MA Art Therapy lecture: Joyfulness and well-being through self and community care

It can be difficult to cultivate and sustain our individual and collective well-being in today’s world. We might find ourselves more readily experiencing burnout. 

In this lecture, MA Art Therapy Artist in Residence Prof Susan D. Imus will examine the concepts of well-being, wellness, joyfulness, self-care, and community care through a cultural context. What communities do you belong to and how are they affected by and with your self-care?

About the Artist in Residence

Susan D. Imus, MA, LCPC, BC-DMT, GL-CMA, is a Professor and former Chair of the Department of Creative Arts Therapies in the School of Fine and Performing Arts at Columbia College Chicago. Susan redesigned the MA in Dance/Movement Therapy program to become the Dance/Movement Therapy & Counseling program, created the Arts in Healthcare Minor, and co-developed the Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis at Columbia College Chicago.

Susan has practiced, educated, and consulted in dance/movement therapy and the creative arts throughout the U.S. and abroad for 41 years. She is the former chair of the Education, Research, and Practice Committee and the Committee on Approval for the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA), and received the first Excellence in Education award by the ADTA in 2006. Susan, originally trained in nursing, has been employed as a dance/movement therapist by 10 different hospitals throughout her career in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Prestigious institutions include Harvard University’s McLean Hospital and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, where she was recruited to assist in the development of chronic pain services through the Department of Medical Specialties.

Susan is active in the Arts in Health community working with Rush Generations; a wellness program through the Social Work and Community Health Department at Rush University Medical Center. Susan and the students (Arts in Health minor) received the Community Engagement Award by the organization in 2017. Susan has taught, supervised and consulted internationally in Kenya, Seoul, Melbourne, Prague and Milan, and has been invited to teach in Singapore and Beijing.