Jessica Carlisle

WHAT IS ART THERAPY? Art therapy is a mental health profession that uses traditional counseling skills alongside therapeutic art making. HOW DOES IT WORK? There isn't one simple answer for this, just like there is no single way to make art! Making art supports regulation which in turn allows for our brains and bodies to feel safe in working towards our therapeutic goals. The art that is made during an art therapy session can bring emotions, thoughts, memories, or ideas into our awareness that might otherwise be challenging to verbally express. Art making will also inherently present opportunities to work on executive functioning, engage in problem solving skills, and utilize coping strategies. WHAT APPROACH DO YOU HAVE? I work from a person-centered, relational approach. This means we will often spend our first few sessions building a relationship to build safety and trust. WHAT ARE YOUR CREDENTIALS? I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a Board Certified Art Therapist. WHAT INSURANCE DO YOU TAKE? Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Choice, Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicaid, Medicare, United Healthcare. WHAT TYPE OF ART WILL I MAKE AND DO I HAVE TO BRING MY OWN MATERIALS? CAT will provide all art materials for art therapy sessions. Art making ranges from traditional forms to nontraditional forms of art. WHAT IF I AM NOT GOOD AT ART? That is okay! You do not need to identify as an artist in order to find benefits from art therapy. WHAT DO I DO WITH MY ART WHEN I AM DONE? That is your choice! Some options are displaying it in CAT's office, taking your art piece home, keeping it safely stored at CAT, or even recycling it. You are the artist, so you get to choose! WHAT WILL YOU DO DURING AN ART THERAPY SESSION? I will always make art alongside you or with you. WILL YOU TELL ME WHAT TO CREATE? The simple answer: it depends! I believe that you are the owner of your body and deep down, you know what you need; my job is to support fostering a deeper sense of awareness of these needs. Therefore, if you arrive at session and are looking for direction on what to make, I can give you some options. Or if you arrive at session and know what you want to create, then I will not interfere with that.