Expressive Arts in Therapy
Expressive Arts in Therapy | Columbia, Maryland
Creativity offers more than just an outlet: it can be a path to deep healing, insight, and emotional regulation. Whether through images, movement, writing, puppets, or storytelling, these methods allow clients to access their feelings and inner wisdom in a way that cannot be achieved with words.
In my Howard County-based practice, I offer expressive arts in therapy as a gentle, effective option for clients who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or disconnected from themselves.
This work isn’t about being “artistic.” It’s about giving yourself permission to explore, express, and discover what’s waiting beneath the surface.
What are Expressive Arts in Therapy?
Expressive arts therapy refers to the integrative and intentional use of two or more expressive tools, like drawing, writing, music, puppetry, or collage in counseling. This is part of an ancient human tradition of using creativity as a wellspring for healing.
Often times, “talking it out” with a therapist is not enough. Intellectual knowing is completely different from a felt sense of wisdom in the body. If we neglect this, clients can feel stuck in their healing progress. They may identify new insights, while remaining overwhelmed with negative emotion. Or, they might spend months repeating a positive affirmation they just don’t believe.
In my work, I prioritize utilizing coping skills my clients will actually use in their daily lives. Expressive arts in therapy can help clients locate strengths, identify blocks to healing, and reveal deep fears. Most importantly, it helps clients learn how to connect fully to their experience. It is this mind and body activation that promotes lasting change.
Some experiences are too difficult or uncomfortable to talk about, and a different outlet is needed to address the pain. Other experiences are best explored through “non-logical” methods. Expressive Arts in Therapy offers a bridge, helping clients externalize internal struggles and explore them from a new perspective.
This work can be structured or open-ended. We might work with a specific image that keeps showing up in your dreams, or simply follow a creative impulse in the moment.
I often combine creativity with parts work, brainspotting, and EMDR to help clients go deeper and remember important insights from our sessions.
Who Is Expressive Arts in Therapy For?
Expressive Arts in therapy are a useful treatment for many types of clients. You don’t have to identify as a “writer” or “artist” in order to benefit from this approach. Creativity encourages the brain to slow down for better processing, maintain engagement with the body, and create new neural connections that foster positive change.
Many people find this approach helpful when traditional talk therapy doesn’t quite reach the depth they’re looking for.
I offer this therapy for adults who may experience some of the following concerns:
Difficulty verbalizing emotions
Exploring identity and belonging
PTSD, trauma, grief, or burnout
Feelings of disconnect between self and others, or overwhelmed with the world
Highly sensitive people or neurodivergent clients who respond well to nonverbal or symbolic work
Expressive Arts in therapy are especially powerful for anxiety, emotional regulation, and post-traumatic healing.
They improve processing, create positive changes in the brain, and deepen our sense of connectedness to ourselves and others.
What Does a Session with Expressive Arts in it Look Like?
Each session is shaped by you. I offer many different creative options to help clients process, such as:
Collage to express internal conflict or identity exploration
Drawing or painting to map out emotions or body sensations
Writing or poetry to give voice to grief or inner dialogue
Symbolic imagery (like storytelling or metaphor) to explore deeper themes
Movement to release tension or express stuck energy
There’s no expectation to create anything “good.” What matters is how the process helps you connect, release, or understand something new about yourself.
Many clients say this work feels less intimidating than talking, and often more powerful.
Expressive Arts and Trauma Healing
For clients with trauma histories, expressive arts in therapy can be a safe and empowering option. It allows access to difficult material without having to retell or relive the story.
This approach is grounded in trauma-informed care and supports nervous system regulation, especially for those who experience dissociation, emotional flooding, or shutdown in traditional talk therapy settings.
You remain in control at all times. The creative process is a way to stay connected, engaged, and curious without becoming overwhelmed.
How Expressive Arts in Therapy Works
Reduces dissociation through sensory input
Supports emotional expression while reducing overwhelm
Helps externalize inner conflict or unresolved feelings
Increases positive experiences with movement and body
Helps clients feel empowered and present
Supports meaning making, which is essential to wellbeing
In short:
It helps you heal in a way that feels real, NOT forced.
Ready to Begin?
You don’t need the perfect words, just a willingness to show up and see what unfolds when we invite creativity into the room.
I offer Expressive Arts in therapy for adults from my office in Columbia, MD and through secure telehealth across Maryland. Whether you're working through anxiety, trauma, grief, or seeking personal growth, Expressive Arts in therapy can support your healing without pressure or perfection.
If you're looking for a compassionate space that honors your pace and your process, I'd be honored to walk alongside you.