I believe that there was a lot of great information to learn through this course and would recommend it to anyone wanting to advance their career in recreational therapy or related careers. It was also a nice change in terms of the style of teaching/learning. The only reason this course lost stars for me was because a lot of the videos were from 2014 and the world has greatly changed since then, as well as people's practices. I also found there to be a lot of unnecessary videos that did not contribute towards my learning, and in end felt wasted. Overall I do do believe this to be a good course, but needs to be updated for sure.

A nice course if you are looking to explore yourself in ways of expressing via the arts and experiencing new things. For me personally this felt as a lightweight course which lacks grounding, guidance and depth for the healing part which are better provided for in other courses at Coursera. I'm saying this as an educated energy healer, so my point of reference might differ.

I need some more time.

fun and inspiring

Many videos involving meditation, interviews with students and artists sharing their work.Suggestions how to utilize art to heal.

Some good ideas, but way too many sequential meditation videos. Seriously, back to back meditations. I think there were four or five back to back in the earliest module.

Also to my surprise, and unlike all the other courses i have taken on Coursera, when you get to the final peer review project. In this case a 2-3 page paper and an art submission , when you try to submit them, you are notified that you can not complete your submission without upgrading to a" paid version.''

There is an alternative way to submit them throught the forum. But this does not seem like completing the course. I am left feeling somewhat misled.

if you go into this course knowing that, then you might enjoy it. Everyone is different.

This course could be better. I appreciate the promotion of using arts for healing. I was disappointed in the self-promotion, massive appropriation, lack of in-depth explanation to assist those in the helping professions to guide another in their healing journey, the instructors focused more on self than teaching the process to lead others. This course gets lost between how to use the arts in practice and an art class. The videos need to be evaluated and re-edited as there is a lot of repetition.

What was it?.. I agree with others, that's not educational course at all. Wierd to see this on coursera.

I was looking for a course to learn art therapy basis for my clients, and instead I got a spiritual-meditative smth. Could be nice if I was looking for guided meditations on youtube, but not as a course here! That's still a question for me, if that's a course, what does it teach?..

Course starts with lightning the candle together, so what else to say...

Grading is also strange. There are no assignments in course except for one final. And there you suddenly need to not only insert your creative project (which makes sense), but also 2-3 pages of text about your project. What can a person spread on 2-3 pages about drawing or dancing? Correct, in all peer assignments I reviewed there were just life stories of people's problems. No intention to devalue their struggles, but what does it have to do with education?

So, if you want to learn smth new - that's not for you. If you want a spiritual journey with no educational and academical outcome with slight portion of self-reflection - then maybe I'll be fine.

My low score of this course is primarily because of the appropriation of American Indian culture . I feel that the indigenous people of America have been loud and clear over the past 7 years that they would like the usuage of non American Indian people practicing things such as ‘spirit animals’ and ‘medicine wheel’ to cease and desist. The inclusion of these practices in this study is wrong and harmful. There are a myriad of other methods that could be used in this course to gain the same result without the hurt and disrespect. I feel it is particularly I’ll fitting within this course primarily because many of us who wish to enter the Art Therapy filed as a career will take these methods on board and teach or utilize them within their practice thereby perpetuating this hurt. I hope that whoever reads this will take this on board and change these modules to something more appropriate. Thank you. Georgia Barber

This course isn't what I thought it would be about and I am very disappointed that I have wasted $70 in the current economic climate. I will not be recommending this course to anyone and do not believe that it necessarily provides what it says it will to the participant.

I recently completed the Healing with Art course on Coursera, and I must say I found it to be a very rewarding experience. The course focuses on using art therapy as a means of healing and self-discovery, and it is suitable for both beginners and more experienced artists.

The course content was well-structured and covered a range of topics related to art therapy, including the history and theory behind the practice, as well as practical techniques for creating art for self-expression and healing. The video lectures were engaging and easy to follow, and the quizzes and assignments helped to reinforce my learning.

One of the highlights of the course was the community of learners that I was able to connect with. We were able to share our art and experiences with each other, and I found the feedback and support from my fellow students to be invaluable.

Overall, I highly recommend the Healing with Art course to anyone interested in using art therapy as a means of healing and self-discovery. The course is informative, engaging, and provides a great opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals who share a passion for art and self-expression.

One of the best courses I have ever taken. This is not only a course but a life changing experience. Sharing deep gratitude to the educators for putting this course together. I have already been guiding others in using art as healing and yet I still learned so many important pieces of wisdom in this course. I have read and loved the book ‘Healing with the Arts’ by the educators in this course, a few years ago and was so excited to find this course. It created a much greater depth of deepening of what was in the book in a very practical way. I am delighted to have this program be a way of life for me and I will share this with as many people as I can and continue to share art as healing. A deep Thank you!

WOW! I am so blessed to have finished this course through Coursera! Grateful to have this opportunity and I love every sessions especially the experiences shared by Mary, Michael, the student's examples and other facilitators in the other areas of art! I learned to appreciate life more through the beauty of art-- painting & journaling, singing and making music, dancing (oh how it brought me back to my childhood memories when I loved dancing like nobody cares!), and the power of words! Thank you so much! God bless you more and I hope you reach out more people, because we need more of this. I am paying it forward through sharing this with my family and my community here in Manila, Philippines.

