I don’t have a background or training in any of the art forms. Is that a deterrent for me to do the program?

You do not need any prior experience or training in any of the art forms. An interest in the arts is sufficient. During the course of the training, you are required to engage in any art forms of your choice. The art forms could be visual art, bodywork, music etc.

I have not studied psychology. Will I be able to do the program?

An educational background in Psychology is beneficial, but it is not a prerequisite for doing the program. An interest in human behaviour, therapeutic processes and the arts is all that is required.

What are Internships and how does one go about it?

An internship is an opportunity for the trainee to put into practice their learnings from the program. Internships are to be conducted with unknown volunteer clients, usually sourced from within the contacts of the co-trainees, social media and WhatsApp requests etc. A list of organisations where our past students have interned will also be provided.

How many hours of internships are required for the course completion?

You are required to conduct a minimum of 42 hours of supervised internships with at least 3-4 different clients belonging to various communities, with different needs and lived experiences, to broaden your learning experience. All the internships will be guided by an assigned supervisor.

Why are we required to be in personal therapy during the course? Who will bear the fee of this personal therapy?

We follow an experiential adult learning model and this requires that all the students have a safe and sensitie support structure that can hold them during the course of the training year. Dialogues related to caste, gender, mental health, power, position, priviledge, projection, responsibility, singular versus the collective, activism etc can have diverse understandings which can cause potential conflict. Hence we insist that all students work with a personal therapist.

You are required to attend a minimum of 24 hours of personal therapy during the course of the year. You can work with your own therapist if you have one. If you don’t have a therapist. SMArT will assign you an Expressive Arts (EXA) Therapist. The therapist fee has to be borne by the trainee and paid directly to the therapist. The fee of an EXA therapist assigned by SMArT is INR 750 per hour.

I don’t live in Bangalore. Will I have to shift to Bangalore to do the course?

No, you do not have to move to Bangalore, though you will have to visit Bangalore during the in-person training. We follow a hybrid model as below

• In-person sessions will be conducted in Jan, Apr and Jul, 4 days per month (Wed to Sat)
• All in-person training sessions are conducted at our studio in Ulsoor, Bangalore
• Outstation participants have to make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation.
• Training will be conducted online for the rest of the month
• Internships can be done wherever you reside
• Supervisions are conducted virtually

What is the time commitment required to do this course?

Below are the approx hours

• Training days (Sat) – 55 days x 6 hrs = 330 hrs
• Orientation, Group process, Review (Fri) – 15 days x 2 hrs = 30 hrs
• Personal therapy sessions (to be scheduled directly with the therapist at a mutually convenient date and time) – 24 x 1 hr = 24 hrs
• Internship sessions (to be scheduled directly with the client at a mutually convenient date and time) – 42 sessions x 1 hr = 42 hrs
• Supervision sessions (Fri) – 21 sessions x 2 hrs = 42 hours
• Presentations (Thu, Fri, Sat) – 6 days x 6 hrs = 36 hrs
• Approx 504 hrs

Please note that these are indicative only and may change closer to the scheduling of the final calendar.

I have paid the advance fee. However, I am unable to join this year. Can I get a refund?

As stated in our application form, the fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. Under special circumstances, we may offer the participant a rollover to the next batch. In case there is an increase in the fee for the next batch, the participant will have to pay the difference. A rollover participant will not be eligible for a discounted fee (either the special offer or the early bird) in the next batch.

Can I pay the fee in instalments?

We offer a 2 instalment plan to all the participants. The fee has to be paid in full before the program commences.
Under special circumstances, we have extended the fee payment deadline on a need-to basis. Applicants are requested to write to hello@smartmove.co.in and explain their circumstances.

I am from an economically disadvantaged background. Do you offer scholarships?

We offer scholarships to applicants from the SC, ST, OBC categories, across religions, and individuals who identify as LGBTQIA+ or non-binary genders.

The SMArT Scholarship Program is supported by Pooja Shahani Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship guidelines, process of application etc are listed here – FECAT Scholarship

What are my future opportunities after I complete the program?

On completing the FECAT program, some of our alumni have set up an independent practice, worked in educational institutes, corporate organisations, in the nonprofit sector, with NGOs, Hospitals etc. Some of them have returned to SMArT to do the advanced level program – The Expressive Body. Few others have gone ahead to do their masters from institutes in the US and UK.

Is the program affiliated or recognised by any institute?

The program is not affiliated with any university. This allows us to have complete autonomy of the syllabus design and learning methodology.
We have been in this learning space since 2012 and are recognised by the mental health community in India.
Our program is supervised by Dr. Kate Donohue, a licensed psychologist & a registered expressive arts therapist (REAT). She holds a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology & has maintained an active private practice for 33 years. She has also been teaching for 30 years, at institutions such as the California Institute of Integral Studies, Institute for Transpersonal Psychology, JFK University & the San Francisco C.G. Jung Institute. She is a co-founder of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association & an MCEP & CEU provider.
Dr. Leonilla Agiera is the FECAT program consultant, Since 1986 Dr. Leonilla has been deeply involved in studying the Mind-Body-Spirit relationship. She has worked on finding a synergy between eastern and western spirituality and has spent a considerable amount of time researching the practice of meditation and delving deep into eastern spirituality. Phoenix transformation sessions and Shadow Work developed by her help leaders empower themselves through transformation, integration, and individuation. Dr. Leonilla is the founder of BODHI -a Centre for Human Growth into Consciousness and has spearheaded this organization for the time of its inception. She is also the founder of the Resource Center for Training and Development, this center works with the Psycho-spiritual approach in helping people unfold and discover themselves. She was awarded the gold medal for her Ph.D. for best research work and M.V. Govindaswamy memorial prize for her research work for MPhil, in NIMHANS. She also holds a doctoral degree in Metaphysical Sciences from the University of Meta-Physics in California, USA.