Meeting Announcement

Details: Please join us on Monday, February 10, from 3-4 pm, EST, over Zoom, for a Q&A Discussion during which we hear and learn from speakers with a range of experience and expertise relevant to the Workgroup's mission and goals. 

Speaker: Barbara Bethea

Barbara Bethea, Ph.D., PTR, LCAT, CASAC is the first African American Registered Poetry Therapist certified through the International Federation for Biblio/Poetry Therapy (IFBPT) and licensed by New York State as a Creative Arts Therapist (LCAT). Dr. Bethea is also the first African American Certified Mentor for the IFBPT. Dr. Bethea completed her master’s in Psychology, Poetry Therapy, and Counseling at Vermont College of Union Institute and University and her Ph.D. in Expressive Therapies at Lesley University. Dr. Bethea is also a Master-level Credentialed Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC). 

Dr. Bethea has been employed by New York City Health and Hospitals for over 16 years. She began her career providing services on the in-patient units at Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center in 2008. In 2010, she began working in the Chemical Dependency program at what is now known as Cumberland-Gotham Health Center. In 2017, she joined Correctional Health Services as a supervisor in the Creative Arts Therapy program on Rikers Island. She has been the Director of that program since 2021.