A unique program for training art therapists is being developed by scientists from universities in Russia and Belarus

May 25, Vitebsk / Sergey Kochetov - BELTA /. A unique educational program for training specialists in art therapy is being developed by scientists and specialists from educational institutions in Russia and Belarus. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by Vladimir Nikitin, Head of the Department of Philosophical Anthropology and Art Therapy at the Moscow Institute of Psychology and Pedagogy (IPP), Doctor of Philosophical Sciences, Candidate of Psychological Sciences. He took part in an inter-university seminar on the problem of smoking among youth, held today at Vitebsk State University named after P. Masherov. The basis of this training program may be the developments and research of Moscow and Vitebsk specialists, which were carried out within the framework of the inter-university research laboratory for art therapy, established in 2005, which has no analogues in the post-Soviet space. Art therapy involves the integration of knowledge in the fields of pedagogy, psychology, and art. According to Vladimir Nikitin, today art therapy should be considered not just as treatment with ideals, but also in the context of prevention and healing of the consciousness and body of an individual and society as a whole with art, taking into account ethnic affiliation and the principle of multiculturalism. The goal of the laboratory's activities is to study this phenomenon from various aspects, and to develop its own approaches in working with visual arts, taking into account the ethno-cultural characteristics of the regions. At the first stage, it is possible to create a specialization in higher education institutions for interdisciplinary education under the conditional name "art psychologist" or "art therapist," which implies that a specialist must possess knowledge not only in psychology, but also in pedagogy and art. In the future, we can talk about a new specialty - art therapist or art educator, noted Vladimir Nikitin. In this direction, Vitebsk and Moscow specialists are actively cooperating with the Crimean Humanitarian University (Yalta, Ukraine). "If we manage to unite the efforts of specialists from three universities, then the art therapy program we are creating can be recommended not only for these educational institutions, but also for the ministries of education of the three countries," Vladimir Nikitin is confident. During the inter-university seminar at VSU, various aspects of forming a healthy lifestyle were considered with an emphasis on the youth environment from the perspective of psychology and social pedagogy. Participants discussed the results of studying the causes of tobacco addiction from the positions of various psychotherapeutic approaches, and the specifics of social work in preventing addictions among children and adolescents. In addition, a separate area of discussion of the problem was the study of the possibilities of art in the prevention and healing of modern society, as well as the potential of artistic imagery as a means of liberation from tobacco and drug addiction. In addition, the "Postdvizhenie" theater, operating at the Moscow IPP, performed for the student audience with an interactive play "The Dwarf Nose," in which addiction to smoking is overcome through creativity. The director of the play, Vladimir Nikitin, conducted a master class for Vitebsk students. The main goal of the inter-university seminar is to unite the potential of universities and students of the two countries to organize work in the youth environment for the prevention of tobacco and drug addiction. About 100 teachers and students from Vitebsk and Moscow universities took part in the event. The forum was organized by Vitebsk State University named after P. Masherov. -0-