[Adta] a question for those with Doctorate Degrees

[Robyn Flaum Cruz]

Hi Laurice,

I got my doctorate in Educational Psychology with a specialization in 
measurement and methdology at the University of Arizona.  It was a very 
traditional program but that worked well for me.  Even though I was an 
"older" student at the time and I did have to search for faculty who would 
support my research interests and who were willing to learn about dance 
therapy from me, it was truly rewarding. Two of those faculty are now 
retired but I am still frequently in touch with all of them and they are 
still always willing to assist me when I need them and they delight in 
keeping up with where my career goes!  Another bonus for a traditional 
program was that I developed a wonderful study group (that usually met 
around my dining room table) and I keep in touch with several of them even 
though I graduated in 1995. Because I quickly identified faculty who were 
willing to stretch to work with me, and because I had my research interest 
identified, I was able to finish in slightly under 4 years going at it 
full-time and working only part-time. I now feel that those years were some 
of the best of my entire life because the challenge to my thinking processes 
was immense, and the experience of doctoral education  really was 
transformative for me.

Now I do some of my teaching in the doctoral program in Expressive Therapies 
at Lesley University and I see an advantage for my students in that they do 
not need to translate music therapy or dance therapy or whatever their 
training is for faculty. They do not have to search for faculty who are 
willing to be educated about what they do as I did.  They also have more 
flexibility because the program is low-residency, and they have the 
opportunity to form study groups or cohorts using technology rather than the 
dining room table : )  The transformative factor seems to be equally a 
positive factor for them also -- at an upcoming doctoral conference in 
March, one of my doctoral students who is still pre-dissertation is 
presenting on his transformative learning.

It is wonderful that there are so many options available, now that 
low-residency programs are taking hold and also now that there is the 
opportunity for doctoral study geared toward arts therapists.  Hope at least 
some of this helps!  Robyn

Robyn Flaum Cruz, Ph.D., ADTR
Editor-in-Chief, The Arts in Psychotherapy
   www.elsevier.com/locate/artspsycho
President, American Dance Therapy Association
   www.adta.org
 Associate Professor & Coordinator of Dance Therapy,
 Expressive Therapies Division, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA
         617-349-8413 or 412-401-1274
   www.lesley.edu/gsass/56etp.html

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Laurice Nemetz" <lauricedn at yahoo.com>
To: <adta at adta.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 2:13 PM
Subject: [Adta] a question for those with Doctorate Degrees


> Hello to all,
>
> I have been contemplating pursuing a doctorate degree for a while and have 
> been investigating several programs, particularly those self-directed such 
> as Union and now Lesley.  I wanted to ask those of you who have doctorate 
> degrees what area they are in ( I've seen everything from education, 
> medical DMT, psychology, etc. to more obscure titles), as well as to what 
> has been most useful.  Among my consulting jobs, I have been teaching in a 
> university setting (yoga as well as guesting in the psychology department 
> under DMT), but in order to be tenure-tracked I will need a doctorate.  I 
> also believe it can lend a lot of credibility to what I do, but I am 
> putting this question out to all of you.  As many of you know, I do have 
> two small children so I am looking for flexibility in working this 
> through.
>
> Thanks for any responses.  You can email privately, or if you have 
> information that will benefit the greater membership for discussion, 
> please reply that way.
>
> Best,
> Lauri
>
> Laurice D. Nemetz, MA, ADTR, RYT, LCAT
> Wellness Bridge
>
>
>