Creative Art Therapy Place, PLLC Therapists

Creative Arts Therapists share a deep understanding of the value of art-making in human psychology. We specialize in addressing anxiety, depression, mood disorders, trauma and PTSD, couples therapy, family therapy, children, and adolescents.

Creative Art Therapy Place, PLLC is a Creative Arts Therapy group practice residing at the Art Therapy Place, LLC location. Our Team of Creative Arts Therapists is listed below.

Brittany is a Licensed and Board Certified Creative Arts Therapist based in Bushwick and founder of Art Therapy Place.

My approach is client-centered and designed to meet each person where they are. Healing is a creative and personal process which requires us to use many tools. Together we can navigate the art studio to express conflicted emotions, practice mindfulness, reflect and create insight into your inner world. I incorporate Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques to address problematic behaviors and thought patterns, develop coping skills, promote healing and foster healthy interpersonal relationships.

Brittany received a Master’s of Art Therapy from New York University and currently manages Art Therapy Place. Her own identity as an artist inspires her to nurture creativity in the people she serves.

I have been practicing as a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist for the past 8 years, and have strived to create a space that is both safe and supportive for the clients. What I like to say about those new to Art Therapy is that “What you can’t find the words for, you’ll be able to find them through the art.” There is no need to have any prior artistic experience, nor is it necessary to make art withing every session.

Prior to pursuing a career in Art Therapy, I had been working with children, families, and adults with significant life hardships in diverse settings such as after-school, foster care, in-home; homeless, and clients within the medical or in-home challenges. These experiences inspired me to attain my Art Therapy Licensure, and informed my approach that I now use in practice. 

I use a multimodal approach with clients as each one has their own needs of therapeutic engagement. The various therapeutic methods I utilize are based in a humanistic and client-centered approach. Upon these I have received training for incorporates CBT, DBT; Narrative and Play, Creative Arts, Traditional Talk Therapy and Trauma-Informed Therapy.

After getting a degree in psychology from the University of Southern California, and working for 10 years as a TV and music producer for HBO and PBS, Dan switched gears and earned his master’s in music therapy from NYU. He has been practicing as a board-certified music therapist and licensed creative arts therapist for over 5 years. Dan has worked with individuals of all ages, in various settings, with kids, teens, and adults with mental illness in inpatient psychiatry, in geriatric work with individuals with COPD, in inpatient pediatrics with children struggling with a variety of health challenges, and with infants and toddlers who are hearing impaired or struggling with auditory processing disorders. Dan also received his training in outpatient clinical work at the Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine.

Using therapeutic songwriting interventions, Dan helps his clients process conflicted emotions, reflect on experiences, and narrate their lives. Through other interventions, such as music-guided relaxation, music listening, and drumming, he assists clients in practicing mindfulness, soothing the senses, and regulating nervous system functioning. 

Depression, fear, and anxiety are some of the most common and uncomfortable emotions that we can experience at some point in our lives. Combined with supportive discussion and reflection, Dan helps his clients create a safe place to heal old wounds, grow from their struggles, become aware of their inner strengths, experience life more fully, and move confidently into the future.

Gem earned her Art Therapy degree from Pratt Institute, where her research focused on immigrants suppressed emotion and anger. She is a dedicated art therapist with extensive experience supporting individuals from children to adults. 

Her experience with the school counseling team, inpatient psychiatric unit and survivors of sexually abused have solidified and refined her therapeutic approach. She encourages exploration of emotions through traditional talk therapy and creative expression, utilizing her proficiency in various art mediums.

While transitions are a crucial part of growth, they may bring both cloudy days and sunny days for us to navigate. Adjusting to life’s ups and downs can be challenging and emotionally intense. I understand that the idea of therapy can be intimidating, but we will take small steps together and tailor our session to meet your needs!

Seeking therapy or mental health counseling is a brave and arduous step in your healing journey. My goal is to make it as soothing and comforting as possible through a person-centered and strength-based approach. I am a licensed creative arts therapist, trained in utilizing the visual arts to assist in the therapeutic process with a Master’s degree in Creativity Development and Creative Arts Therapy from Pratt Institute. I am now offering Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy, providing healing and support through the process of using ketamine as an enhancement to the therapeutic treatment.

