Expressive Arts Supervision with Sam

Supervision for the moments when words are hard to reach. For clinicians completing expressive arts therapy training and those working toward the Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT) credential.

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What expressive arts supervision with Sam is like

Sam has spent the better part of her career with the presentations many clinicians find hardest to hold: dissociative systems, complex trauma, attachment wounding, and the beautiful, layered complexity of neurodivergent experience. Her work integrates EMDR, IFS-informed parts work, and expressive arts therapy, not as a collection of techniques, but as a coherent, embodied framework for reaching the parts of a client's experience that verbal processing alone can't access.

She's especially passionate about the moments when words are difficult to reach, and about helping clinicians stay present and effective in exactly those moments. That's what supervision with Sam is for.

In supervision, you bring real therapeutic work: a client or group, a moment that felt stuck, a modality choice you're unsure about, a transition that didn't land, or an ethical question. Together you'll:

Slow down the moment. Look closely at what actually happened in the session, art, movement, sound, or story.
Separate what you saw from what you assumed. Keep the client's choices and words at the center, and hold images and symbols with curiosity rather than conclusions.
Think through the clinical choices. Modality fit, intermodal transitions, pacing, consent, safety, cultural context, and scope.
Leave with a clear next step. Every session closes with something concrete to assess, offer, adapt, or revisit.

Supervision with Sam is collaborative and neuroaffirming. You can participate by speaking, writing, chat, a quick sketch or visual organizer, or words only, whatever helps you think best.

Sam is a licensed clinical social worker, a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist through IEATA, an EMDRIA Approved Consultant, the founder of Mantra Mental Health LLC and The Guided Studio and co-founder of Prism Expressive Arts Collection.

Who it's for

Clinicians in an expressive arts therapy certificate or training program who need supervision for their practicum or certificate requirements, when their program allows outside supervision.
Clinicians who want to integrate expressive arts into their practice.
Clinicians who have finished their expressive arts therapy training and are completing post-graduate supervised experience toward the REAT.
Expressive arts practitioners who want supervision for professional development, with no credential attached.

How it works

Individual supervision

Focused, one-on-one review of your clinical work. Ideal for complex cases, dissociation and complex trauma, sensitive ethics questions, practicum needs, and deeper professional development.

Small-group supervision

Coming Soon

Live review of each member's actual therapeutic work, with Sam's feedback and the richness of peer learning. Groups stay small, so everyone gets real supervision time.

Supervision planning meeting

Not sure which stage you're in, what IEATA category you fall under, or how to structure your hours? Start with one individual meeting to map out your path, your program's rules, and a tracking system. This meeting is professional planning; it counts as supervision only if it includes direct review of your therapeutic work.

What to bring

Each session, come with one focused question about real work and only the de-identified information needed to explore it:

Your question (for example: How can I offer a movement option while protecting this client's choice and pace?)
Brief, de-identified context: setting, age range, therapeutic aim
The expressive arts process you used or are considering
What the client or group actually said, did, chose, or declined, kept separate from your interpretation
What you've already tried and what happened
Any consent, safety, cultural, scope, or ethics question
What kind of feedback would help most

Flexible participation is always welcome. Passive attendance isn't supervision, so come ready to engage in whatever way works for you.

What supervision is, and what it isn't

Supervision is live, direct review of your therapeutic work with feedback, in an individual or group setting.
Supervision is not:
• Therapy or personal expressive arts process for you
• Licensure supervision for your state or country license
• A course, lecture, or workshop
• A guarantee of certificate completion or REAT registration
If a session includes any teaching or demonstration, that time is labeled as education and isn't documented as supervision.
Expressive arts supervision can include brief reflection on your own responses to the work. When something personal surfaces, Sam will help you stay grounded, encourage outside support where it fits, and return to the clinical question.

Privacy and client artwork

Client art is clinical material. To protect your clients and your colleagues:

• Bring fully de-identified information. Verbal descriptions or recreated, non-identifying sketches are the default.
• Don't share original client artwork, photos, audio, or video unless you have valid written consent and we've agreed on it in advance.
• No recording, screenshots, transcription, or AI meeting assistants during supervision.
• Don't share what's discussed in group.

