Trauma-Informed Creative Care Symposium  

Research and Practice

Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

June 11-12, 2027

This is the second international symposium, focused on trauma-informed arts therapies. It will take place in-person in Dublin, Ireland, bringing together leading voices to explore how trauma-informed research and practice can shape more responsive, ethical, and sustainable systems. This symposium is a new step toward developing collaborations and advanced practice, research, and education in trauma-informed arts therapies with a global, long-term vision. 

Prices in Euro are calculated at the daily exchange rate. You will see the price in Canadian Dollars on the payment page. There is no fee charged for the conversion from our part. 

Write your awesome label here.

The Call for Papers and Poster Presentations is open until December 15, 2026.
We are inviting all practitioners and students willing to apply, to submit their research abstracts to contact@artstherapies.org. 

Hybrid event

Agenda

Day 1, June 11
9:00 - 9:30 Registration
9:30 - 9:50 Opening the Symposium
10:00 - 12:00 Keynote presentation: Cathy Malchiodi
12:00 - 13:00 Lunch Break and Poster Presentations
13:00 - 14:00 Presentations
14:30 - 15:30 Workshops
16:00 - 17:00 Presentations

Day 2, June 12
9:30-11:00 Keynote Presentation
11:30-12:30 Workshops
12:30-14:00 Lunch Break, Poster Presentations
14:00-15:00 Workshops
15:30-17:00 Round Tables
19:00-22:00 Closing Reception
Arts therapies are uniquely positioned to respond to some of the most pressing challenges of our times: rising mental health concerns shaped by war, displacement, overwork, and limited access to resources. This symposium brings together an international community of practitioners, researchers, and thought leaders working at the intersection of trauma, creativity, and care.

Whether you are an art therapist, psychologist, educator, healthcare professional, researcher, or engaged in humanitarian or community-based work, this founding symposium offers a unique space to deepen your understanding and expand your practice.

Through a series of high-level presentations and dialogues, contributors will share innovative approaches, clinical insights, and emerging perspectives that respond to the complexities of our time. Grounded in both research and lived experience, the symposium not only explores how trauma-informed practices can evolve across disciplines, but also actively sensitizes therapists to their necessity, offering a rich palette of perspectives and practical tools to begin integrating these approaches into their work.

At the heart of this gathering is a broader intention: to initiate a movement that promotes safe, creative interventions capable of restoring mind–body connection. We aim to foster a community of therapists grounded in collaboration, exchange, and mutual support—moving away from competitive models toward a more relational and collective approach to care. This emerging community also seeks to contribute to the development and articulation of shared standards of practice in trauma-informed work, supporting greater coherence, integrity, and ethical grounding across contexts.

Participants are invited as founding delegates in this movement, contributing to the evolution of a shared field of trauma-informed practice. This movement is both symbolically and strategically grounded in Geneva, a global hub for international organizations and humanitarian action, situating this initiative within a broader landscape of global dialogue, policy, and cross-sector collaboration.

Speakers

Cathy Malchiodi

PhD, LPCC, LPAT, ATR-BC, REAT

Director of Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute and researcher with the US Departments of Defense and Education. Author of over 20 books on arts-based therapies such as Handbook of Expressive Arts Therapy, a standard in the field.

Ralph Erich Schmidt

PhD

Adjunct Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Geneva and psychotherapist at the Psychiatric University Hospital of Zurich. He specialized in the third-wave approaches of CBT (CBASP, ACT, and Schema Therapy) and in psychotraumatology.

Suzanne Haeyen

PhD

Professor of the research group ‘Arts & Psychomotor Therapies in Health Care’ and coordinator of content of the Master for Arts and Psychomotor Therapies of the University of Applied Science of Arnhem & Nijmegen (HAN).  Art therapist at ‘Scelta’, an expert centre for personality disorders.

Paola Luzzatto

PhD

She is a pioneer art therapist in Italy and has extensive experience in working with psychiatric patients in UK and cancer patients in US. More recently she spent ten years as Honorary Lecturer in Tanzania (2015-2022) where she developped the Trauma Treatment protocol (TT-AT).

Ines Testoni

PhD

Italian social psychologist and psychotherapist, Professor at the University of Padova, and Research Fellow at the Emili Sagol Creative Arts Therapies Research Center. Active in international communities, she contributes to advancing trauma-informed creative arts therapies.

Marcia Plevin

PhD, BC-DMT

American, BC-DMT, certified Italian psychologist, art psychotherapist, former professional contemporary dancer. Dance movement therapy teacher and supervisor for Art Therapy Italiana (ATI), the Institute of Expressive Psychotherapy, Bologna, dance therapy faculty at Inspirees Institute in China. 

