integrative therapeutic arts program (itap)
What is ITAP?
The Integrative Therapeutic Arts Program at BLOCK 134 was established in 2014 and is designed to be a resource for stress support and personal development. This healing modality uses art materials and the creative process to encourage emotional exploration, self expression, self acceptance, healthy communication, and connection to oneself and others. Projects are led by trained facilitators who provide a safe, supportive environment that promotes positive personal growth. Instructors use the language of color and symbolism as a way to facilitate creative and emotional expression through acrylic painting, watercolors, oil, drawing, and a combination of other visual mediums.
Benefits of our Therapeutic Arts Program:
· Promote self-expression, communication, and emotional well-being.
· Relaxation and stress reduction.
· Elevate self-awareness and self-esteem.
· Increase health coping skills.
· Better ability to process grief and trauma.
· Promote self-expression, self development and growth, elevated self-awareness and self-esteem
· Relaxation and stress reduction
· Elevate self-awareness and self-esteem
· Increase health coping skills
· Better ability to process grief and trauma
· Use of the imagination to transform pain and tension
Instills a heightened sense of empowerment and overall improved emotional well-being
· Offers focus to provide a sense of purpose and meaning
· Builds Social skills, communication skills, interpersonal skills, community building, and confidence
· Encourages risk taking in a safe setting
Who our program is for: (hint, it’s for Everyone! No previous art experience necessary!!)
· Children, teens, adults, families
· Individuals with special abilities
· Students of any skill level
· Individuals and groups
· Patients experiencing and/or recovering from physical/emotional trauma
· Those seeking stress management tools and integrative wellness modalities
We can tailor programs and workshops for private or public schools, special organizations, or establishments.
Contact us to discuss!
Pricing and Scheduling:
· 2-4 hour workshops: $25-$55
· 4 week classes for teens/adults: $100
· 4 week classes for children ages 8-12: $75-$100
ITAP Programs
Click here for current events such as children’s expressive arts workshops for children, teens, and adults!
Recent Statistics About the Benefit of Therapeutic Arts in the Health Field
· 80% of healthcare institutions invest in the arts to benefit patients
· 50% of U.S hospitals have introduced art programs as a healing outlet
· Art programs in hospitals have grown 12% since 2009
ITAP’s Mission
Our mission for the Integrative Therapeutic Arts Program is to improve the quality of lives for community members by promoting wellness and healing through the innately human creative process.
Student Testimonials
"A whole new world has opened up for me, thanks to these classes. Like many women, I find it hard to make room in my schedule for the things that I want to do. Now, Wednesday evenings are hallowed ground. For two and a half hours I get to paint and learn about the artist side of my being. What a gift to our region Silver Circle is, both for its classes and for the gallery that shows aspiring artists like me what is possible. I LOVE my classes, leave inspired and I might even change my life so I can pursue my art more seriously. It can change your life! Really!!!” - Sally
“I have always had a desire to try my hand at water color or any art for that matter...I am on the brink of retirement and decided that the time is now! I have only had a few lessons and I already feel like a new world is unfolding for me! I leave class feeling so relaxed, and excited at the same time! Thank you Karen!” - Mia
"The classes are structured so that you learn at your own individual level and pace, and the teachers are amazing, talented professionals that creative a supportive encouraging environment. The gallery itself offers inspiration and exposure to all different types of art and the student show offers us an opportunity to present our work to the public. Silver Circle is a wonderful place to learn and explore your creativity. I know for me it has open doors that I never thought possible." - Carolyn
“I found that art is not about being the most skilled artist. It was about the process. For the last five years I showed up every week. I had something to look forward to. I have a purpose. I met the best group of people who I now call my friends and family. I can’t say painting has changed me. Life changed and painting helped me find my true self again.”—Annie
“Karen was a soothing and caring presence. She is professional and clearly experienced. It was an honor to have her work with our patients. We received rave reviews and feedback from everyone who attended.”
--Tracey Hall, MSN, NP, OCN, St. Vincent's Cancer & Wellness Center
“It has powerful effects on body, mind and spirit. In brief, deep engagement with the arts is not just an effective prescription for stress reduction and emotional reparation; it is a pathway to inner peace.”
-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Therapeutic Arts FAQs
Get to know our ITAP program!
Is Expressive Art only for artists, or children?
No! You don’t need any art experience to benefit from expressive therapeutic arts, and sessions will always be customized to match the needs and interests of the individual or group. This means it can be used for all ages.