The most recurring themes that I’ve worked with include managing depressive and anxiety symptoms, developing self-concept and improving self-esteem, and gender-affirming care with the LGBTQIA+ community. Other mental health diagnostics that I’ve worked with include PTSD, personality disorders, substance use disorder, OCD, DID, schizophrenia, and bipolar.

Working with me will include trauma-informed care, meaning it will be an empathetic, accommodating and collaborative environment to establish trust and safety in the therapeutic alliance. I hope to connect with you through this process and walk alongside you with patience and understanding.

Welcome! I am Allyssa (pronounced A-lee-sha), a psychotherapist who offers an embodied presence and safe space for you to creatively sort through any areas in your life that need attention and balance. Meeting you where you are, we will honor, strengthen, and discover together the manners in which you feel most empowered to express your authenticity, improve your overall mental health, and explore your mind-body connection.

I offer a combination of dance/movement therapy (D/MT) and traditional psychotherapy, with a relational-cultural approach that seeks to bring to light current strategies of connection and disconnection with yourself and the world around you. Dance/movement therapy is the psychotherapeutic use of dance and movement to support emotional, physical, social, and cognitive integration. No previous dance experience is needed, we are all movers in life! Like all bodies, a session that incorporates DMT can take many forms depending on your needs, comforts, and treatment goals. We may simply bring attention to the body, to feelings and sensations that arise when engaging in verbal processing in an effort to reveal the roots of unhealthy reactions, behaviors, and habits. We may use movement, improvisational dance, and embodied storytelling to give expression and increase awareness of patterns, beliefs, and beliefs, and past trauma hidden in the body and in the unconscious. In these creative processes of gathering information and wisdom from the body, we will explore healthier coping skills, decision-making, and communication styles. D/MT can also take the form of mindfulness practices, breathwork, and stress/anxiety-relieving techniques. As a student of life, I am committed to consistent continuing education around trauma work and strength-based modalities in order to best support my clients individually.

Years of experience as a bilingual, bicultural Latinx therapist at Mount Sinai Inpatient Psychiatry, as well as in schools and community centers, have greatly informed my commitment to holding space for issues around racial identity, social justice, and intergenerational trauma. As an LGBTQ+, NM/poly, and kink-affirmer, I approach therapy as a supportive and nourishing container for all stories and experiences to be held, seen, and validated. I believe we all deserve this equally.

Coaching and Wellness

referred by Art Therapy Place, LLC

*Art Therapy Place rents office space & provides referrals to Coaches and Wellness practitioners in our network. The below coaches and wellness practitioners are not Licensed Psychotherapists, and may or may not hold a professional license or certification if it is not required to practice in their field. Non-licensed, non-therapist practitioners to whom we provide referrals are listed below.

In my practice, “Taboo Talk,” I create space to discuss Sex and Intimacy concerns with my clients. Each person’s relationship with intimacy is different. In my coaching practice, topics that feel off-limits in daily life aren’t just permitted, but can be explored without shame in our work together.

A fulfilling experience of sex and Intimacy requires a sense of safety. As a Somatica practitioner, I provide a healthy, judgment-free space where my clients share parts of themselves they haven’t been able to express in their daily lives and relationships. I used a “relationship lab” style. In treatment, we collaborate strengthen the mind-body connection and deepen insight to develop and improve intimacy with self and others.

Using dialogue, body-based tools, breath work, visualization and sensation-mapping, we work creatively at your own pace. Together, we can tackle difficult topics, peel back the layers and find effective ways to meet your sex and intimacy goals.

Leads: Individual and Group Somatica

Andrea is a certified breath coach, vibroacoustic therapist, Reiki practitioner, classical pianist and music instructor. Andrea has explored sound healing through different cultures; From shamanic, yogic and Sufi traditions to academic settings like NYU music therapy, deep listening studies of Pauline Oliveros and private studies with the Grammy award winner and University of California faculty teacher Silvia Nakkach. Her constant curiosity and study create a holistic and practical support to spiritual development. Andrea believes that “sound and movement are essential to human development because they are a direct path to discovering ourselves and connecting with others. If we practice listening to all the noises in the world, outside of us, we will eventually allow ourselves to focus on all the noises inside our mind, and learn to discern them. We will be able to tune into a world of vibration and choose to selectively listen with love to that which is nurturing.

Leads: Soundbath Healing Workshops