Faculty

Drama Therapy Faculty

PAMELA DUNNE, PH.D., RDT/BCT, NT 

Founder and Director, DRAMA THERAPY INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES

Licensure Clinical Psychologist, Board of Psychology

Ph.D. Clinical Psychology, Cambridge Graduate School

M.A. Clinical Psychology, International College

BCT Registration as Board Certified Trainer (NADTA) and RDT Registration as a Drama Therapist (NADTA)

Ph. D Theatre Arts, Florida State University

M.A Child Drama, University of Washington

B.A. Film, University of California, LA

Pam Dunne is a Registered Drama Therapist and Board-Certified Trainer with the North American Drama Therapy Association.  She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Professor Emeritus of Theatre Arts and Dance at California State University Los Angeles.  She has authored 9 books, directed multiple plays, and either directed or appeared in many educational films.  Dr. Dunne has served as Keynote speaker, workshop leader, and is an International leader and trainer in the field of Drama Therapy.  She is currently conducting a training program for Narradrama both at the Facilitator and Trainer level. Her work has garnered her both the 2014 Teaching Excellence Award from the NADTA and the 2016 Gertrud Schattner Award for Distinguished Contribution to Drama Therapy.

KAMRAN AFARY, PH.D, RDT, NT, ASSOCIATE Director Drama Therapy Institute of Los Angeles

RDT Registered Drama Therapist, NADTA

PhD in Performance Studies, Northwestern University

MA in Communication Studies, Cal State LA

Kamran Afary is an Assistant Professor of Intersectional Identities and Relationships and a recipient of the 2016 Outstanding Lecturer Award at Cal State LA. He teaches interpersonal and health communication to student-prisoners in Lancaster California, and has worked extensively with Middle Eastern and South Asian refugee-immigrant populations He is a Narradrama Trainer and has recently presented Narradrama training in China. His publications include: Iranian Diaspora Identities: Stories and Songs (Hamilton 2020) and Communication Research on Expressive Arts as Forms of Healing (Lexington 2020); and Performance and Activism: Grassroots Discourse after the Los Angeles Rebellion of 1992 (Lexington 2009).

 

Renda Dionne Madrigal, Ph.D., RDT, NT

Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Ph.D. California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego

MA, Clinical Psychology, California School of Professional Psychology, San Diego

BA Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles

RDT, North American Drama Therapy Association

Renda Renee Dionne, is licensed clinical psychologist and UCLA Certified Mindfulness Facilitator for both adults and children, and Narradrama Facilitator (NF). She is the owner of Mindfulness Practice Incorporated in which she provides workshops, trainings, curriculum development and therapy in mindfulness based practices. She specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Somatic Experiences, Narradrama and Mindfulness and is a Cultural Consultant on American Indian Mental Health to Riverside County Mental Health 2008. She is a Narradrama Facilitator for DTILA and has conducted workshops in mindfulness and Narradrama in China. She also served as visiting Assistant professor at the University of Oregon where she taught Research Methods.

CREATIVE ARTS THERAPY FACULTY

TERHI K. KORKIAKANGAS Ph.D, Cl.Hyp

Ph.D. Psychology, Roehampton University (UK)

MSc Applied Psychological Research, Roehampton University (UK)

BSc Psychology, Roehampton University (UK)

Cl. Hyp, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist 

Terhi is a poet, writer, and research psychologist who believes in the healing power of words. She facilitates poetry groups for wellbeing and personal growth and is completing a CAPF (Certified Applied Poetry Facilitator) from the International Federation for Bibliotherapy and Poetry Therapy. Terhi is also a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and has trained in Rapid Transformational Therapy. Her work is based on the premise that the language we use to dialogue with ourselves impacts our minds and bodies. Her passion is to help people to overcome their fears and limitations by changing the inner narrative and to activate their innate ability to heal and restore themselves. She also empowers women to release subconscious barriers around fertility and holds space for those who have experienced a pregnancy loss. Terhi draws on her interdisciplinary background, and her poetry facilitation is influenced by her transformational work with the subconscious mind. Terhi has an academic background in Psychology, and for over 10 years she worked as a research psychologist in the United Kingdom. Her research is at the frontier of theorizing communication and social interaction with a focus on two groups: children with autism; and healthcare professionals. She is the author of the book, Communication, Gaze, and Autism: A Multimodal Interaction Perspective (Routledge 2018), and her work has been published in clinical and social scientific journals. Terhi has taught psychology courses at the university level and developed and facilitated workshops for healthcare. In recent years, Terhi has moved beyond academia to focus more exclusively on the mind-body interaction and the creative practices for healing. She is the founder of Poetry Co., poetry facilitation for personal growth.

 

GEORGIE LANDY, LCAT, ATR-BC

DRAMA THERAPY FIELD REPRESENTATIVES AND ADJUNCT FACULTY

Alexis Maron, MA, RDT-BCT, RADT

BA- Musical Theatre, UCLA

MA- Drama Therapy, NYU

RDT , NADTA

RADT: Registered Drug and Alcohol Technician, Certemy

BCT , NADTA

Alexis is a Registered Drama Therapist and Board Certified Trainer specializing in private practice in relationships, communication skills, family dynamics, and sexual and chemical addictions. In Orange County Alexis pioneered a drama therapy class at the Orange County School of the Arts, where she taught DT tools and techniques to the senior classes. Currently, she works with a non-profit organization, the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County, facilitating a “social skills” group for adults with Down Syndrome. She also leads  drama therapy groups at renowned treatment centers, such as the Waismann Institute, Simple Recovery, Lido Wellness, and Nexus Recovery with clients who suffer from substance abuse and sexual addictions and. works with the Center for Healthy Sex, leading experiential workshops for partners of those identifying as Sex Addicts. In addition, she is working with First Responders in a treatment center setting suffering from both addiction, and PTSD.

