What is Art Therapy?

If you’ve every found yourself doodling when you are bored or can’t focus, painting to relieve stress, and using clay or playdough to create, you are dipping your toes into art therapy. Humans have always used art for self expression and to express and showcase our feelings and experiences.

Art therapy combines the creative process and psychotherapy, facilitating self-exploration and understanding. Using imagery, colour and shape as part of this creative therapeutic process, thoughts and feelings can be expressed that would otherwise be difficult to articulate. 

Art therapy is an integrative mental health and psychotherapy profession that uses active art-making and the creative process to help individuals process emotions, resolve conflicts, reduce stress, and develop self-awareness.

A little about me…

I’m an Art Therapist and Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) experienced in working with children, youth and adults. I also teach and work at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute, and am on the Canadian Art Therapy Association board of directors as the Anti-Oppressive Practice director.

How people move through their worlds has always fascinated me. As a trained Anthropologist I spent much of my life trying to understand culture and systems and how we move through them as individuals and part of communities. I am also an illustrator and I love to create, both personally and professionally.

I have spent many years in many places as a student, at the University of Toronto, at York University, at SOAS and most recently at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. 

As a student of people and where they come from with a deeply rooted sense of empathy, Art Therapy is an amazing way to combine my interests but also offer a source of support, kindness and hopefulness. 

I hope that I can offer you a joyous and hopeful place to breathe, feel and grow.

What are the modalities I use to support you:

Art Psychotherapy has given me the pleasure and the privilege to work with diverse and marginalized voices supporting my clients with healing, growth and connection through a trauma informed, person centred, and anti-oppressive lens.

I have over three years of experience providing art psychotherapy, where I have been able to support clients in private practice, in a public school, in community service centers and a clinical hospital setting, and in group therapy. I have facilitated the use of a variety of  therapeutic modalities, including somatic/body therapy, trauma focused therapy, and polyvagal therapy, CBT and mindfulness.

In my practice I use:

  • Art Therapy

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT

  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy or DBT

  • Creative Therapy Modalities

  • Trauma Focused Therapy

  • Mindfulness, Group Therapy

  • Polyvagal Therapy

  • Person Centered Therapy. 


Who is this for?

I have experience supporting both children in adults, in private as well as clinical settings. I have worked in schools with children as young as 5 and with adults in in-patient hospital settings supporting clients with complex mental health needs.

I use an anti-racist framework and cultural humility/cultural competence work to support clients from diverse communities.

In my work at the Mental Health Inpatient Unit at Markham Stouffville hospital, offering group therapy to patients with more acute mental health issues, supporting clients to express themselves emotionally, process emotions, problem solve, emotionally regulate and self soothe, and explore their inner strengths.

My work assessing and offering one-on-one art and talk therapy in a school setting with school aged children in Scarborough, experiencing diverse issues including dealing with trauma, assault, racism, violence, self harm and suicidality and working collaboratively with children, youth and their families,

Do you struggle as a parent?

Are you struggling with supporting you child with emotional regulation, big feelings, issues in school, challenges with peers or building connections? I can offer you support by working both with your child to offer direct support, as well as working with you to help you through these challenging transitions.

Do you need support in your life?

I support my clients going through a variety of challenges, including isolation and relationship issues, divorce and separation, anxiety and burnout, building self-esteem and confidence, working through race related and identity issues, and the heaviness of the larger systems that can often bring us down.

The key here is being in relationship and building a connection with my clients, we work together to heal and grow.