What originally drew you to the field of art therapy? 

Ever since I could hold a paintbrush I've been making art - from mud pies in the backyard to finger painting at daycare. When I was 5 and my parents got a divorce, it left me feeling really confused and really angry. Through color coded scribble drawings, I used art to communicate the difficult feelings that I otherwise had a hard time expressing. As I grew older, I continued to turn to art as my way to express my thoughts and feelings and process through complex experiences. Having experienced the therapeutic power of art firsthand, I wanted to be able to share its healing magic with others. I genuinely love being a support to others on their path towards healing. I knew that becoming an art therapist was the right path for me as I'd be able to guide others as they use art for self-exploration and a way to speak the unspeakable.

Can you tell us about your academic journey? 

I went into my undergrad thinking I was going to end up being a pastry chef. I knew I needed and wanted to do something art related, but wasn’t sure how to make a career out of my love for art. That quickly led me to pursuing an Art Education degree, but it didn’t feel like that fully captured my interests and what I wanted to do with my life. I realized I was also really interested in psychology, particularly abnormal psychology and addictions, so ended up double majoring in K-12 Art Education and Alcohol and Drug Studies. I worked as a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor in Minnesota for a few years post graduation, but knew something was missing. I wanted to be able to go deeper with my clients but felt limited in typical talk therapy approaches. Very clearly, I knew that art was the piece that was missing from my practice. I heard of Naropa’s Art Therapy Program, and the rest is history.

Can you talk about the power of art therapy in your life and your work? 

I work with youth that are involved in the criminal justice system and they have often been misunderstood and mistreated by authority and may not be trusting of others. Correspondingly, they can be hesitant to open up and engage in therapy. Art therapy has been incredibly helpful to break through any hesitancy as it provides a less threatening way for youth to process their difficult feelings and experiences. Through art making, these youth have been given the opportunity to release their feelings into outer art forms for further exploration. This seems to ease any defensiveness and vulnerability as we’re able to reflect on their feelings through the artwork and metaphoric expression rather than on their feelings directly. 

Do you see transpersonal elements manifest in your professional work?

Transpersonal elements mainly manifest in my therapy work by using art making to foster meaning making. Many of the youth I work with struggle to see their place in the world or how they matter. Art is a wonderful tool to encourage connectivity to self as well as increase personal insights and meaningfulness. As a therapist, transpersonal practices help bring me into alignment with my center, so that I can fully attune with my clients and connect from a place of authenticity.

From your point of view, what is the most important thing to keep in mind when working as an art therapist? 

Self-awareness and self-care feel like key factors to keep in mind when working as a therapist. It’s important for therapists to be able to objectively look within themselves to examine their own thoughts, feelings, and biases. Increasing our self-awareness allows us to be more attuned with dynamics playing out within the therapeutic relationship and our therapeutic limits and helps avoid unintentionally harming the client. Taking the time to take care of ourselves is also super important. We can’t support others without first supporting ourselves.

What are some important self-care practices you recommend or practice? 

As a double Earth sign, spending time in nature is one of the most impactful ways that I can tend to my well-being and happiness. Not only does nature help me de-stress, but it also helps me come back into connection with myself and my spirit. 

Are you working on anything now that you’re really excited about?

In 2021 I founded restART studio, a nonprofit art therapy program that works with justice-involved youth in Longmont. There’s been so many things these past two years to be excited about with restART studio! Last year our mural, “The Best View Comes After a Hard Climb”, was one of the winners in Longmont’s Shock Art competition. The mural is based on the metaphor of "conquering mountains"; reminding restART studio clients and all justice-involved youth that they can grow and learn from their struggles. It gives them the confidence and ability to face any obstacle that is put in their way on their journey to building healthy coping skills. By climbing their "mountains," the youth can heal from their mistakes, regain control of their lives, and develop new self-understanding and self-love. We’re super excited to be painting the mural!

How important is it to collaborate with your art therapy colleagues?  

Collaborating with other art therapists allows me to see things from other perspectives that I may not have been considering and has helped me build a sense of community. It feels really good to connect with likeminded people who understand and support the work that I’m doing.

How have your professional collaborations benefited your career?  

With restART studio, I have partnered with the City of Longmont and their youth redirection program (REWiND), which has been such an impactful way to bring art therapy to justice-involved youth who otherwise wouldn’t have access to such services. As an add on to the question above, I’m also very excited about my recent collaborations with art therapist David Gussak. Dave developed the Art Therapy in Prisons Program for the Florida Dept. of Corrections and has written extensively on his art therapy work with the offender population. Dave has helped mentor me through evaluating the effectiveness of restART studio’s program and we are currently co-writing an article for publication. I’m super happy to share that I will be presenting my art therapy with youthful offenders work at the American Art Therapy Association Conference this fall!

How would you like to see the field of art therapy evolve in the coming years?  

The marginalized communities that could really benefit from art therapy often have limited access and are underserved. I would love art therapy to become more accessible to people of all backgrounds and SES. 

Is there anything you would like to see happen to support and expand the Colorado art therapy community?

I love learning, so am always down for more workshops for art therapists that help us to expand our practices. I would also love more open art studio time for a fun and relaxed way to get to know and collaborate with other CO art therapists.

How is/can art therapy or art used for social justice?  



Art allows marginalized communities, who’s voices are often silenced, a way to tell their story and reclaim their identities. But art therapy doesn’t only help bring transformative change at the individual level, it can also be impactful at collective and societal levels.  Art is a great way to foster communication and open up critical dialogues about disparities. It has a unique way of diminishing defensiveness that can come with such conversations. As art therapists, I think we have an incredible tool to promote social change within our communities and society as a whole.