This entry is an effort to introduce myself to the west side of the Michigan area. We moved to West Olive in December of 2019 and as far as I know, I am the first credentialed art therapist to live in this general area which includes Holland, West Olive and Grand Haven. I’ve over a decade of experience, have worked with a wide variety of populations, and have enjoyed seeing how art has enriched and healed the lives of those I’ve worked with.

I was hired directly as a Wayne State intern at a Detroit in-patient behavioral hospital, Acadia Stonecrest Center. I continued to work there after graduation for the next eight years. Eventually I was promoted to team lead in the hospital’s Activities Department and managed two art therapists, two recreational therapists, one music therapist and three contingent art therapists. Within that venue, I had the opportunity to serve clients from the age of twelve to over ninety. We had separate units for geriatric, adolescents, adults, and developmentally delayed. Many were admitted for mental health challenges but often struggled with other issues such as physical illness, addiction, and emotional distress. Art therapy allowed these clients to have a visual voice and encouraged many of the patients to have healthy self-expression and improved coping skills. 

 Most recently I’ve had been employed at the Ennis Center for Children, servicing kids and adolescents who had been through significant grief, trauma and various types of abuse. I wanted to experience being part of a non-profit and enjoyed working at our various locations in Pontiac, Detroit,  and Flint. I gained experience in community outreach, grant writing, and developing partnerships with other nonprofits in Southeast/Center Michigan. Through Ennis, I was also able to run individual sessions outside of child welfare, including facilitating art therapy groups for professional health care-givers (Geriatric Social Workers of Genesee County) and stroke survivors and their families at McClaren Hospital in Flint. Furthermore, I represented Ennis and Michigan art therapy at the Art, Fish, Fun Festival in Pontiac, the Community Health Fair at Detroit’s Eastern Market, WORK/ARTS: Making a Living in the Arts Conference at Mott Community College in Flint, and attended the Michigan Arts Advocacy Day in Lansing.

I’ve been very active in our national and state professional organizations, the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and the Michigan Association of Art Therapy (MAAT). I have attended our national conference in Savannah, GA in 2012, Baltimore, MD in 2016, Albuquerque, NM in 2017, Miami, FL in 2018 and the Buckeye Art Therapy Conference in Columbus, OH in 2019. I’ve served as the Michigan President for the last three years and as of January 2020, am now the current West Side Chair. During my tenure as President, MAAT has promoted art therapy legislation, with a Day on The Hill in Lansing last April and creating a bill for art therapy licensure. I was able to travel to Lansing in February of this year  with our President-Elect to meet with legislators about presenting a new bill on title protection for Michigan art therapists. I enjoy advocacy work and feel that vulnerable clients need to have protections in place to make sure they receive quality services from trained and credentialed art therapy mental health clinicians. 

In order to receive my ATR (Registered Art Therapist) I completed a documented thousand direct hours with clients and was supervised for one hour for every ten hours of direct work by a credentialed art therapist and/or another mental health professional. After receiving my ATR, I took a four hour board certification exam and have continued to earn continuing  education credits to maintain my status. I’ve been nationally board-certified (ATR-BC) in my field for five years now and was recently re-certified this last July by the Art Therapy Credentials Board. I’ve attached links to our credentials board, national organization, and state chapter below. 

I believe in what I do and it makes a difference in people’s lives, no matter where they are on their journey. I’m passionate about my work and feel that art making, the communication of visual imagery and mindfulness can empower clients and give them a sense of healing and expression. I look forward to any further correspondence and feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions.

The Michigan Association of Art Therapy: http://www.michiganarttherapy.org/

Art Therapy Credentials Board: https://www.atcb.org/

“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.

Art therapists are master-level clinicians who work with people of all ages across a broad spectrum of practice. Guided by ethical standards and scope of practice, their education and supervised training prepares them for culturally proficient work with diverse populations in a variety of settings. Honoring individuals’ values and beliefs, art therapists work with people who are challenged with medical and mental health problems, as well as individuals seeking emotional, creative, and spiritual growth.

Through integrative methods, art therapy engages the mind, body, and spirit in ways that are distinct from verbal articulation alone. Kinesthetic, sensory, perceptual, and symbolic opportunities invite alternative modes of receptive and expressive communication, which can circumvent the limitations of language. Visual and symbolic expression gives voice to experience, and empowers individual, communal, and societal transformation”.

American Association of Art Therapy, 2017 https://arttherapy.org/about-art-therapy/