Geoffrey Unkovich - Dance Movement Psychotherapy

Geoffrey Unkovich is a senior lecturer and programme co-convener in dance movement psychotherapy (DMP). He has a small private practice where he sees individual clients and supervisees.

His integrative ethos is informed by theories related to the moving body, social relationships, family systems, individual worldviews, gender and sexual identity or orientation. His research interest is in the humanistic, existential, person-centred, systemic, feminist and queer theory perspectives. His intent is to provide students and clients a space to appreciate their individual identity, while honouring the co-creation of meaning in all that people share in this world.

Geoffrey began his career as a dancer, choreographer and dance teacher in the theatre, television and commercial sector throughout Australasia, Europe and the UK. His DMP clinical experience spans 11 years working with adults with learning disabilities and complex needs, elders with dementia in a residential setting, children with special needs, mental health support work for a LGBT+ adult mental health charity and in an adult community mental health service. He has provided short term therapy for adults in dance performance education.

He has been a council member for the Association for Dance Movement Psychotherapy UK, a member of the ADMP UK Professional Development Committee and of the Education and Training Committee. He is a co-founder of DMPLDNetwork, a special interest group for DMPs who specialise in the field of learning disabilities, and a co-founder of aRTSjAM an Arts Therapies improvisation collaborative.

He is co-editor of the book Dance Movement Psychotherapy with People with Learning Disabilities: Out of the shadows, into the light, and have published articles in Body, Movement and Dance in Psychotherapy journal and e-motion the ADMP UK quarterly newsletter.

Lisa Gordon Clark - Play Therapy

Having trained at Roehampton herself in back in the mid 90s, Lisa has been lecturing on the BAPT-accredited Play Therapy MA since 2008 and for the last eight years has been the Programme Convener.

She is also responsible for the two 40 credit modules that relate to the clinical placements and liaises with placement managers and clinical supervisors to ensure ongoing containing support for Play Therapy trainees.

Lisa also runs the annual 20-week Play Therapy Foundation Course, which is offered at both Roehampton and at a venue in Northampton, and for the past four years has co-facilitated a two day CPD course on Child Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT).

Aside from her part time post at Roehampton, Lisa is a freelance Play Therapist down in Wiltshire, a BAPT-approved clinical supervisor and editor of the annual peer-reviewed British Journal of Play Therapy. Earlier this year she co-edited Becoming and Being a Play Therapist: Play Therapy in Practice, published by Routledge.

Find out more about a recent project Lisa has been working on with The Orphan Trust.

Tessa Watson - Music Therapy

Tessa has worked at University of Roehampton since 1999 and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.She is the Convenor for the MA Music Therapy and Head of the five Arts and Play Therapies programmes. She trained at Roehampton, qualifying in 1990.

Tessa works with BAMT, the Music Therapy professional association as a Trustee. She is an HCPC partner working on the CPD and FTP schemes.

She has considerable clinical experience, including work in old age, acute, community and secure psychiatric settings (where she developed a particular interest in working with women), and in learning disability services, where she has developed specialist expertise working alongside people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their carers. She continues to hold an Honorary NHS post, currently working with people with learning disabilities who use behaviour that challenges.

Tessa’s research interests include music therapy with adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities, multi-disciplinary work, and the development of theories of learning and teaching in the training of Music Therapists.

Tessa has been one of the editors of the British Journal Music Therapy since 2013. Some notable publications are ‘Supporting the Unplanned Journey’ in Collaboration and Assistance in Music Therapy Practice, London; Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2017), ‘The World is Alive! Music Therapy with Adults with Learning Disabilities’ in the Oxford Handbook of Music Therapy, OUP (2016), Integrated Team Working: Music Therapy as Part of Transdisciplinary and Collaborative Approaches, London; Jessica Kingsley Publishers (2008) with Karen Twyford, and Music Therapy with Adults with Learning Disabilities, London; Routledge (2007).

Jonathan Isserow - Art Psychotherapy

Dr Jonathan Isserow is an art psychotherapist, researcher and documentary filmmaker in the Department of Psychology, where he convenes the MA Art Psychotherapy Programme. From 2010 to 2018 he was Head of the Arts and Play Therapy Programmes. More recently he has taken on the role as Head of Partnerships within the Departement. Jonathan has contributed to a range of art psychotherapy trainings in the UK, Europe, Russia and South Africa.

His research interests are psychoanalysis, documetnary film, infant mental health, child development, the visual turn in psychoanalysis, negative capability, visual and participatory visual research methods in psychology and the arts therapies. Jonathan welcomes proposals for research in art psychotherapy, psychology and therapeutic studies more broadly, at both the MPhil and PhD levels. He particularly welcomes practice-based research proposals.

Anna Seymour - Dramatherapy

Anna Seymour, PhD, PFHEA HCPC registered Dramatherapist is Professor of Dramatherapy at the University of Roehampton, London. She is Visiting Professor of Dramatherapy at the University of Osijek, Croatia, honorary member of the Societa Professionale di Dramaterapia (Italy). Anna is an international trainer and consultant to several Dramatherapy programmes across the world. As a Dramatherapist and Clinical supervisor she has worked in the NHS, Voluntary and private sectors with a range of clients and issues. She has a particular interest and personal experience of working with adoption and attachments issues.

Anna has a background in professional theatre for communities and was involved in more than thirty shows as an actor or director in particular creating documentary theatre though the stories of people in struggle, Her work has encompassed projects with people of all ages and abilities. She has worked in a wide range of settings with musicians and documentary theatre makers and has facilitated workshops and training for fellow professionals on working in community settings.

As an academic she has taught theatre praxis at several leading UK universities including the Universities of Manchester and Birmingham. Former Editor of the British Association of Dramatherapists Journal, Dramatherapy, she researches the relationship between politics, theatrical aesthetics and the therapeutic process. She is Senior Series Editor, Dramatherapy: approaches, relationships, critical ideas published by Routledge/Taylor and Francis and is director of CIRAPT, Centre for International Research in the Arts and Play Therapies at the University of Roehampton.