Wow , what a wonderful journey this course has been to me. Beautiful way of learning new ways of communicating with our inner self and our environment . I recommend this course to those who feel the need to be in peace with themselves and with nature .This course teaches us how close we are with nature and how to vibrate our soul with that of nature because by the end of the day we are but one soul in different bodies. through Music ,Drawing ,Painting ,Wordings ,Meditation ,loving care we just flow through the course none stop till the end. I thank the team of ART of HEALING for their wonderful job and Coursera for giving us the chance to experience such a wonderful journey via this course.

"Healing with the Arts" really shook up my life a little. I faced old wounds and scars that I thought had been addressed. I did a lot of crying and all the reflection helped me hone in on my pain and allowed me to create some amazing pieces of artwork I never thought possible. I think this class is something everyone can definitely benefit from, it was a good exploration for me. I recommend it as part of your healing journey.

"We all have something to heal, and it is in that healing that we get to embrace the process. We can acknowledge , accept, and embrace the pain and subsequently release it in order to continue to heal." -Rebeli

Healing with the Arts has been such a wonderful experience. I have learned so much on the way to heal oneself using arts and appreciate one's own ability and creativity. This course has given me many ways in which to express myself artistically, and I would be able to apply this to my own life and help others using it. It means a lot to learn experientially. I have taken a similar course before but coming into this course allows me to add more to my tools. The instructors were inspiring, and I liked having the opportunity to see the other participants' work as well. Thank you for this amazing journey and discovery.

It's a good course, for open-minded people. It focuses on practical activities, it's varied, it allows people to explore. I have read the negative opinions of the course, some really point to ignorance and meanness, and I wonder how people expressing those opinions might have the intention to use "healing through arts" in their professional lives or learn about it, being so "stiff minded". I guess not everybody is ready to quit judging (others and themselves), to be more open, to be playful. And those are defintely the prerequisites for participating in a course like that or engaging in arts in general.

Great course! Although I have been conducting art therapy sessions for 2 years now, I discovered a lot of new things. I re-believed in the possibility of physical healing through art and cured myself of an ailment that doctors could not find. Within six months, my periods came 2 times a month. Ultrasound and analyzes showed nothing unusual ... Sometimes for a month I would bleed for 2-3 weeks. But after I began to engage in art therapy even more deeply and conduct gratitude to the body meditations, everything returned to normal. I am happy to be healthy and grateful to the world for everything!

In these particularly challenging planetary times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this course lets you explore an invisible, spiritual side of yours through the arts. It pushes you to forgive yourself, ease the rational side and slowly awaken your artist, healer, child's courage and enthusiasm without judgment. The subjects and techniques introduced in this course are from ancient cultures and you are invited to explore your own relatable unique art to heal yourself and others. Once discovered, it becomes your Garden, shield, hot spring, your cup of tea to heal your scars and help others.

With this course I went back to my adolescence years when I used to paint, write and draw whatever would come into my mind. I remember that the Arts are one of the most powerful healing tools that we have as human beings.

It reminded me that we all are artists: if just we free that inner child that knows exactly what to do; we must let shine that spark of joy that would ignite our souls and heal our bodies; release the fear of judgement and jump into the unknown full of colors, sounds, movements, forms, shapes and words.

That's what the Arts will do for us: set us free!

A big thank you to the University of Florida for this fantastic course Healing with the Arts. Art Therapy Process painting Dance Therapy making a sacred place, music,creative journals, and so much more.I always had a passion for the art's now I can use my passion for healing also create more creativity in my art and life. Most importantly how I can use my learning experience to help others.Sending you peace and positive energy!I would totally recommend this course! Thank you! Everyone who made this course possible.A big BRAVO to all my classmates!

I absolutely loved the course and learned something new plus developed myself further. I loved the open-minded delivery of Mary as the instructor of this course. I disagree with the negative reviews of others about this course saying it was not a serious subject. I feel like those individuals are more connected with their rational side, but all humans also have a spiritual side to us, which we have to discover fully again. And that is indeed, what this course supports. Thank you once again.

I am happy that I took part in this lesson because it proved to be a challenge to see and analyze parts of myself. Through the process of the diary I learn to write and improve my written speech, to add color to my thoughts, to learn to I meditate on new patterns, learn from the experiences of my classmates, and the power to open my own path by helping other people. I thank my trainers and especially our Mary who gave so much of herself that we can learn from her.

Thank y

Thank you dear Mary, Michael, University of Florida, and Coursera for this absolutely wonderful course.

I have not just learned new skills, but have dived deeper within and have healed parts of me.

Super thankful for this beautiful experience of growing with all of you in this special time. I feel very blessed to be able to go through this course the way I did with the assistance of your videos and guidance.

God bless and Namaste to all of you! <3

Healing with arts! It truly signifies the slogan! Though i learnt many techniques of healing with arts, ut was a two way process wherein i learnt as well i could heal my self through engaging in some artistic activities. This was a whole lot new experience for me, i am so glad that i chose this course which helped me become a better human being inside out.thanks to Mary and Michael for their constant guidance and support!

This course has been an absolutely amazing experience! Mary and Michael are extremely knowledgable in this field and I have learnt so much about the arts and how art can heal. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to help themselves and others through art and it's healing powers! I have learnt an unbelievable amount about art and healing over this last six weeks! Have a lovely day :)