The Creative "Righting" Center offers three options for persons interested in poetry therapy training:

1) The Residential Program for persons who can attend monthly peer groups in New York leading to certification and registration

2) The Program for Distant Learners leading to certification and registration

3) The Consultation Corner for persons who would like to attend peer groups and seminars or have one-to-one consultations, but are not working towards certification or registration

Persons interested in certification will need to complete 440 hours of work with developmental populations for the CAPF (Certified Applied Poetry Facilitator) designation. Persons who have a minimum of an M.A. in psychology, social work, or a related helping profession will require 960 hours of study to work with clinical populations.

Preparation is divided into four work tasks for all trainees:

1. Didactic Study: Trainees do extensive reading in poetry therapy, literature, and counseling, keeping an annotated bibliography as documentation.

2. Peer Groups: Trainees need to experience poetry therapy with a trained facilitator before working in the field. Each trainee will also have the opportunity to experience being a facilitator for the peer group.

3. Facilitating Groups: Trainees are required to facilitate poetry therapy groups in different facilities of their choice (schools, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, etc.) Three hundred hours are required for registration. One hundred and twenty hours are required for certification.

4. Supervision- The planning and review of your facilitating groups in the field as well as review of reading assignments is done in-person, or by phone, mail, or e-mail. Sixty hours of supervision is required for certification and 100 hours are required for registration. The cost for supervision is $75 per hour with a sliding scale based on need.

Whether you choose a residential program or the long distance one, all programs are created to meet national guidelines; at the same time, the program that you and Dr. Reiter create will be individualized to meet your professional needs and preferences.

A minimum of two years’ study is required. Trainees are encouraged to do this work at their own pace, and may choose to extend their study over a longer period. Tuition is usually distributed usually over a 2-4 year period.

 

This program is for persons who can attend the meetings held once a month at The Creative “Righting” Center in New York City. The training group meets one Sunday a month in Manhattan from September through June. It offers face-to-face contact and the support of a dynamic poetry therapy community. You are invited to join this warm circle of teachers, writers, therapists, librarians, pastors, and professional helpers.

Each four-hour session consists of:

1. Facilitation of peer group led by the mentor/supervisor

2. Facilitation of peer group by trainees in rotation

3. Review of therapeutic material and techniques

4. Group Supervision

Eighteen hours of group supervision are built into this program over a two-year period. The trainee must complete the required number of additional hours of supervision in accordance with the guidelines. One-to-one supervision is conducted in person or by phone, mail and e-mail, according to the preferences of the individual.

Regional CAPF Program:

The program for the Regional CAPF includes 2 years of attendance at peer group (September/October- June), a 4 day seminar: Poetry Therapy— Towards Self-Knowledge, 42 hours of one-to-one supervision, and 18 hours of group supervision.

Regional PTR Program:

The program for the Regional PTR includes 2 years of attendance at peer group (September/October- June), a 4 day seminar: Poetry Therapy— Towards Self-Knowledge, a 5 day intensive: The Cape Cod Writing Retreat, 26 hours of group supervision and 74 hours of one-to-one supervision.

 

This program is for persons who live at a distance from The Creative “Righting” Center but who can:

a)  attend a seminar once a year for at least two years,
b) facilitate one or more poetry therapy groups each week, and
c) commit to one hour of supervision twice a month via phone.

Long distance learners, both CAPF and PTR candidates, are required to attend a four day seminar: Poetry Therapy— Towards Self-Knowledge and either Poetry Therapy II: Working With Special Populations or a five day intensive: The Cape Cod Writing Retreat.  These two seminars will provide approximately 45 peer group hours. Long distance learners, both the CAPF and the PTR, will supplement their peer group hours by either attending a mentor-approved seminar of their choice and/or attending NAPT Conferences.

Long-Distance CAPF Program:

The program for the long distance CAPF includes two seminars, 8 hours of group supervision and 52 hours of one-to-one supervision.

Long Distance PTR Program:

The program for the Long Distance PTR includes two seminars, 8 hours of group supervision and 92 hours of individual supervision.

Note: Trainees have the option of participating in the innovative Poets-Behind-Bars Program, mentoring inmates of Indiana State Prison through e-mail with group supervision by phone.

Please call 718-998-4572, or e-mail me at sherryreiter@yahoo.com