About
WHEAT Institute
We are thrilled to announce our Rivers of Solidarity programming, which includes comprehensive 2.5-year Art Therapy, Expressive Arts Therapy, and Dual Diploma programs in our Rivers of Solidarity: Social Justice Lens stream. We also offer a one-year Expressive Arts Certificate.
Our Rivers of Solidarity programming will engage participants in reflection, personal practice, and action on issues of identity, relationship, and social transformation. We will explore ways culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability weave through systems of power, oppression, and privilege, as well as ways to engage in social action towards liberation and equity. Participants will be invited to deepen their awareness, understanding, capacity, and skills, working with the lived embodiment of systems and their transformation.
A diverse group of teachers will support participants to explore identity and self in-relation, journeying towards braver and safer creative spaces. Together we will grow capacity to weather the storms of change relationally, deepen our embodied skillfulness to generate solidarity, and weave social justice practices in the midst of all that is turbulent. This is collaborative, creative heART work. We will explore structural and systemic layers, as well as the relational and personal internalized aspects of oppression and change. We will cultivate inquiry into resistance, rebellion, and revolution from a place of love and creativity. In this work we need each other: this is the practice of creative solidarity.
Affinity group spaces will be offered to support participants in intentional exploration and community building with others whose identities and positionalities most align/share resonance. Affinity groups allow a sacred and co-created space for connection, vulnerability, and examination of shared identities. This time together in smaller groups often helps members safely explore some of their shared experiences without fear of causing harm and impact when coming together in a larger community where diverse lived experiences, positions, and culture are present. We hope these groups will become places where elements of shared identity often masked from the overculture and within systems of systemic oppression can be expressed and resonated with. Groups will be led by a facilitator with peer support from amongst the WHEAT community. Arts-based explorations will be offered as well as other restorative and circle process tools designed to support ongoing safety and container building, individual integration, and collective connection.
All participants and faculty will be supported to experience their own brilliance and magic in order to step deeply into their own power in ways that enhance and support others’ full becoming. As Warriors and Grandmothers, Poets and Artists, Dancers and Dreamers, Educators, Helpers, and Healers, we envision a world without racism or any form of violence: a world of harmonious relations where we care for each other and Mother Earth. We aim to hold sacred space for new beginnings. Come dream with us and practice loving, inclusive ways of being in the world together through the incomparable power and nuance of the arts.
The time is now. The need is great. Be a part of the change.
For more information please contact WHEAT Institute at info@wheatinstitute.com
Rivers of Solidarity Art Therapy Diploma
This is an intensive program spanning the course of two summer intensives and two full academic years. In addition to the summer intensives, it includes online coursework, 700 hours (300 direct client contact hours) of practicum experience, ongoing individual and group supervision, affinity groups, and academic and writing support in the completion of a thesis or final project in an area of personal interest.
Graduates will have the necessary requirements to work as art therapists, join CATA as professional members and work towards registration as Registered Canadian Art Therapists (RCAT).
Rivers of Solidarity Expressive Arts Therapy Diploma
This is an intensive program spanning the course of two summer intensives, online coursework during the academic year, several studio immersion courses mid-academic year, 600 hours (300 direct client contact hours) of practicum experience, ongoing individual and group supervision, affinity groups, and academic and writing support in the completion of a thesis or final project in an area of personal interest.
Graduates of this program will have the training necessary to become members of the Ontario Expressive Arts Therapy Association (OEATA). You can join as an Expressive Arts Therapist with a 500 + hour training program, including supervised practicum and thesis / final project. Registering as a professional member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA), as either a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT) or a Registered Expressive Arts Consultant/Educator (REACE), is a process, with a variety of criteria, which can be found here ieata.org
Rivers of Solidarity Dual Diploma in Art and Expressive Arts Therapy
This is an intensive program spanning the course of two to three summer intensives, online coursework, practicum experience, ongoing individual and group supervision, affinity groups, and academic and writing support to specialize in an area of personal interest through the preparation of a final project and a final thesis. Students will complete all of our compulsory courses in this combined diploma program to receive training in both Art Therapy and Expressive Arts Therapy! This is a 800+ hour program, in which students will complete the Art Therapy practicum requirement of 700 hours (300 direct client contact hours), plus an additional 200 direct client contact hours to meet the Expressive Arts Therapy practicum requirement.
Rivers of Solidarity Expressive Arts Certificate
This program can be done in one or two years, during weekend and summer courses. Our Certificate attracts guidance counsellors, resource teachers, and classroom teachers, as well as clergy, artists, community activists, and others from a variety of walks of life, who are interested in understanding and utilizing expressive arts.
Our 200+ hour Expressive Arts Certificate prepares students to join the Ontario Expressive Arts Therapy Association as Expressive Arts Practitioners.
