Ed.D.

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Sally Atkins is Professor and Core Faculty in the Division of Arts, Health and Society at the European Graduate School. She is Professor Emerita of Appalachian State University in North Carolina, where she founded the Graduate Program in Expressive Arts Therapy and the interdisciplinary faculty group, The Appalachian Expressive Arts Collective.

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She is a licensed psychologist, registered Expressive Arts therapist (REAT) and registered Expressive Arts consultant/educator (REACE). She teaches internationally and works in private practice as a clinical supervisor. Her honors include the International Expressive Arts Therapy Lifetime Achievement Award, The Association for Creativity in Counseling Award for Innovation and Creativity in Counseling, The University of North Carolina Outstanding Teaching Award, and the Appalachian State University Leadership Medallion and Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award.

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A writer, poet, ritualist and performing artist, she is a member of the Gypsy Harvest performing group. In addition to numerous professional article and book chapters, her writings include the textbooks, Expressive Arts: Therapy: Creative Process in Art and Life with the Appalachian Expressive Arts Collective, Sourcebook in Expressive Arts Therapy with Lesley Duggins Williams, and Presence and Process in Expressive Arts Work with Herbert Eberhart. Her poetry books include Breath is the First Prayer, Picking Clean the Bones, and And When We Speak with Margo Fuchs Knill.

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Atkins’s interests include Intermodal Expressive Arts Therapy, arts based research, ecotherapy, indigenous healing practices, dream work and poetry. Her daily practices include yoga, walking in the forests of the Southern Appalachian Mountains where she lives, and learning poetry by heart.