When I was in my senior year of high school, I attended a college fair. I got information from a few schools as I meandered my way around the gymnasium. Something pulled me apprehensively towards each and every arts-related school, even though I was sure I couldn't afford the attendance. Still, with a fragile dream in my heart, I picked up an arts school pamphlet and continued on my way. Sitting on the school bus to head back, I flipped through it. On the back of the pamphlet for the art school I wished I could attend was a section on Careers for Artists. Down on that list were the magic words that would change everything for me: "Art Therapy".
I always loved to create. I tell people all the time that the reason I love and am good at making art is that while most people stop drawing around late elementary to middle school, I never stopped. I kept drawing, painting, crafting, and making day after day until the practice was so ingrained it intensified into a full-on passion. I truly spend most of my chosen free time creating something - from art to music and poetry to journaling. I find that expression has not only been life-giving but life-saving for me. Art is a place of transparency and honesty that I cannot find anywhere else. I create when I have nobody to speak to. I create when I need to speak but don't have the words yet. I create when I don't know how I'm feeling. I create to get the feelings out and not feel trapped inside my body.
When I graduated with my Bachelor's degree in psychology with a minor in studio art, I started working as a Care Manager at a Community Mental Health Agency. If you asked me in my first few weeks how I liked the work I do, I would've told you about how it felt like exactly where I was meant to be at that time. And it was. But over time, working in a large agency with those unable to seek services elsewhere with immense needs and little resources that I could offer drained me. I craved being able to provide practical help and solutions. I craved creativity.
As COVID set in and lockdown began, I realized I needed art more than ever. I cared about my image as an artist and wanted to make it known. So, I started my "Quarantine Series" of images. I went to social media and asked anyone and everyone to send me a photo looking outside of a window. The idea was to create images to unite us in lockdown. I agreed to use however many I wished in whatever style I wished to make to create art and share it with those along for the journey. It was a huge success, one that I could not replicate though I tried. I quickly built social media for myself as an artist and once again began to ask the question, "How can I make creativity my life".
This question led me back to those two magic words that had hit me in the gut years earlier: Art Therapy. I set my sights towards completing my Master's in Art Therapy with an emphasis in Counseling with Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Their hybrid program worked well with my schedule, and I committed to busting through the coursework as quickly as I could.
Now, over three years later, here I am! I've graduated. I'm provisionally registered as an art therapist. I'm currently procrastinating on studying for my NCE, which will allow me to work towards an LPC-MHSP. I've started my own private practice: Cleveland Art Therapy Services. So much of this dream still seems surreal, and we're far from having arrived, but I'm excited for where I'm at in this journey and to see what's left to come.
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