Mitchell Kossak
Professional Title: Associate Professor, Expressive Therapies
Areas of Academic Focus and Expertise:
Art-based research, rhythmic attunement, improvisation, psychospiritual and community based approaches to working with trauma, embodied states of consciousness
Area of Work and Concentration at Lesley: Intermodal Expressive Therapies
Representative List of Recent Courses Taught:
• Orientation to Expressive Therapies
• Principles and Practices of Expressive Therapies
• Theoretical Approaches to Expressive Therapies
• Advanced Clinical Training in Expressive Therapies
• Expressive Arts Therapy in Holistic Psychology
• Expressive Therapies Studio
• Thesis Seminar Expressive Therapies
• Supervision and Leadership, PhD program
• Arts Apprenticeship, PhD program
Education: B.A., Alfred University, New York; M.A., Lesley University; Ph.D., Union University and Institute; L.M.H.C., R.E.A.T.
Representative List of Recent Publications / Exhibitions:
Conferences
August 2011 “Improvisational Arts: Playing with Uncertainty” International Expressive Arts Therapy Conference, Living with Uncertainty: Multiplicity as a healing pathway through expressive arts, Lima Peru.
March 2011 “Rhythmic Attunement: A Psychospiritual approach to working with Trauma” Trauma & Spirituality Conference: An International Dialogue, − Belfast, Northern Ireland.
November 2011 “Rhythmic Attunement: An Expressive Arts approach to working with Trauma” Expressive Therapies Summit, NYC.
October 2011 “Therapeutic Attunement” Massachusetts Music Therapy Alliance, Weston, MA.
November 2010 “Arts and Social Action: Creating Peace Arts Zones in the Community,” Expressive Therapies Summit, NYC.
October 2010 “Arts and Social Action: Creating Peace Arts Zones in the Community,” Boston Arts and Health Consortium (BACH). This presentation focuses on two recent projects that took place in Boston, Massachusetts and Netanya, Israel creating Peace Arts Zones with adolescents. Peace-Arts Zones are defined as a personal vision and action plan to create a healthy and safe community.
September 2010 Panel, “The Saddest Music Ever Written” with author Thomas Larson. PEN New England, Marran Theater, Lesley University. Panel discussion with author on the effect of music on emotion and culture.
May 2010 Cloud Foundation, and the Idea Translation Lab at Cloud Place, an artistic learning and creation environment for Boston high school students, in support of the Boston 100K ArtScience Innovation Prize.
January 2010 “The Biology of Music Conference: The Effects of Music and Sound on the Human Physiome.” Sponsored by MIT. The relationship of sound, music and vibration on the body including physiological, neurological and emotional responses.
April 2009 “Imagine Harmony: Imagery, Rhythm and Healing” Lesley University Conference − Arts and Conflict Resolution.
April 2009 “The Peace Train Comes to Lesley,” An educational event sponsored by Lesley University, Seeds of Peace and Artsbridge working with Israeli and Palestinian youth.
October 2007 “Principles and Practices of Expressive Therapies,” Art Therapy Institute of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
May 2007 “Drumming up the divine somatic unconscious.” International Expressive Arts Therapies Association Conference, Boone North Carolina.
Recent Publications
Kossak, M. (2013). Teaching counseling in foreign cultures: A diverse landscape. In Fritchle, M.& Maller, D. (Eds.). The Praeger handbook of community mental health practice: Working in the global community (Volume 3 pp. 169-184). Santa Barbara, California: Praeger.
Edited Book: Kossak, M., Schwartz, S., Speiser, V. (Eds.) (2012). Arts and Social Change: The Lesley University Experience in Israel. Zur Yigal, Israel: Porat Books.
Article: Kossak, M. (2012). Arts-Based inquiry: It’s what we do! Journal of Applied Arts and Health. 3(1), 21-29.
Book chapter: Kossak, M., Sussman, A. (2011). The Wisdom of the inner life: Meeting oneself through meditation and music. In Tinsdell, E., Swartz, A. (Eds.), Wisdom and Adult Education. San Francisco, CA: Wiley/Jossey-Bass.
Book Chapter: Kossak, M. (2009). The Birth of a new profession. Lesley Centennial Publication, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA.
Article: Kossak, M. (2009). Therapeutic attunement: A transpersonal view of expressive arts therapy. The Arts in Psychotherapy. Elsevier Inc.
Article: Kossak, M. (2009). Notes from the Field: Teaching in a time of War. Journal of Pedagogy and Pluralism, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA.
Article: Kossak, M. (2008). Attunement and Free Jazz. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy. Retrieved from http://www.voices.no/mainissues/mi40008000271.php
Book chapter: Kossak, M. (2007). Therapeutic Attunement. In N. Seki (Ed.), New Trend of Creative Arts Therapies (pp. 117-124). Tokyo: Filmart Publisher.
Article: Kossak, M. (2007). If you can’t bring the students to the war then bring the war to the students. International Expressive Arts Therapies Newsletter, Fall.
Editorials
Kossak, M. (2011). Editorial. Journal of Applied Arts and Health. 2(2), 197-198.
Kossak, M. (2010). Editorial. Journal of Applied Arts and Health. 1(2), 133-137.
Kossak, M. (2010). Editorial. Journal of Applied Arts and Health. 1(2), 133-137.
Kossak, M., Speiser, V. (2009). The Lesley University Extension Program in Israel: teaching in a troubled land. Journal of Pedagogy and Pluralism, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA. (http://www.lesley.edu/provost/jppp/jppp_issue_14.html)
Reviews
Kossak, M. (2010). Expressive arts and social action: Peace-ing our world together. August 12-15 2009. Journal of Applied Arts and Health. 1(2), 225-228.
Goodill, S., Nolan, P. (2011). Creative and expressive therapies. In Micozzi, M. (Ed.). Fundamentals of complementary and alternative medicine. 4th edition. St. Louis, MO. Elsevier.
Dr. Kossak is the Division Director of Expressive Therapies and has taught on campus and at the Israeli extension since 1995. He has worked as an expressive arts therapist for the past 28 years and has been a licensed clinical counselor since 1994. His clinical work combines expressive arts therapies with body-centered approaches with a variety of populations addressing issues such as chronic pain, recovery from trauma, depression, anxiety, life transitions and relationships. In addition he has worked extensively with autistic children and adults. He has presented his work and research at conferences nationally and internationally. He is the Associate Editor of The Journal of Applied Arts and Health, Co-Chair of the Institute for Arts and Health at Lesley University and Executive Co-Chair of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. He is also a professional musician, performing for the past 30 years in the Boston area.
Research interests include: Arts based and embodied improvisational structures that can lead toward and enhance therapeutic attunement; the relationship of sound, music and vibration on the body including physiological, neurological and emotional responses; psychospiritual and community based approaches to working with trauma.