This 2-hour and 22-minute video is divided into five easy-to-follow sections. It offers a beginner-friendly introduction to expressive arts in group therapy. The video presents core ideas on the benefits of creative arts to help develop group cohesion, positive group dynamics, goal setting, the value of expressive therapy such as symbol activation, safe engagement, and parallels with social-cultural conceptions of the collective.
The course stands on its own but also prepares you for upcoming live sessions for the experiential explorations of expressive and play therapies in group therapy.
This prerecorded session includes:
- Key ideas and approaches that ground creativity and expressive arts in group therapy
- Essential competencies for therapists facilitating group process with metaphors and symbols
- How clients can benefit from creative expression in group therapy
The course draws from existential, developmental, play, and narrative therapy perspectives. This introduction emphasizes building group cohesion with activities that connect mind, body, imagination, and culture.
In the final section, you’ll see how to use four simple miniature objects as creative tools to help group members build connection and trust, explore personal goals, and open to playful, meaningful use of the imagination. The follow-up live sessions will focus on demonstrating examples of how play, storytelling, the arts, symbols in sand, and other imaginative techniques are used in group therapy.
Course Objectives
- State three clinical competencies to facilitate groups with play and expressive therapies.
- State two ethical concerns for group process.
- State two narrative techniques for group process using the arts, poetics, and metaphor.
- State two group practices that help facilitate group cohesion and connection.
- Describe two play therapy approaches for group counseling and psychotherapy across the lifespan.
- State two benefits of group therapy that reflect APT’s therapeutic powers of play.
- State two aspects of group dynamics enhanced with the integration of social justice, ethnic and cultural identity.
- State two aspects of Sandplay therapy relevant for group process.
- State two best practices for group therapists to reduce countertransference in group therapy.
References For Group Counseling and Psychotherapy with Expressive Arts
American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code
References specifically for group therapy
Alldredge, C. T., Burlingame, G. M., Yang, C., & Rosendahl, J. (2021). Alliance in group therapy: A meta-analysis. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 25(1), 13–28. http://doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000135
Arnold, R.A., Burlingame, G. M., & Rosendahl, J. (2024). Group therapy for youth behavioral concerns: A meta-analysis. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 28(3), 228–240. http://doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000225
Barkowski, S., Schwartze, D., Strauss, B., Burlingame, G. M., & Rosendahl, J. (2020). Efficacy of group psychotherapy for anxiety disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychotherapy Research, 30(8), 965–982. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2020.1729440
Burlingame, G. M., Seebeck, J.D., Janis, R.A., Whitcomb, K. E., Barkowski, S., Rosendahl, J., & Strauss, B. (2016). Outcome differences between individual and group formats when identical and nonidentical treatments, patients, and doses are compared: A 25-year meta-analytic perspective. Psychotherapy, 53(4), 446–461. http://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000090
Çelik N, Güloğlu B. (2025). Group Play Therapy: An Overview. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar – Current Approaches in Psychiatry. 2025;17:822–832.
Erling, I., Waltersson, C. A., Waern, M., Tillfors, M., Hed, S., Wiktorsson, S., & Berg, A. I. (2025).
Pathways to change in existential group treatment. BMC Geriatrics, 25(1), 504. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-025-06157-4
Johnsen, T. J., & Thimm, J.C. (2018). A meta-analysis of group cognitive–behavioral therapy as an antidepressive treatment: Are we getting better? Canadian Psychology, 59(1), 15–30. http://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000132
Kivlighan, D. M., Aloe, A. M., Adams, M.C., Garrison, Y. L., Obrecht, A., Ho, Y.C. S., Kim, J. Y.C., Hooley, I. W., Chan, L., & Deng, K. (2020). Does the group in group psychotherapy matter? A meta-analysis of the intraclass correlation coefficient in group treatment research. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 88(4), 322–337. http://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000474
Shin, Heajin, Kim, Ok, Kim, Min Sun, Lee, Youngil, Kim, Kyoung Min, Kim, Do Hyun, Lim, Myung Ho. (2025). Effects of sandplay group therapy on children at risk of suicidal ideation. BMC Psychology, 13(1) https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03150-9
Swank, Jacqueline M, Cheung, Christopher & Williams, Sydney A. (2018). Play therapy and psychoeducational school-based group interventions: A comparison of treatment effectiveness. Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 43(3) 230-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/01933922.2018.1485801
Lo Coco, G., Gullo, S., Albano, G., Brugnera, A., Flückiger, C., & Tasca, G.A. (2022). The alliance-outcome association in group interventions: A multilevel meta-analysis. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 90(6), 513–527. http://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000735
Mahoney, A., Karatzias, T., & Hutton, P. (2019). A systematic review and meta-analysis of group treatments for adults with symptoms associated with complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 243, 305–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.09.059
Masland, S.R., Finch, E. F., & Schnell, S. E. (2023). Effects of group psychotherapy for non-suicidal self-injury: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 73(3), 183–201.
