| CARVIEW |
Expressive Arts Therapy and Trauma Recovery
Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, Trauma and Expressive Arts Therapy: Brain, Body, and Imagination in the Healing Process
Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, LPCC, LPAT, REAT
An internationally known psychotherapist and expressive arts therapist, Dr. Cathy Malchiodi has helped shape the field of traumatic stress through her decades of work with children, adults, families, and communities. Cathy is the author of numerous publications including several bestselling books that have become standards in the fields of expressive arts therapy, art therapy, trauma recovery, and creative approaches to clinical practice.
Dr. Malchiodi is a popular presenter, delivering more than 750 invited keynotes and workshops around the world. She is the founder and executive director of the Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute, a source of education and professional development for over 30,000 psychotherapists, counselors, creative arts therapists, somatic educators, and coaches. Cathy has held seven academic appointments and is the recipient of many awards including Kennedy Center Honors, research grants, and several university fellowships.
Dr. Malchiodi promotes a capacity-focused, neurodiversity-affirming approach to traumatic stress grounded in evidence-informed expressive arts therapy and sensory integration. Drawing on principles of EMDR, somatic therapy, arts therapies, and sensory processing, she developed Bilateral Movement Desensitization and Resensitization, an innovative model to facilitate trauma recovery and restore health and well-being.
Learn More About Dr. Malchiodi
Presentations & Trainings
Cathy is an internationally sought-after speaker who has given over 750 invited keynotes, workshops, and courses around the world. She has trained thousands of professionals in the fields of mental health, healthcare, and education in expressive arts therapy, traumatic stress, and somatic and sensory-based practices. Cathy’s experience includes over 35 years of work with interpersonal violence and adverse childhood experiences; posttraumatic stress and complex traumatic stress; medical trauma; disaster relief; and the impact of trauma on neurodiversity and neurodivergence in children, teens, and adults. Her work is widely recognized for integrating creative, relational, and body-based approaches in ways that make complex clinical concepts accessible.
Publications & Media
Cathy has authored numerous foundational texts in expressive arts therapy, art therapy, traumatic stress, arts in healthcare, and innovative approaches to self-care and wellness. She has served as editor for leading journals and has published more than 100 articles and book chapters. Her articles on Psychology Today Online have reached over 6.5 million readers, covering a wide range of topics in the arts and health, trauma, creativity, neuroscience, and integrative health. Her YouTube Expressive Arts Therapy Channel is a widely viewed source for contemporary, innovative, and creative practices to support trauma recovery. Her writing and media consistently bridge rigorous scholarship with accessible guidance.
Approach & Philosophy
Cathy’s work as a psychotherapist emphasizes the restorative benefits of arts-based approaches in trauma recovery and health and wellness. Her research on innovative practices has led her to develop programming and models of care that support regulation and resilience through expressive arts therapy and sensory integration. Dr. Malchiodi has developed several trauma-informed frameworks including the Circle of Capacity, a concept that reframes trauma recovery a process of expanding regulation and recuperative experiences. Her work with caregivers and children emphasizes Restorative Attachment™, a framework for integrating expressive and sensory processing strategies to support healthy attachment throughout the lifespan.
Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute
Continuing Education and Professional Development
Live Webinars, In-Person Events, and Home Study with Dr. Cathy Malchiodi and Institute Faculty
Learn more about these comprehensive, innovative, and leading-edge educational offerings designed for psychotherapists, counselors, creative arts therapists, coaching professionals, educators, and somatic facilitators. Continuing education and professional development hours are included in these advanced training sessions on expressive arts therapy, traumatic stress recovery, sensory integration, somatic approaches, and neurodiversity affirming practices.
- Extensive course site, films, and downloadable resources
- Hands-on learning in expressive arts therapy, sensory-based, and somatic approaches
- Networking with a global community of practitioners
- Complete the Expressive Arts Therapist (EXAT), Expressive Arts Coach Educator (EXA-CE) programs and certificates in Restorative Attachment™, Restorative Embodiment™, Nature-Based Expressive Arts, and more.
Books & Media
Bestseller
Trauma and Expressive Arts Therapy: Brain, Body, and Imagination in the Healing Process
“This book is at once encyclopedic in scope and profoundly poetic, meticulously observed and heartfelt—as scientific as it is creative. Malchiodi masterfully demonstrates how the expressive arts can mobilize the body and fire the imagination, and thereby help to restore vitality, self-efficacy, mastery, and self-expression.”
—Bessel A. van der Kolk, MD, author of bestseller, The Body Keeps the Score; Founder and President, Trauma Research Foundation, Boston, Massachusetts
Authoritative Text in the Field
Handbook of Expressive Arts Therapy
“Malchiodi and colleagues elegantly describe how expressive arts therapy can facilitate healing of brain, mind, and body, by fostering social connection, emotion regulation, rhythm, and play. These approaches have been used for centuries and have the ability to aid in healing traumatized individuals and communities. A ‘must read’!”
—Ruth A. Lanius, MD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, Canada
Bestseller
Creative Interventions with Traumatized Children
“A well-researched and well-informed book to therapists working in schools with children of displaced, disenfranchised survivors of war and disaster and those working with families around the world who are struggling to make sense of their traumatizing experiences….This book is packed with suggested activities for therapists to help restore the child’s sense of safety and ability to function creatively and spontaneously.”
—Child and Adolescent Mental Health (on the first edition)
Partnerships & Collaborations
Book Dr. Malchiodi for Your Next Event
Continuing Education and Professional Development
Please use this form to schedule a training, keynote, presentation, or training workshop. In order to help us understand the reason for your event request, please include the type of event, approximate number of participants, location, and anticipated date(s).
Please note that we only accept requests for interviews by members of the press (digital or print media only). We are not able to respond to interviews for a college papers or requests for research bibliographies for academic papers or book ventures. If you are interested in distance learning in trauma-informed expressive arts therapy, please visit the Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute for more information on online and live courses.
Dr. Malchiodi is not currently taking new patients. If you require a consultation or expert opinion for court purposes, please complete this form and specify contact information and reasons for your request.