Camilla Mele

PhD, MSc, MA, PM

Adjunct professor, credentialed art therapist, and architect/urban designer. She is Academic Coordinator of TRACE and faculty in the CAT Master at the University of Padua, also teaching at the Catholic University of Milan, and serves as Corporate Partnership Manager with The Red Pencil International.

Jacques Stitelmann

PhD

Artist, psychologist, psycho-therapist and art therapist. Founder and director of l’Atelier, Geneva, an institute for research and education in the art-therapy field. He published articles and books on art therapy: “Le concept de cadre en art-thérapie” ou “Formes et modalités, des concepts pour l’art-thérapie”

Carmen Oprea

MA, MFA, ATR-BC, RCAT

Board-certified art therapist, currently pursuing a doctorate in psychology. Her art therapy career spans diverse age groups facing life challenges at her clinic, Accès Art Thérapie. She co-investigates research on art therapy and depression with a team from Concordia University.

Alessandra Agnesse

MA

Italian art psychotherapist, expressive therapist, and transpersonal practitioner specializing in trauma treatment. With over 25 years of experience, she has worked across medical, educational, rehabilitation, supporting children, adolescents, adults, oncology patients, and individuals facing neurodegenerative conditions.

PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN:

Write your awesome label here.
Organizers
Write your awesome label here.

Rachel Hoare, Ph.D.

Dr Rachel Hoare is Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin and Director of the Centre for Forced Migration Studies. Her work bridges forced migration, trauma psychotherapy, and expressive arts practice, with a particular focus on refugee and unaccompanied adolescent wellbeing. She is the author of Psychological Support for Refugee Adolescents: An Expressive Arts Approach to Wellbeing and Trauma Recovery (Routledge, 2025) and has published widely on trauma-informed and arts-based approaches with displaced young people. 
Her interdisciplinary research, clinical experience, and commitment to developing ethical, trauma-informed practice make her a natural co-organizer of the Trauma-Informed Creative Care Symposium, bringing together research, practice, education, and international collaboration.
.
Write your awesome label here.

Carmen Oprea, MA, MFA, ATR-BC, RCAT

Drawing from her work as a registered art therapist, researcher, and community builder, Carmen Oprea brings a vision rooted in trauma-informed, culturally responsive care, and international collaboration. 
She is the organizer of the World Art Therapy Conferences and other workshops, summits and events for arts therapists and hopes the community of arts therapists will soon feel more connected between continents.
As co-creator of this symposium, she aims to convene arts therapies practitioners and allied mental health professionals to strengthen ethical, creative approaches to healing and to foster a global, interconnected community of practice based on collaboration, cohesion, and diversity.

Trauma-Informed Creative Care 2027

HOME STUDY PACKAGE - CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS

This package offers you 13 hours of Countinuing Education for registered art therapists in US (ATR-BC).
Other Professional Orders and Associations may accept the accreditation, so please consult with your respective regulatory body.

Empty space, drag to resize

Creative Therapies Events Inc. has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7468. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Creative Therapies Events Inc. is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Empty space, drag to resize

Art Therapy Credentials Board, Inc. (ATCB) recognizes an array of Continuing Education Credit activities, inclusive of those pertaining to the spheres of professional and mental health counseling. These specified activities are delineated within the recertification standards, which are disseminated to all Art Therapy Registered-Board Certified (ATR-BC) professionals during their recertification year, as well as being accessible via the official ATCB website. It is mandated that a minimum of six CE credits in the domain of ethics and six CE credits in the domain of supervision or education must be acquired in each certification cycle. Licensees practicing as art therapists within their respective states (in US) are advised to consult with their state boards to ascertain the acceptability of various CE courses for the purpose of license renewal.

Please check with your regulatory body in your country, this home study program may be accepted for CE/CPD credits in European countries, Australia, Asia, etc.

Empty space, drag to resize

Creative Therapies Events Inc. is our registered legal name under which all official and legal matters are conducted. This includes compliance with all regulatory requirements and licensure board mandates.
We operate under the brand name 'Creative Arts Therapies Events' which may be used, along with our logo, for all our educational and promotional materials, both in print and electronic formats, including for advertising certified credits where applicable.
We have employed LearnWorlds, a learning management system, for delivering this program. The use of LearnWorlds, including its logo, does not imply sponsorship or co-sponsorship of any educational or business activities by LearnWorlds in relation to Creative Therapies Events Inc.

Created with