Psychotherapy & Art Therapy in New Orleans & Pennsylvania

about

I’m a licensed, board-certified art therapist (ATR-BC), professional counselor (LPC), and mindfulness meditation instructor, living in New Orleans. With a career spanning over a decade in the mental health field, I’ve held roles in diverse settings in New York City and Philadelphia, such as partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), psychiatric inpatient, mental health clubhouse, IDD day program, pre-K, and the NYC public school system. I completed a Master of Professional Studies (MPS) degree in Creative Arts Therapy from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY in 2015. I am currently enrolled in Naropa University’s 2023 Certificate in Psychedelic-Assisted Therapies program.

Just as the body instinctively knows how to mend physical injuries, emotional, psychological, and spiritual wounds heal given the right context and conditions. My approach is grounded in creating a nurturing environment that allows you to tap into your innate healing ability. I believe that much of the pain that we experience is not symptomatic of mental disorder, but is a healthy, logical, and intelligent response to the stress, trauma, and grief in our individual lives and shared world. My goal is to address and work through this pain and our responses to it.

In my practice, I hold a deep respect for each individual's unique journey, acknowledging that you are the expert of your own life. My purpose is to assist you in rekindling that self-trust, empowering you to thrive. In our therapeutic alliance, we can create a safe and supportive space, fostering growth, learning, transformation, and healing.

services

  • Individual Therapy

  • Group Art Therapy

  • Clinical Supervision (ATR licensure)

  • I view art therapy as the intersection of two distinct processes. First, the creative process in any form (art, music, dance, writing, gardening, cooking, or simply a unique and engaged approach to life) can be healing in itself. Second, the creative act can be interpreted through the psychotherapeutic lens to bring us to deeper levels of insight and understanding.

    Art is a powerful tool in the process of self-discovery and healing. It calms the nervous system and enables us to give form, expression, and language to lived experiences. Through this process of exploration and self-revelation, we can connect with our true selves, fostering growth and embracing change.

    Art therapy is accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, identities, and abilities, requiring no background in artmaking.

    As defined by the American Art Therapy Association (AATA): “Art Therapy is an integrative mental health and human services profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.

    Art Therapy, facilitated by a professional art therapist, effectively supports personal and relational treatment goals as well as community concerns. Art Therapy is used to improve cognitive and sensory-motor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and advance societal and ecological change.” (American Art Therapy Association, 2022)

  • According to Dharma Moon & Tibet House, U.S.: “Mindfulness Meditation can be defined as learning to bring our attention to the present moment (by focusing on our breath) and simply seeing what arises without bias or judgment. When our attention wanders, and we notice, we simply return our attention to the breath. Mindfulness is simple and straightforward. The benefit of this practice is that we become more synchronized in body and mind, and begin to relate to our world in a less distracted and more wakeful way. By returning our attention to the present, we can actually cut through the accumulation of stress and anxiety and develop clarity, strength and stability in our everyday lives.” (David Nichtern, 2021).

  • Psychedelic integration is the process of incorporating the material of non-ordinary states of consciousness into one’s life. This involves connecting to awareness, meaning-making, and bringing one’s experience into the world through positive change.

contact

To book a free 20-minute phone consultation, please fill out the form below.