Writing for Wellbeing

Grief is widely recognised as one of the most challenging and emotionally painful experiences we may face. Such an intense experience calls for a wide and varied range of methods that allow therapists, counselors, psychologists and social workers to support the individual needs of their clients. This module introduces Writing for Wellbeing (WFW) as one […]

Grief Therapy Learning Retreat

Join us in Bainbridge Island, Seattle, WA, USA, for our 5-Day / 4-Night Grief Therapy Learning Retreat that offers close access to a selection of internationally renowned Portland Institute faculty and guest speakers, who provide substantial training in the latest research and practice on meaning-oriented grief therapy approaches. Drawing on a blend of systematic instruction, […]

Collage: Integrating the Torn Pieces

This module introduces collage as a transformative art therapy modality, effective in the treatment of traumatic loss. Collages are works of art created from the pages of magazines. Images and words are cut and/or torn, altered, arranged and glued onto paper or cardboard. This “therapy of the imagination,” is particularly well suited as a sense […]

Transformed by Loss: Art Therapy Self-Portraits & the Redefined Self

This module, rooted in art therapy theory and Neimeyer’s Meaning Reconstruction theory, introduces the use of self-portraiture with grieving clients.  After a significant loss, the grievers often experience an altered sense of self and the world, and need to reconstruct a cohesive life narrative that is inclusive of their pre-loss and post-loss identities.  The creation […]

Dialogue With a Bereaved Mother

This haunting, compassionate, and healing dialogue highlights the art making process, products, and mystical experiences of a bereaved mother whose journey is understood and guided by the tenants of meaning reconstruction, restorative retelling, and attachment informed grief therapy.  Learners are invited into the inner workings of art therapy and a creative process with Lynne.  She […]

Adult Sib Loss

The loss of an adult sibling is a deeply personal and often overlooked grief experience, leaving many adult surviving siblings feeling disenfranchised in their mourning. The first half of this module will explore the unique nature of adult sibling loss and how the back story and shared narrative of this special relationship is impacted by […]

Writing the Creative Self in Grief

Based on her own two-year journey of writing the self after the death of her spouse, researcher and writing-the-self professor Reinekke Lengelle invites participants to develop a stronger ‘internal dialogue’ as a part of their resilience.  This course demonstrates that losing a loved one (or going through a non-death loss) is not only a matter […]

Trauma, Loss & Doll Making

Dolls have a universal and timeless appeal.  Ancient civilizations created them to ward off illness, promote fertility, and ensure abundant crops.  Dolls have been infused with the wishes, fears, and hopes of their makers, and have served as powerful talismans of transformation.  Learners will discover the clinical benefits of doll making through case studies that […]

Memory boxes

In this module, learners will learn about the art therapy practice of creating memory boxes with bereaved patients.  As containers, boxes readily protect and hold memories, secrets, narratives, and emotions.  They provide a space for creating, storytelling, exploration and documentation.  Boxes come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials, and may be painted, decorated, […]

The Mandala as Soul Medicine: A Jungian Approach to Grief and Loss

When lives are shattered by grief and loss, an internal invitation often arises, guiding us to embrace the chaos, and to find a new ordering that challenges our assumptive world while undergoing a process of meaning reconstruction.  This module introduces learners to the mandala as spiritual medicine, for the act of creating into a circular […]