Laura

“You don’t need to know how to draw. You only need the courage to show up.”

Laura earned her doctorate in Expressive Arts Therapies and is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Board-Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC). She began her career working with youth in residential treatment. It was there that Laura first experimented with the use of visual art as a way to connect. After a young lady asked her to continue making art with others, Laura decided to pursue art therapy as a career path. That path has led her to work with children, adolescents, and adults diagnosed with a variety of mental illnesses in acute psychiatric care, residential treatment, partial hospitalization, and day treatment programs. Laura has experience working alongside individuals diagnosed with depression, anxiety, mood disorders, eating disorders, and dual diagnoses (mood and substance use disorders).

Laura is a professor of Art Therapy. She presents frequently and has published in the areas of art-based research, collaborative group art therapy, and interdisciplinary work using art and drama therapies to address body image. Her specializations include group art therapy, expressive Arts Therapies, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapies, Narrative Therapies, body image work, and addressing the felt or body-based aspects of lived experiences.

Laura collaborates with her clients by addressing their concerns through a unique combination of hands-on engagement in expressive activities and verbal discussion. She works alongside clients to explore the physiological body sensations, emotions, and thoughts that shape their understanding of the world. She guides clients to investigate, explore, and transform their experiences through the use of visual arts, writing, drama, music, and movement. People often find that art and expressive arts therapies allow them to give form and shape to their ideas, thoughts, and experiences in ways they could not through verbal means alone. Artistic and creative skills are not necessary—if someone can draw a stick person, they can benefit from art therapy! Laura creates a welcoming and collaborative therapeutic environment, offers an active approach to therapy, and would be honored to walk with you on your journey.