT, LPAT, ATR-BC, ATCS & Kaylynn Berrios, CT

  This workshop explores the intersection of bibliotherapy, expressive writing, and narrative therapies, which can be used to support emotional and spiritual wellbeing within art therapy and counseling practices. Inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, participants will create a simple narrative art piece expressive of personal themes.

  2:45 – 3:00 PM:  

  Break

  Light refreshments: snacks, water, coffee

  3:00 – 5:00 PM:

  Paper Presentations

  3:00 – 4:00 PM

  ·       “Art and Wellness: Campus-Wide Engagement with Art Therapy” 

  Location: Farmhouse East Wing (limited to TBD people)

  Presenters: Alli Bumby & Jennifer McHale; LPAT, ATR-BC, LICDC-CS 

This presentation will provide a glimpse into current student research happening in the field of art therapy, particularly engaging with the Expressive Therapies Continuum, engagement with art materials, and campus understanding of art therapy as a career. Miami University’s Art and Wellness organization and its success in promoting student mental health awareness and wellness will be shared with the hope of inspiring similar organizations at neighboring universities and larger communities. Additionally, participants will engage with literature discussing the Expressive Therapies Continuum and student findings about art journaling as a medium and process for further research.

4:00 – 5:00 PM

·       “Connecting Andean Symbolism to Service Learning in Peru

Location: Farmhouse East Wing (limited to TBD people)

Presenter: Heather Denning, MA, LPAT, LSW, ATR-BC, ATCS & Muriel Zollinger

Connecting Andean Symbolism to Service Learning in Peru” explores how cultural symbolism can apply to contemporary art-based service learning and expressive arts therapies. The presentation outlines three cultural symbols, their meaning, and applications to a service-learning experience in Peru. In Andean cosmology, the condor, puma, and serpent can be conceptualized symbolically through the interconnected dimensions of pacha—the world as a relational whole (Gamarra et al. 2019). As service-learning and the practices of expressive arts therapies are relational, comparisons will be presented to integrate these symbolic themes bridging a cultural immersive experience to expressive therapies practice.

3:00 – 4:30 PM:  

Workshops*

*Workshops do not require pre-registration this year, but may be limited to a first come, first serve based on supplies and room capacities.

·       “Movement as Medium: Experiencing Dance/Movement Therapy Beyond Somatics”

Location: Ballroom (limited to TBD people)

Presenters:  Brittany Armstrong, M.Ed., LPC, NCC, RYT, BCaBA

Dance/Movement Therapy (DMT) is often associated with somatic, mindfulness, and/or grounding techniques, yet movement within DMT can function as the expressive and relational medium of the creative and therapeutic process itself. This experiential workshop invites participants to encounter movement as creative material through improvisation, observation, kinesthetic attunement, visual artmaking, and reflection. By moving between image and movement, participants will experience how therapeutic material can emerge and transform across modalities while exploring foundational DMT concepts. Participants will experience distinctions between Dance/Movement Therapy and broader body-based interventions.

·       “Traditional Arts as a Path to Cultural Resilience and Community Wellness” 

Location: Farmhouse West Wing (limited to TBD people)

Presenters:  Amber Keaton, LPC ATR-P & Hsa Win, CHW

This workshop will explore traditional arts as resilience from the lens of a local culture bearer and a local therapeutic arts facilitator. Participants will learn about acculturative stress and how traditional arts support forced migrant communities. Facilitators will share various ways of developing therapeutic arts programming through intercultural and community partnerships. Participants will learn about the traditional art of Myanmar marionette, Yoke Thé, and one local culture bearer’s quest to preserve, revive, and keep his cultural heritage alive. The workshop will explore the intersections between traditional arts and art therapy, utilizing Yoke Thé as a case example.