Current Requirements
For Diploma Programs
A Bachelor's or Master’s degree is required in either counselling, social work, fine arts, psychology or an equivalent field with a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) completed to determine equivalencies.
Prerequisites include Developmental Psychology (3 credits) and Abnormal Psychology or Psychopathology (3 credits). This work may also be completed during the course of study, but must be completed in order to call yourself an art therapist upon graduation. WHEAT recommends the completion of these courses prior to the beginning of our program.
As part of their learning process, students will be required to receive art therapy prior to or during the program for a minimum of 25 hours. Due to the psycho-dynamic nature of the program, we recommend students have the experience of receiving art therapy support during the program.
For Certificate Program
The Rivers of Solidarity Certificate is open to artists, healers, helpers, therapists, cultural workers, social workers, educators, and community activists with some arts background. Participants may enter as artists and community activists with some arts background or with a Bachelor’s degree in a related field such as counselling, education, social work, fine arts, psychology, OT, recreation, or divinity. A written application indicating your background is required.
Current Application Process
Application Deadlines: We are currently accepting registration for next year's 2023 Rivers of Solidarity cohort, which will begin in the spring 2023. There are a limited number of seats available and spots will be reserved as applications are received. Registration closes April 30, 2023.
For Diploma Programs
Applicants are selected based on past academic records, a 500-1000 word letter of intent and three letters of recommendation.
Applicants must also submit: Documentation of previous art-making experience, current Resume (reflecting some experience in clinical, rehabilitative and/or educational settings), Child Abuse Registry and Criminal Record Check. Registration fee of $225 is due at that time. The Director and/or selection committee will interview potential participants. Confirmation of acceptance to the Diploma Program will occur within two weeks of application. Training completion fund of $254.90 or $314.90, plus materials fee of $200 are due upon acceptance and signing of the Tuition Contract.
For Certificate Program
Applicants are selected based on their written application statements, resume, and an art portfolio.
2023 Update: While we value the benefits of face-to-face programming and land-based experiences, we understand that in-person presence is not always possible. To make this training available as broadly as possible despite student location, time, and finances, all WHEAT programming is offered Online for those who cannot travel for any in-person offerings that take place at our Painted Sky Studio in St. Laurent, Manitoba. Information on accommodation is located HERE
Harmonized Art & Expressive Arts Therapy
Testimonials
"An incredible week of hands on learning in a beautiful setting!"
Harmonized Art Therapy Student, July 2022
"This program is fun, inclusive and inspiring. I think it is one of the best learning experiences I have had as a child or adult. I feel the learning spilling over into who I am in my life in a very positive way, like a new thing has started to sprout in me. I imagine the vast possibilities of this in a therapeutic setting."
Harmonized Expressive Arts Student, July 2022
"It was the most beautiful experience I could have ever been a part of."
Harmonized Art Therapy Student, July 2022
Current Fees - Rivers of Solidarity Programs
There is no GST or Tax on any of our fees or tuition. All diploma fees are listed in Canadian (CAD) dollars. Training is tax deductible, see more information here.
Tuition Fees for Rivers of Solidarity Art Therapy or Expressive Arts Therapy Diploma: $25,490.00 CAD
Tuition Fees for Rivers of Solidarity Dual Diploma: $31,490.00 CAD
The payment schedule is calculated on the course hours completed each term and tuition installments are due yearly on June 1, September 30, and January 15. An estimate will be provided to students upon acceptance.
Additional Diploma Fees:
$225.00 CAD Non-refundable Registration Fee due upon registration (part of the application process)
$200.00 CAD Non-refundable Supply Fee due upon acceptance
$254.90 CAD or $314.90 CAD for Non-refundable Training Completion Fund (TCF) fee due upon acceptance.
$50.00 CAD Graduation Fee due in final term
Practicum and/or Thesis Extension for all Diploma Programs:
Students will be considered graduates following completion of their Practicum as well as having completed and received a passing grade on their Final Project or Thesis. There is an additional fee of $100 per supervision hour for any supervision required beyond that included in the program. There is a fee of $1000 for students wishing to extend their Final Project or Thesis for an additional year. This will be accompanied by additional research support.
Tuition Fees for Rivers of Solidarity Certificate: $9,800.00
240 hour program
Canadian and American participants will pay in their home currency (CAD and USD, respectively). Participants from outside Canada and the United States are invited to contact WHEAT as program fees will be adjusted for residents from Category II and III Countries based on the Human Development Index.
The payment schedule is calculated on the course hours completed each term and tuition installments are due yearly on June 1, September 30, and June 1. An estimate will be provided to students upon acceptance.
Additional Certificate Fees:
$100.00 - Non-refundable Registration Fee
$100.00 - Art Supply fee (waived for online training)
$50.00 - Graduation fee