Expressive Art Therapy

As an artist myself combined with my undergraduate concentration in the psychology of art and artists, I recognize art as being a powerful tool for positive mental health changes. I enjoy the process of exploring and discovering artistic voices and how to tell your story through expression.

While I work remotely I do a great deal of art therapy with clients who are interested. I send materials to clients homes, as well as do art therapy with material individuals have at home.

The goal of expressive arts is to bypass your more analytic brain, as well as your more default mode of being. Interventions may include using symbols to represent feelings or memories or drawing or writing with focus on the process, not the product, to elicit deeper understanding of the topic at hand. Sometimes by circumnavigating the more literal content what’s underneath is discovered.

While I work remotely I do a great deal of art therapy with clients who are interested. I send materials to clients homes, as well as do art therapy with material individuals have at home.

Over 20 years of practice developing and implementing expressive arts therapy programs and activities with children, adolescents, and adults. Systems aware and trauma-informed care that is scientifically proven to relieve feelings.

I am a musician and songwriter. I have coached vocalists and run SLAM poetry groups. I've used expressive therapy in classrooms, telehealth groups, and one on one sessions. I currently run a Saturday group for entertainers, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.

Getting to do Expressive Art Therapy is the reason I became a therapist. It started with my interest in expressive writing. I have a background in writing and have relied on storytelling and poetry to help me through hard times. Then I discovered Natalie Rogers' book, The Creative Connection: Expressive Arts as Healing, and my interest opened up to other art forms. In our work, I may invite you to express yourself through writing, drawing, or collage, but it is always just that--an invitation.

I was trained in Expressive Therapies, with a specialization in Visual Arts at Lesley University. When appropriate for the client, I use interventions in the visual arts, music, movement and writing/literature to help clients meet their goals.

Expressive arts therapy can help you get in touch with parts of yourself that aren't so easy to access in other ways, and it enables you to grow and heal without having to talk directly about issues. As a poet, storyteller, dancer, and guitarist, I can say that the arts are profoundly healing-even when you have no formal talent or training! Additionally, I completed graduate work in expressive and creative arts therapy and psychodrama.

Think of me as your personal guide in finding your inner creative muse. We use the process of art makings and markings to explore and provide outlets for what gets trapped inside, smothered and stepped on. I want to help you tap into flexing, stretching, and growing these expressive muscles. You need no special skills to engage in this process, you have them already.

I am a certified expressive arts practitioner (CEAP) and I integrate this work both in person and in Telehealth settings in cases where it may be helpful for one to get out of their head to discover feelings that may be lingering. Expressive arts is used as an adjunct and is a multi-modal approach to healing. It may include; dance, drama, journaling, music, writing and more.

Expressive arts therapy modalities include dance/movement/yoga, writing, poetry, music, sound, drama/enactment/role play, embodiment, art, dreamwork, metaphor and symbolism (often through nature or imagery), and more. My version of expressive arts therapy is inspired by nature, intuition, narrative, and curiosity. Why just talk?

Getting to do Expressive Art Therapy is the reason I became a therapist. It started with my interest in expressive writing. I have a background in writing and have relied on storytelling and poetry to help me through hard times. Then I discovered Natalie Rogers' book, The Creative Connection: Expressive Arts as Healing, and my interest opened up to other art forms.

I have studied expressive arts since I was a child and through out my counseling career I have focus on expressive art therapy to help others cultivate their mental health wellness.

Getting to do Expressive Art Therapy is the reason I became a therapist. It started with my interest in expressive writing and opened up to other art forms--and the connection among them--as I came to understand it through Natalie Rogers' book, The Creative Connection: Expressive Arts as Healing.

Artistry not required! I use active imagination to explore images, symbols, and dreams. These share a common thread in containing messages from the unconscious. Psyche communicates to us in the world of symbols and images. I have specialized training in Dream Analysis, Painting Therapy, Spontaneous Drawing, and am currently enrolled in a 2-year Sandplay training working with symbolic image creation. Let’s decipher the messages from your unconscious to realize your higher Self!

I was trained in expressive arts through my graduate program and enjoy using drawing, painting, sand tray, play therapy, and drama therapy to help support your growth. Let me know what your interests are and we\'ll find a way to incorporate it into your treatment plan!

Certified in Healing Trauma with Guided Drawing: A Sensorimotor Art Therapy Approach to Bilateral Body Mapping by Dr. Cornelia Elbrecht’s Institute for Sensorimotor Art Therapy (2019) Certified in Level 1 & 2 Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Therapy with Dr. Cathy Malchiodi’s Trauma-Informed Practices & Expressive Arts Therapy Institute (2018-19)

Certified in Healing Trauma with Guided Drawing: A Sensorimotor Art Therapy Approach to Bilateral Body Mapping by Dr. Cornelia Elbrecht’s Institute for Sensorimotor Art Therapy (2019) Certified in Level 1 & 2 Trauma-Informed Expressive Arts Therapy with Dr. Cathy Malchiodi’s Trauma-Informed Practices & Expressive Arts Therapy Institute (2018-19)