“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.”

— Georgia O’Keeffe

EXPRESSIVE ARTs therapy

Expressive arts therapy at Narrative Healing Therapy offers a supportive, nonjudgmental space to explore emotions, experiences, relationships, identity, grief, trauma, and personal growth through creativity and artistic expression.

This work is rooted in the belief that not every experience can be fully understood or expressed through words alone. Images, colors, symbols, textures, writing, poetry, storytelling, and the creative process can offer additional ways to communicate, make meaning, and connect with parts of ourselves that may feel difficult to access.

Using a holistic and culturally responsive approach, expressive arts therapy helps clients explore the experiences and identities that shape their lives. Through creativity, clients may develop greater insight, recognize patterns, process difficult experiences, and discover new ways of understanding themselves and their stories.

Expressive arts therapy may support adolescents and adults navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, identity, self-esteem, emotional regulation, life transitions, relationship challenges, or experiences that feel difficult to put into words.

No artistic experience or creative skill is needed. Expressive arts therapy is not about creating a perfect finished product. It is about using the creative process as a meaningful tool for expression, reflection, connection, and healing.

At Narrative Healing Therapy, expressive arts approaches are offered by Rachael Bolaños Jackson and Jackie Dehner. Rachael primarily incorporates visual and creative expression, while Jackie’s work often includes writing, poetry, journaling, metaphor, and storytelling.

Connect with Rachael
Connect with Jackie

areas of focus

  • Persistent worry, tension, overwhelm, or difficulty managing everyday stressors.

  • Struggles with body acceptance, confidence, self-worth, or negative self-perception.

  • Difficulty identifying, communicating, or expressing thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences.

  • Exploration of how race, culture, heritage, and lived experiences shape identity and belonging.

  • Ongoing sadness, low motivation, disconnection, hopelessness, or loss of interest and enjoyment.

  • Difficulty understanding, expressing, or managing intense and overwhelming emotions.

  • Emotional wounds, beliefs, and relationship patterns passed down through families and generations.

  • Emotional challenges related to death, separation, major change, or other meaningful losses.

  • Questions or struggles related to self-understanding, acceptance, connection, and finding where you belong.

  • Stress, uncertainty, or emotional difficulty related to significant changes and new stages of life.

  • Emotional impacts of discrimination, exclusion, oppression, and navigating systemic barriers.

  • A desire to better understand yourself, identify personal strengths, and explore new possibilities.

  • Difficulty expressing needs, resolving conflict, establishing boundaries, or connecting with others.

  • Lasting emotional, relational, or physical effects of distressing, harmful, or overwhelming experiences.