Drama Therapy

Kimberly Koljat ’11 transformed personal loss into groundbreaking research on grief, embodiment, and connection in an increasingly digital world.

At the 2026 Scholarship Dinner, CIIS students and donors gathered to celebrate the journeys that generous giving makes possible.

After four decades leading CIIS' Drama Therapy Program, professor Renée Emunah reflects on a career spent fusing theatre and healing.

Discover your fit among CIIS' five counseling psychology concentrations, each offering a unique path to becoming a transformative healer.

Alexis Nikole Nelson aka Black Forager uses her platform to engage with millions—yelling, singing, and celebrating the hidden bounty of edible plants waiting to be found in our backyards, on our nature hikes, growing from our sidewalks and in our parks across the world.

In this episode, Alexis is joined by CIIS associate professor, activist, and licensed creative arts therapist Britton Williams for an engaging and joyful conversation about Alexis’ life and work, food justice and foraging for edible plants to enrich palates and the planet.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on April 12, 2024. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Dr. Renée Emunah, Founder and Chair of the Drama Therapy program at CIIS, reflects on the second edition of her book, Acting for Real: Drama Therapy Process, Technique, and Performance

Sibling Directors on Drama, Therapy, and Drama Therapy

An interview with Drama Therapy alumna Grace Walcott about her documentary, “River of Life LGBTQ+”

Sylvia Israel, adjunct Faculty in the Drama Therapy program, is featured Therapeutic Spiral Model Trainer by Therapeutic Spiral Model International.

Welcome, Britton Williams!

As a New York Times bestselling author and renowned clinical psychologist, Dr. Shefali’s work teaches women how to transcend their fears and illusions, break free from societal expectations, and rediscover the person they were always meant to be: fully present, conscious, and fulfilled.

In this episode, Enneagram expert and life coach Lara Heller talks with Dr. Shefali about her latest book, A Radical Awakening, and how to uncover our inner truth and powers to help heal ourselves and our planet.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 4th, 2022. A transcript is available below.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

The first of a two-part interview series celebrating the boundary-defying work of Chris Dorosz

Listen and watch as students and alumni talk about their experiences in the Drama Therapy program at CIIS

This episode features Bay Area performers and writers including a BART train operator, a recent Pride Parade Grand Marshall, and more. Presented in collaboration with San Francisco’s Porchlight storytelling series and The Contemporary Jewish Museum, each storyteller explores their understanding of self and the fluidity of identity.

This episode was recorded during an event on August 22, 2019 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California. 

Baratunde Thurston of The Onion and The Daily Show is joined in conversation by actor and director Rotimi Agbabiaka to discuss comedy, race, technology, politics, and everything in between.

This episode was recorded during an event on March 24, 2017 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

The story of Jezebel Delilah X—a self professed "quirky, queer, black girl from South Central LA” and how literature and theatre saved her life.

This episode includes explicit language. It was recorded during an event on November 4, 2015 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

In this episode, improviser and writer Marlee Grace talks with Julia Plevin, the creator of Forest Bathing Club about Marlee’s book: How To Not Always Be Working.

This episode was recorded during an event on October 25, 2018 in front of a live audience in San Francisco, California.

Theatre for Change's 2018 performance explores the roots, implications, and impact of the #MeToo movement.

Chicano performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña is joined by author and performer Larry Bogad for this performative conversation, GGGPS: The Guillermo Gómez-Peña Positioning System. 

This event was part of the Dancing with the So Called Dead Festival, a collaboration with the MFA Program in Theatre-Performance Making and The Arts @ CIIS.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 26, 20216.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Theatre director Sean San José is joined in conversation by CIIS faculty and performance maker Erika Chong Shuch about ghosts, spirituality, and memory in performance. 

This event was part of the Dancing with the So Called Dead Festival, a collaboration with the MFA Program in Theatre-Performance Making and The Arts @ CIIS.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on November 17, 2016.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Co-founders of the performance company Curious, Leslie Hill and Helen Paris, are joined in conversation by CIIS Visiting Faculty Member Ryan Tacata to talk about their work. 

This event was part of the Dancing with the So Called Dead Festival, a collaboration with the MFA Program in Theatre-Performance Making and The Arts @ CIIS.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 15, 2017.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Author and psychologist Shefali Tsabary is joined in conversation by Dean of Alumni Richard Buggs to explore the ways we unconsciously pass on psychological pain to our children.

This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 9, 2017.

You can watch a recording of this episode and many more episodes on the CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel.

Alumna Dr. Shefali Tsabary shares how CIIS' Drama Therapy program sent her on a journey of self-awareness and introspection

Counseling Psychology students connect with 60+ agencies at the annual Practicum Fair

Stage Ai's Summer Blossom festival brought CIIS values to life in China through arts, healing, and cross-cultural connection.

Spotlighting on the 6 degree programs in CIIS' School of Professional Psychology and Health

Theatre for Change pieces grow out of improvisation, methods of drama therapy, self-revelatory performance, educational theatre, and Theatre of the Oppressed

Drama Therapy student, Angelica Medina appeared in and helped write the collaborative theater production