Friday, February 5, 2010

Artist Interview



Ed Regensburg

________________________________________________________________________

MA, ATR-BC, CHT., LCAT

Certified Art Therapist

Certified Hypnotherapist

| Academic Career |

1.) Where did you earn your undergraduate degree?

SUNY New Paltz

1a.) What did you study during your time there and in what ways did it shape your future?

Art Education / Foundation to working with “Art” and people

2.) Where, and in what did you earn you master’s degree?

Hofstra University / Creative Arts Therapy

2a.) Will you briefly explain what the master’s program in art therapy entailed?

Exploration of the intersection of art and psychology

2c.) Were there any particular professors or mentors that influenced your career as an artist or art therapist?

Bobbie Kaufman, author of Hidden Cries and Silent Screams

| Professional Career |

1.) After earning your master’s degree, what type of licensory and/or professional training were you required to complete before you were legally permitted to practice under the title of art therapist?

Licensed in NYS 2006, no requirements previous

2.) Where was your first position?

North Shore University Hospital

2a.) What population(s) did you work with?

Substance Abuse

2b.) Would you please describe the basic therapeutic goals you hoped to reach through the use of art therapy with this population?

Identification / Release and Understanding of subconscious emotional drivers of behaviors.

3.) Can you briefly list and describe all subsequent positions you held as an art therapist?

(The artist / art therapist referred me to his biography which can be reviewed at http://www.regensburgart.com/practice/pages/practice_bio.html)

From 1975 – 1992 Ed designed, established and supervised clinical Art Therapy programs at North Shore University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Sagamore Children’s Center, Pederson Krag and North Shore Creative Rehabilitation Center.

During that time Regensburg also established an exclusive private practice specializing in art psychotherapy and hypnosis for children and their families, individuals and couples. He also provides supervision, training and consultation to clinical professionals.

Mr. Regensburg’s artwork has been featured in galleries across the country and is included in many private and corporate collections. It includes paintings of ethereal skyscapes and life-sized sculpture that reinterprets totemic themes

Regensburg is also a noted lecturer and workshop leader. From 1984 – 1994 he served as Adjunct Professor of Art Therapy in the graduate Art Therapy program he co-designed at Long Island University. He has been sought out by many organizations for his consultant services including the New York State Office of Mental Health, Long Island Association for Aids Care, Pall Medical Corporation of America and others.

Regensburg is a licensed, board certified professional Art Therapist (LCAT). In addition he is a board certified hypnotherapist, having earned the CHt.-BC distinction from the International Association of Counselors and Therapists in 1992. At that time he established the first Wellness Education and Treatment Through The Arts at Sara’s Center (www.sarascenter.org) for people with special needs, with a focus on psychiatric illness. Unlike traditional programs this model combines creative arts with functional skill building techniques to help people resolve inner conflicts and to heal and grow.

4.) How long after completing Graduate school, were you able to establish a private practice as an art therapist?

Immediately

4a.) What type (if any) of additional licensure was required to establish a private practice in New York state?

N/A (The currently required licensure had not yet been implied in New York State)

4b.) Did you have a particular population you wished to service in your private practice?

Not initially

4c.) Do you use a particular or specific medium in your private practice, for example the medium you were formerly trained to use as an undergraduate art student? If so please explain why you think this particular medium works best in your private practice. If not please explain your choices for medium used.

This is a very complex question. I use a variety of techniques I designed based upon their clinical success over the years, across many populations

5.) Do you maintain a separate Studio Art Practice? If so will you please explain how you categorize your self as an artist (i.e. painter, sculptor, photographer etc.)

Yes, Painter and Sculptor

5a.) Do you feel your practice as an artist exists separately from your practice as an art therapist?

Yes

5b.) Does your artistic practice serve as a personal therapeutic outlet?

Yes

5c.) Is your art work influenced by your therapeutic practice in anyway? If so please explain.

Yes, it serves as never ending inspiration.

5d.) What obstacles or struggles have you faced in maintaining a studio practice as well as an art therapy practice?

Public acceptance of the field, and thus my relation to it in my own studio practice, usually due to lack of knowledge.

(Images can be found at the artist’s website: http://www.regensburgart.com/index.html )

| Theory |

1.) Will you please explain the theory behind your personal art therapy practice, and how it was developed?

2.)

I consider myself a Phenomenologically Oriented Existentialist. As such I developed the concept I called Transformative Imagery, which speaks to the power of “art” and imagery to change a life.

1a.) What/Whose Psychological model does this theory most closely adhere to?

Reference include, Carl Jung, P.D Ouspensky, Rosalynn Bruyere and many others

1b.) How do you implement this theoretical framework across different populations in need of art therapy? / Is there a need to change your theoretical framework to fit the particular patient(s)?

Always responding to individual need and circumstance referencing archetypal understanding of symbol and color allows for effective treatment planning and intervention “when words alone are not enough”™.

Please see website bio for more detailed information. www.psychimagery.com