Choose a date and book

Planning your hours

If you're on the path to REAT, your supervision usually happens in two stages. They're tracked separately, and the same hour can't count toward both.

Stage 1: Training / Practicum Supervision

When: During your expressive arts therapy training, once you've completed enough of your training to begin practicum
What it counts toward: Your program's supervision requirement and IEATA's practicum supervision requirement for your education category
Who sets the rules: Your training program and IEATA
How many hours: Depends on your IEATA education category (below) and your program
Time limit: Set by your program

Stage 2: Post-Graduate REAT Supervision

When: After you've completed your expressive arts therapy training
What it counts toward: IEATA's post-graduate experience requirement
Who sets the rules: IEATA
How many hours: 50 individual hours, 100 group hours, or a combination, alongside 1,000 supervised direct client hours
Time limit: Within 48 months of finishing your master's and your expressive arts training

Practicum supervision requirements by IEATA education category

Category A: Master's in expressive arts therapy or equivalent creative arts therapy. 500 practicum hours, plus 50 individual supervision hours, 100 group hours, or a combination.
Category B: Master's in a related mental health field + expressive arts therapy institute training. 200 practicum hours, plus 25 individual supervision hours, 50 group hours, or a combination.
Category C: Master's in fine arts + expressive arts therapy institute training with psychology study. 500 practicum hours, plus 50 individual supervision hours, 100 group hours, or a combination.
Category D: Doctorate in expressive arts therapy or equivalent. 1,000 practicum hours, plus 100 individual supervision hours, 200 group hours, or a combination.

Didn't have a practicum in your training? IEATA says practicum clinical hours and supervision can be added to your post-graduate requirement instead. That means more total post-graduate hours, so plan for it early.

Group hours convert. Under IEATA's general rule, 2 hours of group supervision equal 1 hour of individual supervision. Sam's documentation always shows your actual clock hours and the format, so you and your program can apply the right rule.

At least half of post-graduate supervision must come from a REAT. Since January 1, 2025, IEATA requires that 50% of post-graduate supervision be provided by a REAT who has practiced as a REAT for at least one year. Sam is a REAT [and has been since YEAR], so her hours can count toward that half when all other requirements are met.

In a certificate program? Check with your program first

Every certificate program sets its own supervision rules. Some require supervision to be done in-house with program faculty. Others allow approved outside supervisors. Some need to approve your supervisor before your hours begin.

Please confirm with your certificate program, in writing, that you can use supervision hours with Sam toward your certificate before we begin. Ask them:

Can I complete my supervision with an outside REAT supervisor?
Does my supervisor need to be approved before hours begin? How?
How many individual and group hours do I need, and how do you convert group hours?
What counts toward the requirement (direct client hours, group work, practicum site, telehealth)?
What forms, logs, or signatures do you need from my supervisor, and when?

Sam will ask to see your program's supervision policy (or the relevant pages) before any hours begin. Hours completed before a written supervision agreement is in place can't be verified.

If you're in the post-graduate stage, you can check whether a supervisor meets IEATA's criteria by contacting the REAT Committee at reat@ieata.org before collecting hours.

You track your hours.

Keep your own log of individual hours, group hours, converted credit, direct client hours, and which stage each hour belongs to. IEATA offers a Monthly Experience Tracking Form you can use.

Sam keeps her own records and sends a confirmation after each session.

Verification letters and program forms state the dates, format, and exact supervision hours Sam personally provided. Sam can't verify direct client hours she didn't observe, sign off on requirements outside her role, or guarantee that a program or IEATA will accept your hours. Allow at least 30 days for verification requests.

Want to train in expressive arts therapy?

Sam co-founded Prism Expressive Arts Collective with E. Sterling Boyadzhiev, LISW-S, REAT, to offer expressive arts training that's clinically grounded, accessible, and deeply human. Prism's Certificate of Expressive Arts Therapy is a cohort-based program for clinicians who want to bring creativity into their work with integrity.

