Coming out is not a one-time event, nor is it specific to the LGBTQ population. All people are in a continual process of growth and rebirth. As we move through this cycle, we hit blocks during the process. The use of the multi-modal arts in therapy can be an excellent way to move through these blocks. In this webinar we discuss this process in the broader sense, but mostly focus on the LGBTQ population, specifically. The challenges of living in a hetero-normative, straight-privileged world are examined through the lens of happenings in politics and popular American culture. Participants will learn about the coming out process, and the unique challenges that the LGBTQ population faces. Issues such as shame, substance abuse, self-harm, and suicide are examined. Dance/movement therapy interventions, DBT methods, Vipassana techniques, the Halprin 5-Part Process and multi-modal arts in therapy will be discussed as they pertain to working with this population.

Learning Objectives:

1. Participants will become aware of the challenges the LGBTQ population faces living in a hetero-normative world.

2. Participants will learn about the coming out process and issues specific to the LGBTQ population.

3. Participants will learn about how to use and apply interventions drawn from various fields and practices such as: Dance/Movement Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Vipassana meditation, the Halprin 5-Part Process and Expressive Arts Therapy

Continuing Education Credits: 1.0 ADTA CE, 1.0 NBCC CE, 1.0 NY LCAT CE

Presenter Bio:

Heidi Landgraf, MFA, MA, R-DMT, RSMT/E, PCCI, and Certified Halprin Practitioner, has worked with LGBT people at Canyon Manor, a locked residential facility for adults with psychiatric disorders, and Aurora Santa Rosa and Chicago Lakeshore Hospitals, both acute inpatient psychiatric facilities. She was the recipient of the Rosenblum Award to attend the Makings and Meanings of Queer Dance CORD Special Topics Conference at the University of Michigan, where she presented Mind, Heart and Pelvis in the Queer Body: An Expressive Arts Therapy Exploration. She led an 8-part series titled Going In, Coming Out: An Expressive Arts Workshop for Women at the James Howell Studio in San Francisco. Heidi currently volunteers for The Trevor Project, working to prevent LGBT suicide nationwide.