Mel and Jessica with artistic options art therapy joins the Healthy Living Podcast

Mel Alexander specializes in using art to work with adolescents and adults who are going through “stage of life” changes, exploring identity, looking to practice self-care and mindfulness, as well as working with anxiety, depression, and grief.  

Jessica Pedroza Blevins is a Registered Art Therapist, artist, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist from Southern California. She currently provides individual therapy to participants in a private practice setting. 

Clinical art therapy is focused on improving mental health. It involves working with a therapist to make art in session and processing the art, unexpected emotions, and insights that may arise.  The therapist works with the client to establish what the client needs help with and will make a commitment to help facilitate that process with the client. 

Using art as therapy works towards outcomes such as relaxation, self-care, learning new skills, and creating a sense of well-being. The act of creative expression drives therapeutic art making. Engaging in art making is therapeutic as it takes us from the stress of our day-to-day lives and allows us to explore and express emotion. Art as therapy can also be used to practice mindfulness, stress management, and more! As art as therapy is not clinical art therapy, it does not provide any psychotherapy for mental health or illness. 

https://www.artisticoptionsarttherapy.com

Intro for podcast