Is an ITAP session like an art class?
No. The goal of expressive therapeutic arts is to use art in a therapeutic capacity rather than teach art technique. The facilitator will guide participants in using materials in order to allow them the freedom to express themselves creatively. Participants typically get more comfortable using materials over time, but this isn’t the goal.
Will the Facilitator be able to know secrets about me just by looking at my art?
While Facilitators do have training in interpreting art on different levels, this understanding allows them to ask questions rather than supply answers. The meaning of an art piece is highly subjective and relative to the artist. It may even change over time.
Will the facilitator just watch me in silence while I make art?
Facilitators can vary in their individual approach to a session, but the idea that one will observe silently is generally an outmoded concept. Your facilitator will engage with you in different ways, depending on your preference and comfort. Sometimes facilitators may create art alongside you, or engage with you in conversation during some or all of the time. If the participants prefer, some light music might be used to help create a comfortable, creative atmosphere.
Is Expressive Art and Art Therapy the same thing?
No, art therapy is a clinical practice (similar to a mental health counselor or therapist) who is a licensed and credentialed art therapist. Expressive Arts, while it requires trained facilitators with experience in health and wellness coaching and client management, and the use of art and the creative medium as a healing modality, are not licensed practitioners. Their training is used for recreational purposes only.
The expressive art experience is customizable to meet your specific needs, so don’t hesitate to contact us today with any questions you have.
ITAP facilitators
Concetta codding
All her life, Concetta Codding has been drawn towards something greater than herself. Concetta attended Rhode Island College for her undergraduate degree in Special Education and Elementary Education and for her first Masters degree in Special Education K-12 and English as a Second Language. Concetta is currently in her second Masters program at Lesley University, studying Expressive Arts Therapy and is on her way to becoming a Licensed Mental Health Counselor.
Concetta studied in Connecticut and received her 200-Hour Yoga Alliance certification in 2017. She traveled to Peru in July 2018 for her 300 hour Yoga Teacher training. She is currently a certified 500 hour Yoga Teacher (eRYT-500). She has also studied in India, following the footsteps of her teacher, Ram Dass. Since her first training, she has been locally leading classes in the hope of teaching how to breathe, meditate, flow and ultimately heal. Concetta also facilitates immersive 200-hr YTTs, advanced Yoga Teacher trainings, meditation courses, and retreats, both locally and internationally.
She received her Reiki 1 certificate in 2017 and Reiki 2 & 3 in Sedona, Arizona in 2018. She studied to become an Ayurvedic Health Advisor through Hale Pule in 2020. She founded the New England Meditation Group and has been trying to spread the Sacred practice of Meditation throughout Connecticut and the surrounding states.
While working with Concetta, she invites participants into a safe space to connect to one’s inner world, and make deeper connections with like-hearted people. Concetta infuses her offerings with a tranquil and loving energy.
To find out more about Concetta, please visit her here:
Instagram: @concettacodding
carly sage
Carly Sage MS, INHC, FDNP, IHP, AADP, NANP is a clinical Integrative Health Practitioner and Functional Nutritionist. She relies on a whole-body, evidence-based approach to address underlying symptoms and health concerns at the root cause level, in order to improve health at the source and not just mask symptoms. She combines multiple healing modalities in her customized health plans that include the latest researched strategies in functional medicine with a tried-and-true food as medicine philosophy. She incorporates diagnostic lab tests, nutritional therapy, mindbody medicine, cutting edge technology and old-fashioned, foundational therapeutic lifestyle interventions to identify and ameliorate internal and external stressors and toxicities that degrade one’s health. Her comprehensive systems-biology approach is designed to support one’s innate healing ability to prevent, mitigate, and reverse chronic conditions and common ailments. She looks to rebalance the body’s physiology by improving digestion/absorption, gut and microbiome health, nervous system health, brain health, detoxification, hormone rebalancing, adrenal function, and more. Carly’s goal as a facilitator while working intimately with her clients is to increase vibrancy and cultivate healthspan and lifespan naturally. She looks to educate, empower, and promote self-care to her clients as a long-term solution for optimal health and wellness. Carly advocates for healthy food, positive food relationships, cooking, and eating behaviors, and mindful eating as a way to connect to self and others for better quality of life.
