Montreal: Welcome to the city where art and research live harmoniously together!
The Canadian NADTA Chapter would like to welcome you to the upcoming 2013 conference. Firstly, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Alisha Henson and I am a Registered Drama Therapist. I worked for a number of years as a Child and Family Therapist and last year return to school to complete my PhD in Counselling Psychology. I have a passion for research as well as advancing the field of Drama Therapy. I have recently stepped into the role of President of the Canadian chapter and will soon become the Canadian Representative on the NADTA board.
With the 2013 NADTA conference quickly approaching I can feel a buzz of excitement in the air. Montreal is always a very exciting place to be, not only is it bursting with arts and culture (museums, theatre, music festivals and fine cuisine) but it is also a vibrant place to study and explore research. Voted one of the top ten places in the world to be a student (Oberholtzer, 2012, Feb 16), Montreal is home to four universities (both French and English), but it also houses the only Drama Therapy program in Canada. Therefore, it seems only fitting that the Knowledge through Performance conference would come alive in this community.
The focus of this years NADTA conference is on Arts Based Research. Personally, Arts Based Research excites me because it allows for the opportunity to marry two parts of my identity: researcher and drama therapist. By exploring qualitative research through art and performance, Drama Therapy is in the unique position to not only generate new ways to approach research but also to interpret and disseminate findings. For many of us who have witnessed the beauty and power of Drama Therapy, Arts Based Research helps us to share our language with the world.
From Saldana’s Ethnodrama and Ethnotheatre workshop to Lutz’s Ritual, Body Memory Research, and Disaster Play (Gaines, Stefens, Perrin, & Kile) Participatory Action Research project, this year’s conference offers a variety of exciting Arts Based Research and performances. I know I am counting down the days till I bear witness to another exciting conference year.
Call to all Canadian Conference Attendees. Please join the Canadian Chapter for a regional meeting on Saturday Sept 28th at 1:50. We would love to discuss our goals and ways to stay connected across this vast country.
Alisha Henson (MA, CCC, RDT)
Canadian Chapter President and incoming Canadian Board Representative: North American Drama Therapy Association
PhD Student Counselling Psychology
Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology McGill
McGill Psychotherapy Process Research Group