Maass, U., Hofmann, L., Perlinger, J., & Wagner, B. (2022). Effects of bereavement groups–a systematic review and meta-analysis. Death Studies, 46(3), 708–718. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2020.1772410
Morrison, A. S., Mateen, M.A., Brozovich, F.A., Zaki, J., Goldin, P.R., Heimberg, R.G., & Gross, J. J. (2019). Changes in empathy mediate the effects of cognitive-behavioral group therapy but not mindfulness-based stress reduction for social anxiety disorder. Behavior Therapy, 50(6), 1098–1111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2019.05.005
Speed, B.C., Goldstein, B. L., & Goldfried, M.R. (2018). Assertiveness training: A forgotten evidence‐based treatment. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 25(1), e12216. https://doi.org/10.1111/cpsp.12216
References related to course content, not group specific
Cajete, G. A. (2017). Children, myth and storytelling: An Indigenous perspective. Global Studies of Childhood. 7(2) 113–130. DOI: 10.1177/2043610617703832
Drustrup, D. (2020). White therapists addressing racism in psychotherapy: An ethical and clinical model for practice. Ethics & Behavior, 30(3), 181-196. Doi; 10.1080/10508422.2019.1588732
Farber, B. A., Suzuki, J. Y., & Lynch, D. A. (2018). Positive regard and psychotherapy outcome: A meta-analytic review. Psychotherapy, 55(4), 411–423. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000171
Hartwig, E. K., Homeyer, L. E., & Stone, J. (2023). Sand therapy competencies: A qualitative investigation of competencies for sand therapy practitioners. World Journal for Sand Therapy Practice, 1(5), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.58997/wjstp.v1i5.32
Holliman, R., & Foster, R. D. (2023). The way we play in the sand: A meta-analytic investigation of sand therapy, its formats, and presenting problems. Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling, 9(2), 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/23727810.2023.2232142
Jian-Bin, L., Kai, D., & Liang, Y. (2021). The relationship between meaning in life and subjective well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 22(1), 467–489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00230-y
Kowen, M. R. (2020). A phenomenological study of therapists’ co-transference experiences in Sandplay therapy. Journal of Symbols & Sandplay Therapy, 11(2), 143–166.
Kuri, E. L. (2020). Ethics in arts-based research: Drawing on the strengths of creative arts therapists. Canadian Journal of Counselling and Psychotherapy. Pages 197–219. ISSN 0826-3893 Vol. 54 No. 3.
Luke, M., & Peters, H. C. (2019). LGBTQ Responsive sand tray: Creative arts and counseling. Journal of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness: Research, Practice, and Education, 48–59. https://doi.org/10.34296/01011002
McClendon, L., Garza, Y., Akay-Sullivan, S. & Mitchell, K. (2023). Prompting change: Utilizing the transtheoretical model in sandtray. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 18(2) 147-163. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2021.1949421
Nickum, J., & Purgason, L. L. (2017). Using the sand tray to facilitate client creativity: A strengths-focused approach to adolescent depression. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 12 (3), 347–359. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2016.1249814
Orkibi, H., & Feniger-Schaal, R. (2019). Integrative systematic review of psychodrama psychotherapy research. PLoS One, 14(2), e0212575. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0212575
Paljakka, S. (2018). A house of good words: A prologue to the practice of writing poems as therapeutic documents. Journal of Narrative Family Therapy, Special release, 49-71.
Roesler, C. (2019). Sandplay therapy: An overview of theory, applications and evidence base. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 64, 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aip.2019.04.001
Rogers, J. L., Luke, M., & Darkis, J. T. (2020). Meet me in the sand: Stories and self-expression in sand tray work with older adults. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 16(1), 2-4. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2020.1734513
Salter, M., & Rhodes, P. (2018). On becoming a therapist: A narrative inquiry of personal–professional development and the training of clinical psychologists. Australian Psychologist, 53(6), 486–492.
Schneider, K. J. (2016). Existential-integrative therapy: Foundational implications for integrative practice. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 26(1), 49-55. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039632
