Key Takeways
I’m sharing a practice update: I’ve earned the Board Certified Art Therapist credential (ATR-BC) through the Art Therapy Credentials Board in the U.S.
If credentials feel abstract, that makes sense. Most people are not looking for letters. They’re looking for a way to feel less stuck inside themselves.
You might be someone who can explain what’s happening, but it still doesn’t shift. You might be carrying grief, burnout, old patterns, or a kind of numbness that words don’t reach. If that’s you, this update matters because it reflects how I’m continuing to deepen the craft and ethics of arts-based therapy, so the care you receive is steady, flexible, and well held.
What ATR-BC signals
ATR-BC is the highest credential in the field of art therapy. It reflects advanced supervised clinical work, a comprehensive national exam, and an ongoing commitment to professional standards and continuing education.
In plain language, it means I’ve pursued a higher level of training and accountability in arts-based therapy. Credentials are one way a profession demonstrates that care is not improvised, especially when people are bringing tender, high-stakes parts of their lives into the room.
If you’d like to see the credentialing body directly, I invie you to visit the Art Therapy Credentials Board and verify my listing.
When words do not reach it
Many adults come to therapy with a lot already behind them. You may understand your history. You may be able to name patterns clearly. You may have tried to “think your way through” what hurts.
And still, something stays hard to name.
Sometimes it shows up like this: you can talk about what happened, but your body stays braced. You know what you want to change, but you freeze. You keep circling the same story, and nothing lands.
Creative therapy offers another doorway. Not because an image is “the answer,” but because the process can carry meaning as it forms. It can hold complexity without forcing clarity too soon. It can make room for contradiction without asking you to flatten yourself into a neat narrative.
This isn’t art instruction. It isn’t critique. And it isn’t a therapist interpreting your work from a distance. We stay close to your meaning-making and your lived experience, at a pace that respects your capacity.
If you’d like to get a feel for how this approach looks, I invite you to explore art therapy Vancouver.
What expressive arts therapy can support
People come to art-based therapy for many different reasons. A few common ones:
- When you feel stuck in explanation and want another way in
- When emotions feel too big, too fast, or hard to name
- When you’re carrying grief or change that does not move through words easily
- When you want to soften self-judgement and understand how you’ve been coping
- When you want therapy that makes room for image, metaphor, and lived experience
- When you want support that stays practical and human, not performative
Sometimes the most important thing is that you do not have to “get it right.” You do not need a plan. We can work with simple materials and small creative experiments that match your real life.
How we work
Sessions are relational, paced, and consent-based. We begin with what is present for you.
Sometimes we create in session. Sometimes we talk while you hold an image, describe a symbol, or notice what’s shifting inside. Sometimes we don’t use art at all until it feels right. The work follows your readiness, not a script.
Because this is therapy, I don’t assign meaning to your work from a distance. I don’t tell you what your art “means.” We stay close to what you notice, what you feel, and what you want next.
Most of our work is offered online across Canada. Occasionally, when it supports the work and the weather cooperates, we may also meet outdoors here in Vancouver for a walking session or a quiet, grounded check-in. If that option is ever relevant, we’ll talk it through clearly and make sure it feels practical and consent-based.
If you’re exploring fit, the art therapy in Vancouver page can help you orient.
What changes when we work this way
Over time, many people notice a few grounded shifts:
- You get closer to what’s true without having to force the “right” words.
- Self-judgement softens as your coping starts to make sense in context.
- You find more choice in how you respond, especially when emotion or memory shows up fast.
A community note: Art Hive
Alongside therapy, I also host a regular online art hive.
An art hive is a free, community-based open studio space designed to support connection, inclusion, and skill-sharing through art-making. It’s often described as a “third place,” outside home and work, where everyone is welcome as an artist. People come to make art, hang out, and enjoy each other’s company, without pressure or performance.
It’s not therapy, and it’s not a group where you’re expected to share personal material. It’s a simple, human practice of making alongside others.
Clinical supervision for art therapists
This credential also allows me to offer clinical supervision to art therapists who are working toward credentialing milestones.
If you’re pursuing the ATR pathway, supervision hours matter. Supervision is one of the ways clinicians build stronger judgment, clearer ethics, and steadier practice over time.
As an ATR-BC, I’m able to provide supervision that may count toward requirements for those working toward ATR-P and ATR, and onward toward ATR-BC. If you’re seeking supervision that is relational, clear, and paced, you’re welcome to reach out about fit and availability.
Closing
I’m proud of this step, not as a badge, but as a way of staying accountable to the people who trust me with their care. If arts-based therapy feels like it might fit, we can begin simply and keep it clear. We usually start with a conversation. I invite you to book a free 15-minute consult.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does ATR-BC mean, in plain language?
ATR-BC is the highest credential in art therapy. It signals advanced supervised training, a national exam, and ongoing continuing education and ethical accountability. In practice, it reflects a deeper level of clinical preparation and professional standards.
Do I need to be “good at art” for arts-based therapy?
No. This work isn’t about talent or performance. It’s about using simple creative process to support meaning, emotion, and change, especially when words don’t reach what you’re carrying.
What happens in a session?
We start with what is present for you. Some sessions include art-making, some include reflection, and some blend both. We move at a pace that respects your capacity, and we follow your readiness rather than a script.
When might creative therapy help more than talk therapy alone?
It can be especially helpful when you feel stuck in the same explanations, when emotions are hard to name, or when your body seems to be carrying more than words can hold. Creative process can offer a gentler, steadier way in.
Do you offer clinical supervision for art therapists working toward ATR-P, ATR, and ATR-BC?
Yes. As an ATR-BC, I’m able to provide clinical supervision that may count toward credentialing requirements for art therapists working toward ATR-P and ATR, and onward toward ATR-BC. You’re welcome to reach out to ask about fit and availability.
