A Reunion of East and West: Reflections on the Roots of Creative Arts Therapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine

• Main Author: Krystal Demaine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Inspirees International B.V. 2016-12-01
• Series: Creative Arts in Education and Therapy
• Subjects: creative arts therapy; pedagogy; collaboration; undergraduate students; traditional chinese medicine
• Online Access: http://caet.inspirees.com/caetojsjournals/index.php/caet/article/view/15

This article shares a reflection from a workshop conducted by four Creative Arts Therapy colleagues who live both across American and Beijing, China. The workshop explored a relationship between western practices of creative arts therapy (CAT) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Participants of the workshop included undergraduate students and members from a private liberal arts college. The arts based components of the workshop included musical sounds, movement, color, and painting. The deeply ancient and richly artistic Chinese culture maintains its roots in wellness and healing through the practice of TCM. Through the workshop presentation the relationship between TCM and CAT were discussed within the context of current western literature. The role of collaborative and experiential learning as a method of pedagogy within this workshop highlighted the interdisciplinary nature and hands on learning that is most salient to the study of CAT as well as TCM. The challenges and positives that can emerge within collaborative pedagogy are considered and discussed.