Carly’s pursuit of integrative health began in her undergraduate studies in fine art, communications, and Expressive Visual Arts as a healing modality. Carly opened Silver Circle Gallery in 2008 as an art center, featuring a local art gallery, art education program, locally sourced handmade gifts, and a therapeutic art program. In 2018 she relocated the art center to 134 Main Street and founded BLOCK 134, which accommodated her ultimate vision of an arts and wellness center as a collective with various integrative health practitioners, art galleries, therapeutic services, event spaces, and artist studios. The ITAP program is Carly’s vision to offer a combination of therapeutic resources for self-exploration, self-expression, and healing to all ages.
For more information, visit www.carlysage.com or email carly@carlysage.com
Lisa Andrews
Currently Lisa is the Gallery Director for Silver Circle Gallery in Putnam and also works for Thompson Ecumenical Empowerment Group (TEEG) where she is a mentor to young mothers and an Early Childhood Program Coordinator. Lisa has over 25 years experience teaching and creating arts programming in the area with individuals of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Additionally, Lisa has connections to the wide and varied visual and performing artists in our community. She has been a teacher of the arts at many businesses and organizations including: Northeast Placement Services teaching art to adults with disabilities, Silver Circle Gallery, Westview Healthcare Center, and The Complex Creative and Performing Arts Center.
Lisa is especially proud of being an entrepreneur, where she created the first painting and wine studio in NECT which enjoyed ten years of success teaching many in the area that they too can paint! “Using the arts art to connect people in the community is what inspires me.”
Lisa Andrews has a unique perspective as not only an Arts Educator but more recently as a cancer survivor. Lisa knows first hand the physical and emotional struggles of the diagnosis, and treatment journey. Through her own personal practice and experience, and her positive and proactive attitude, she has practiced what she is preaching.
“I feel that keeping connected to the creative process of art making, movement (exercise), written word (spiritually and/or for enjoyment), simple laughter and keeping community connections, can, and in many cases has been proven to, make a difference in healing and wellness in physical and emotional struggles. I have spent my life bringing the arts to individuals of all ages. I am passionate about the connection between arts and healing”
Sherri snyder
Sherri Snyder has been "creating art" for over 30 years in various forms. She is also a psychotherapist (with 30 years of experience) , and in 2014 completed the Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training Program. She elegantly combines these approaches in her workshops. She often starts the workshop with Kundalini Yoga to release and energize the body then leads participants into creative expression. Her workshops are uplifting, empowering, soothing and inviting to all. No yoga or art experience necessary to participate.
Sherri now works full-time for Headspace- the meditation APP !! She starts her day with yoga, walking and weaves meditation and art into her everyday life.
Sherri’s Artist Statement:
Over the years, I have experimented with watercolors, ceramics, collage, textiles, and a variety of artistic materials, each one offering me a different sensation and different "canvas" with which to play. Over the years I have been inspired by many creative spirits and artists and I am honored that they have touched my soul.
I have explored and fine-tuned watercolor painting techniques over the past 30 years, and have exhibited in a variety of galleries and shows primarily in the New England area. In 2007, I was accepted as an artist member into the Rhode Island Watercolor Society. I was also accepted as an artist member to the Attleboro Arts Museum. It is humbling to be among such amazingly talented artists and have the opportunity to learn and be inspired from each of them.
I love exploring new ways to express my soul's artistic passions. I have expanded my "canvases" explored painting on decorative gourds, many of which I grow in the garden. The varied shapes and textures excite me, and I allow the images to come alive on them. I also enjoy fiber art - sewing, and fabric textures. In the past few years, I created Tapestries or Peace Flags with my mandala designs. For me, there is no end to expressing my creative spirit.
Susan Bass
Susan Bass is a licensed professional counselor and registered art therapist (LPC, ATR). Her area of emphasis for the past eleven years has been in the area of substance abuse. She has also counseled children and adults on a variety of other mental health issues including; anxiety, depression, relationship issues, grief counseling, and ADHD.
Life can be overwhelming and stressful at times. We can sometimes become frustrated with the direction our lives are taking. Susan can help individuals and families gain insight and healing. She can help people discover new strategies, letting go of what’s not working and rebuilding new ways of coping and moving ahead.
She uses art therapy, CBT, person-centered, positive psychology and more to help one grow. Art therapy is a modality which is helpful when thoughts and emotions are difficult to express.
Susan counsels individuals, couples, and families. She provides a warm, supportive environment and uses her skills to help people achieve their life goals and find the best in themselves. All ages are welcome.