 

CYNTHIA KELVIN PsyD, RDT

Psy.D. Clinical Psychology –

Registered Drama Therapist ( NADTA)

Cynthia has taught psychology courses at the college level, as well as workshops in the community for social advocacy and personal growth and transformation. She has worked in community mental health settings as well as in private rehabilitation with people in all stages of life and recovery. Her work is based on the belief that by exploring parts of self through creative activity participants can overcome barriers, foster mindfulness, and cultivate personal strengths. She works to facilitate creative support groups with the overall goal of helping clients lead a healthy, creative, and playfully inspired life. Cynthia has expanded her focus on healing and transformation through utilizing the power of poetry and is completing her CPT (Certified Poetry Therapy) from the International Association for Bibliotherapy and/Poetry Therapy. 

PAM PAULSON, MA, LMFT/RDT, NT

MA Counseling Psychology, Pacifica Graduate Institute

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist

Registered Drama Therapist (NADTA)

Authentic Movement Certificate- Authentic Movement Institute, Berkeley

Pam Paulson, MA, LMFT/RDT/NT currently trains Drama Therapists at the Drama Therapy
Institute of Los Angeles and the Apollo School in Beijing, China. She has co-led several
workshops nationally and internationally with Dr. Pam Dunne often focused on Narradrama
practices. For 28 years Pam worked for Orange County Children & Family Services as a senior
social worker/supervisor specializing in: childhood trauma, intimate partner violence, substance
abuse and adoptions. Pam worked with community partnerships to create a Parent Mentor
Program and a Strengthening Marriage Workshop for active duty and veteran families. As a co-
writer and director, she created “The Job Interview”, a training about White Privilege, and co-
founded of PAX (Personal Art eXchange) a community-based art group. She teaches Authentic
Movement and holds a certificate from the Authentic Movement Institute in Berkeley,
California. She is an advisory board member for the non-profit Project Satori which provides
therapeutic services to Trafficking Survivors. She also enjoys being a resident artist of Panndora
Productions, a theater company base in Long Beach, as an actor, director, and producer. She is
co-author along with Pam Dunne, and Kamran Afary for the Narradrama chapter for the third
edition of the Current Approach in Drama Therapy.

RACHEL BROUSSEAU, LMFT, RDT/BCT, NT

Board Certified Trainer: (NADTA)

Master of Science, Counseling Psychology degree with MFT emphasis, Mount St. Mary’s University, Los Angeles, CA.

RDT (NADTA)

Rachel Brousseau walks alongside clients of all ages to honor their process of healing and personal growth through the use of creative arts therapy. Rachel is particularly passionate about working with new mothers to help them feel more supported and connected with greater self-compassion. Rachel believes that therapy is a collaborative process to help in healing the whole person, connecting the mind, body, and spirit in order to help those who are struggling to live brighter, fuller lives with deeper meaning and connection. Past drama therapy experience includes working with adults and adolescents struggling with eating disorders as well as working with children, adolescents, adults, and families in underserved communities to assist in decreasing depression, anxiety, and attachment issues. Rachel is currently serving as a Narradrama Trainer.

TRISHA JAUCHLER, MS, MA, RDT/BCT, CBF, CT, CDP

MS, Drama Therapy California State University, Los Angeles

MA, Theatre, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois

BFA, Theatre University of Memphis (formerly Memphis State University), Memphis, Tennessee

Trisha Jauchler, MS, MA, RDT/BCT, CBF, CT, CDP is a Registered Drama Therapist, Certificated Bereavement Facilitator, Certified Thanatologist, and Certified Dementia Practitioner.  She has presented workshops and seminars throughout the US on drama therapy, grief, death and dying, and is a member of the faculty at the Drama Therapy Institute of Los Angeles. Her specialty track for the Institute are classes related to grief and loss, end of life and aging. She is the owner and director of On Bright Wings End of Life Services.  On Bright Wings provides an artful approach to aging, end of life, and grief-work combining creative arts therapies with traditional therapeutic tools for exploration and healing.  As a certified end of life practitioner, Trisha is skilled in educating, guiding and supporting individuals and families through these end-of-life transitions.  Live fully and die well.

 

KSENIA ILINSKAYA

 

Ksenia Ilinskaya is a psychology professor at the University of Higher Economics in Moscow and specializes in narrative therapy and Narradrama. She is a Narradrama trainer (NT) who utilizes drama therapy and the creative arts in both her teaching and in therapeutic work with clients. Ksenia is pioneering Narradrama in Russia through running workshops, conferences and training for professionals and educators. In addition, through her teaching, clinical, and translation works, she is making a significant contribution in her country during a time of extreme turmoil by persisting in offering trainings, therapy, and support groups to bring hope in a time of darkness. She also teaches for the Narradrama certification program in China sponsored by DTILA and Apollo.

 

Special Thanks

A special thanks to former DTILA faculty, Laura Kanofsky Mt-BC, LCSW, Music Therapy, Angelique Poisson, LMFT, ATR GL-CMA, Clare Wren-Russ, MA, LMFT, RDT, Danielle Levanas, MA, RDT, Deva Connett, LPCC, BC-DMT, GL-CMA, Hiroko Saeki, MA,  LMFT, RDT and Jen Faith Brown, MA, RDT, for their contribution and service to DTILA.