Earn CE credits while you train
Work toward becoming a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist. The program is designed in alignment with IEATA's educational requirements for Category B. Pursuing the REAT is optional; you earn the certificate either way.
Learn by doing through live, experiential training grounded in a trauma-informed framework
Six months with your cohort, with a mix of virtual and in-person training in Columbus, OH
Electives at your own pace, focused on the populations and settings you care about
Supervision built in, with Prism trainers, at your own pace
A capstone portfolio that brings together your philosophy, ethics, artwork, and clinical application
Toolkits, clinical resources, and an ongoing professional community that continues after the program

Open to licensed master's-level mental health clinicians, and associate-level clinicians enrolled in a qualifying graduate program. The next cohort begins fall 2027.

Explore the Prism certificate

Choosing Prism isn't required to work with Sam. Prism certificate supervision is completed with Prism trainers, and those hours belong to your certificate stage, not your post-graduate REAT hours.

Frequently asked questions

Can my certificate supervision hours also count toward my REAT post-graduate hours? No. IEATA counts supervision earned during your training toward your practicum supervision requirement, not toward the 1,000 post-graduate hours. Post-graduate hours can only begin after you've completed your expressive arts therapy training. Each hour belongs to one stage.

Can I do my certificate supervision with Sam? Possibly. It depends on your program. Some programs require in-house supervision. Confirm with your program in writing before we begin.

Does supervision with Sam count toward my state license? No. This is expressive arts therapy supervision, not licensure supervision.

Does supervision with Sam count toward EMDR consultation hours? No. This is expressive arts therapy supervision, not EMDR consultation. Sam doesn't combine EMDR consultation and expressive arts supervision in the same session, and one hour can't count toward both.

Can I work with Sam if I live in another state or country? IEATA allows REAT supervision across state lines and internationally by video for the REAT designation only. You're responsible for making sure your own clinical work follows your local laws, license, and employer or site rules.

Can I have more than one supervisor? Yes. IEATA allows more than one REAT supervisor. Track hours with each supervisor separately.

Does Sam write letters of reference for the REAT application? Sam considers reference letters for supervisees who have completed at least 20 clock hours of post-graduate (REAT-stage) supervision with her, at least 10 of them individual, with some supervision in the past two years. Certificate or practicum supervision hours don't count toward this minimum. A letter reflects Sam's evaluation of your work, is a separate request from hour verification, and isn't guaranteed. Please allow at least 30 days.

Is there such a thing as IEATA-approved training? IEATA doesn't endorse or approve training programs. It defines what a qualifying expressive arts therapy institute looks like, and you're responsible for confirming your training fits that definition.

Who has the final say on my hours? Your program decides what counts toward your certificate. IEATA decides what counts toward the REAT.

Get started

If you're in a certificate program, confirm you can use hours with Sam.
Book an individual meeting to talk about your goals and stage.
Sign a written supervision agreement before your hours begin.
Bring real, de-identified work to every session and track your hours.

Keeping your documentation clear

To support your own application, attend the full session, bring an active fully de-identified cases, participate in case-focused discussion and any required aspects of the supervision meeting, and keep a personal record of the date, actual duration, supervisor name, and format (individual or group). IEATA makes the final determination about what it accepts, so each participant is responsible for confirming their eligibility and following the current requirements

Book a session

1. Ready to book?

Book an individual expressive arts supervision

2. Need to sort out the details or make a plan for your professional development?Schedule a planning meeting.

Session lengths and current rates are shown in the booking windows below.

Book an individual expressive arts supervision

Session lengths and current rates are shown in the booking windows below.

Schedule a planning meeting

Session lengths and current rates are shown in the booking windows below.

Fine print

Information on this page reflects IEATA's posted REAT standards as of 10/7/26. IEATA and training programs can change their requirements at any time; check the REAT Standards and Requirements, REAT FAQs, and REAT Supervision Standards before you plan. Supervision with Sam does not guarantee acceptance of hours, certificate completion, REAT registration, licensure eligibility, or any other credentialing outcome. This service is not therapy and is not licensure supervision.