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I am the owner and art therapist of The 3 Brushes, LLC.
I earned my Master of Arts in Art Therapy from George Washington University in 2017.
I am a Registered, Board-Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC) and a Licensed Clinical Professional Art Therapist in Maryland (LCPAT).
Art serves as a strong partner in recovery. The act of creating art provides a means for genuine self-expression and finds purpose in difficult times.
The process of healing is layered, requiring time and conscious effort. You aren’t required to like or embrace the process, nor do you need to be performative. Growth and change take time.
When I’m not hiking, kayaking, or creating art in my studio, I love spending time with the people I care about. My roots are in Colorado, and I enjoy spending time outside and connecting with nature. I have journeyed and resided in multiple locations across the US. I also find great fulfillment in volunteering locally and engaging in sustainability efforts.
HOW I WORK
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Making art with my clients is as foundational to art therapy as the therapeutic relationship is foundational. Theories, techniques, and therapeutic approaches are valuable in therapy, but how we connect as client and art therapist matters the most.
My goal is to foster authentic relationships that inspire creative expression in our collaborative efforts.
My approaches and therapeutic techniques are similar to how other talk therapies work and are uniquely based on making art and the creative process in mental health treatment. I provide individual art therapy sessions for children, teens, and adults.
My work experiences are varied and diverse from private practice, outpatient, hospice care, IIH/MHSS services, residential/group, elder care facilities, and non-profit settings.
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I work from my values and beliefs. My work is guided by integrity, creativity, empathy, and trust, as well as compassion. These values shape how I approach challenges, engage in life, and make decisions.
My values ground and center me in difficult situations, foster meaningful relationships, and maintain a focus on long-term impact rather than short-term gains. I look for the root issues of the problems facing my clients and weeding those patterns out in our work together. This foundation ensures my work aligns with my purpose and contributes to others in need of support and guidance.
I believe adaptive changes are beneficial and growth means the process mattered. The process matters as much as the outcome.
The process involves being seen, heard, and understood. Vulnerabilities, insecurities, or fear is terrifying to reveal to another person, but here is a safe space to be, to be accepted where you are and for who you are.
I want my clients to explore and see their inner world with curiosity and feel safe revisiting and reflecting on painful experiences. By identifying and addressing core issues to process it’s easier to embrace growth and change, develop resilience, self-awareness, and a deeper understanding of self and others. This process creates lasting change that empowers my clients to navigate life with clarity and purpose.
FAQ
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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.
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I work with a variety of issues and work primarily with individuals one-to-one and families of children and teen clients.
The youngest age group I work with is typically age 8, but I have worked with younger clients ages 5-7. I also work with preteens, ages 10-12, teens 12-17, and adults 18+.
I focus on issues such as grief and loss, major life transitions such as divorce, moving, career/job related issues, relational and generational trauma, family conflict, spiritual and religious trauma, anxiety and depression, complex trauma, and medical trauma.
Feel free to connect with me if you are curious for more details or information.
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My fee is $125 for individual sessions.
Psychiatric evaluations are $150 and are only offered as the initial session as part of an intake process.
I offer a sliding scale fee and financial flexibility. I can accept HSA and FSA payment as well as provide a superbill for insurance reimbursement.
Feel free to connect with me about any financial questions or concerns.
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This practice is not in-network with any insurance carrier and is considered self / private pay.
The 3 Brushes accepts HSA and FSA cards and provides superbills towards reimbursement for out-of-pocket mental health related expenses.
For HSA and FSA card holders, please be aware a diagnosis must be on file in order to process. Check with your insurance provider regarding your medical accounts.
I have contracted with insurance in the past and prefer to work out of network to provide my clients more autonomy and choice in their treatment and care.
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The first session is also called the initial session. This session is to determine if we are a good fit and is an introduction to how we will work together.
No pressure, it’s okay if we are not a good fit, I’ll connect you with a referral or offer resources. If we are a great fit, wonderful! We’ll continue with the next steps and begin our work together.
The initial session will go more in-depth about discussing your intake paperwork and questionnaire and any administrative items. We will generally focus on what your treatment needs are or may be.
I typically invite making art together as an introduction to art therapy. Usually, this is art made about yourself, your situation, or a treatment need you may want to explore more about.
I offer tea, coffee, and sometimes snacks to nourish yourself and I welcome you to bring your own food and drink as well.
You are welcome to bring your own journal or sketchbook to benefit further from your sessions. I highly encourage this as this habit is like building your own guidebook that is custom to you.
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Art therapy is similar to traditional talk therapy and other therapy treatments. Not every session involves making art or is art focused. However, art therapy is its own therapy in that the practice, interventions, directives, approaches, techniques, and methods are unique to the profession and field.
I practice clinical art therapy so I do keep medical records and uphold ethical and legal requirements. Some art therapists also work in a non-clinical capacity and both are valid.
Art therapy is one way to approach how we feel, think, problem solve, and process life experiences.
Art therapy is experiential in nature and that a client can literally ‘see’ their progress and the work done. This appeals to children, teens, and adults alike, especially if you consider yourself a person who likes to create and visually solve problems or don’t like feeling invaded or overly perceived.
To learn more, check out The American Art Therapy Association, for more information about the field and profession of art therapy: https://arttherapy.org/
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To schedule, follow this link for my current availability. Easy to follow and set up via Simple Practice.
I look forward to connecting soon!
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Trauma is a defined as a distressing life event that overwhelms an individual's ability to cope, feel emotions, and process those experiences.
Trauma can be a single event or compounding events over time. Trauma is not limited to events like surviving a hurricane, car crash, or war. Experiences like bullying, adoption, and chronic stress can also be considered trauma.
Art therapy can explore, identify, address, and help a client process a number of emotional and mental wellness needs within the therapeutic relationship.
Some ways and benefits that art therapy provides are: helping the brain create new neural pathways, regulate and rebuild the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, or provide means of expressing the inexpressible.
Follow this link for more: https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/healing-through-art
Follow this link for additional research: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/384940469_Art_therapy_and_neuroscience_evidence_limits_and_myths
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The 3 Brushes is not currently hosting any workshops or groups.
I’m open to partnering with other mental health organizations and facilities for group work and workshops. Feel free to connect with me about any collaborations or opportunities.
I’m open to PRN opportunities in the local area. I’m only serving the Maryland area presently and not Washington, D.C or Virginia.
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Congratulations!
Unfortunately, I’m not a state approved supervisor so please follow the links below if you’re in Maryland and seeking clarity with this process or need a state approved art therapy supervisor:
Current MD art therapy supervisors:
Application Process and FAQs
https://health.maryland.gov/bopc/pages/art-therapists.aspx
MD Licensure Process
https://www.marylandarttherapy.org/state-licensure
Feel free to message me if you’d like for further questions.