Maria Riccardi holds a Master in Educational Psychology and a Master of Arts in Art Therapy. She is a registered art therapist, a career counsellor and certified as a psychotherapist by the Ordre des psychologues du Québec.
She has implemented art-based programs in clinical and educational settings as well as international corporations. She collaborates with local non-profit organizations, developing community-based art studio programs for adolescents and adults who are marginalized due to mental and physical health issues, immigration issues, and poverty. She has the privilege of teaching at Concordia University as an LTA. She also taught several courses, in art-therapy, as a part-time professor, at the Université du Québec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
Maria Riccardi cooperates in diverse research projects, and run group sessions and workshops using the Expressive therapies continuum as a transtheoretical framework, with individuals experiencing challenges in such areas as personal and professional identity, life transitions, social issues, anxiety and stress management. Her participation in several national and international conferences, her involvement with clinical research and her participation as a board director of the Association des art-thérapeutes du Québec are contributing to the development of art therapy.
Maria Riccardi exhibits her art in diverse settings, from schools to hospitals and art galleries. Her portfolio consists of work created from a variety of media using the Expressive Therapies Continuum as a framework. Guided by the media, her art, like a performance, reflects the various roles interplayed.
Fall/Winter 2016
ATRP 603/2 – Symbolic Imagery
ATRP 613/2 – Practicum Supervision I
ATRP 614/4 – Practicum Supervision II
ATRP 693/2 – Research in CATS
CATS 610/4 – Clinical Topics for CATS
CATS 641/2 – Ethics in Clinical Practice
CATS 639/4 – Cross-cultural Issues
CART 643/4 – Ethics in Research
Research interests/areas of expertise
Investigating the central role of art materials in art therapy and the development of art-based interventions. Examining the relationship between material interactions, art products and psychological characteristics. Discerning methodical application of specific properties of art materials. Studying the effectiveness of art-based interventions and the use of the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) as a therapeutic framework for how information is accessed and processed through the body, mind, and emotions.
Research methodologies
Quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, action research and creative art-based research.
Current research
Examining the process of reconstructing identity through narrative storytelling and image-making with immigrant women - in collaboration with Vera Heller, principal researcher. The emerging finding concerns the role of collage/painting in facilitating the integration of two or more cultures into a new hybrid identity.
