Hi! I’m Dena 

Your friendly neighborhood art therapist.  

Like many therapists, my journey started from a deep desire to heal and live a more loving, peaceful life. Along the way I found the arts, somatic work and energetic healing to be the most transformative practices.

I honestly can’t think of a more beautiful profession and consider myself extraordinarily privileged to do this work.

Other facts about me:

  • I am a lover and admirer of all forms of creative expression and culture. Including but not limited to architecture, sports, horticulture, comedy and performance art (dance/poetry/movies/theatre), music in all forms, and of course innovative cooking and food!

  • I thoroughly enjoy a beautiful vista and being surrounded by nature, which is why I love hiking, biking and travelling, especially with people I love.

  • I share a home with my partner and 3 personable kitten babies (ages 5(ish), 13 and 14).

Professional Trainings

Current:

Certified Integrative Mental Health Professional training course: Nutritional and Integrative Medicine for mental health professionals. Dr. Leslie Korn, Ph.D, MPH, LMHC, ACS, FNTP, BCTMB

Integrative Somatic Internal Family Systems, Levels 1-3. Frances Boothe, LICSW, BSC, MSW

Completed 2020+:

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Certification Training. Dr. Lane Pederson, LP, C-DBT

Karuna Usui Reiki Master Certification Training. Bryce Goebel, ICRT, LRMT

Treating Complex Trauma: Beyond Competency. Linda Curran, BCPC, LPC, CAC-D, CCDPD, EMDR-C

Affiliations

American Art Therapy Association

American Art Therapy Credentials Board

Yoga Alliance

South Carolina Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors, Addictions Counselors and Marital & Family Therapists

My Approach

I believe whole person health is a balance between the body (physical and sensory centers), the heart (emotion and social centers), the mind (cognition and thought centers) and intuition/instinct or the universal creative center (the spirit).

When these areas of ourselves are aligned, health and life can flow naturally.

heart

art therapy and client-centered treatment

Art is a natural form of expression for every human. A common art therapy theory and framework is called the Expressive Therapies Continuum. In this approach there are 4 levels or 7 areas that correspond to areas of human creative, mental, emotional and physical development. These include Kinesthetic and Sensory (body level), Perceptual and Emotional (emotion level), Cognitive and Symbolic (mind level) and Creative (spirit).

The goal is to begin in the area that feels most comfortable and then gradually introduce elements of different levels to develop cohesion. The creative level is a state of cohesion between all levels that is often felt as a ‘state of flow’ or ‘being in the zone’ that improves overall well-being.

When we use art in this way, we can benefit from its natural coping and regulatory properties to calm, energize or transmute emotional energy.

Emotions are essential to the human experience. There are no good or bad emotions, just messages and perceptions. Often acknowledging emotions is all that is needed for them to resolve in the body.

mind

Mindfulness and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)

Mindfulness and other therapy modalities, like DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) emphasize developing communication and balance of awareness between the sensations (body based), feelings (emotion based) and thoughts (mind based).

These modalities often include a ‘wise mind’ or ‘higher self’ (spirit), that maintains we are capable of using the information gathered from each area of ourselves to inform the next best course of action.

For many in the western culture, the analytical mind is king. Although the mind is an incredible ally in healing, it alone cannot solve all of our problems. We must have balance in all areas to truly move forward.

body

yoga, trauma informed care and Somatic therapies

To ensure safety in the body, I use a variety of somatic based interventions, informed by clinical trauma professional trainings. These include but are not limited to Trauma Art Narrative Therapy, Sensorimotor art therapy, EMDR techniques, Kripalu, Amrit style and Kundalini yoga as well as ayurvedic principles and chakra/meridian systems of the body.

When traumas occur, the memories of the experience are stored in our bodies as well as our minds. Somatic approaches aim to address the mental, physical and emotional remnants of these experiences.

When the emotional energy from trauma can be released, the body can more easily distribute energy and information in a more balanced way, promoting greater overall health.

SPIRIT

Creative consciousness, intuition and energy work

As an intuitive art therapist, my primary function is to support you as you move through the physical, emotional and mental levels of integration and gently encourage cohesion where your energy, intuition and natural creativity resides.

In order to serve myself and clients during this process, I take my own self-care and attunement seriously. I also may include Usui Ryoho master level and Karuna master level reiki in session. These practices help me stay attuned to what each client may be needing in the moment and what information or practices could be most beneficial.

When I am attuned, clients will often hear me say, “The image in my head is..” or “Would you be open to trying..” or “I’m being guided to mention..”