Credentials:
- Master of Arts in Art Therapy, New York University, NY, NY
- Trained in Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)
- Trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Trained in Loss and Bereavement Therapy for Children and Adolescents
Professional:
Throughout her years of practice, Laura has worked with youth and adults who have experienced complex trauma and related emotional and behavioral challenges, including aggression, self-harming behaviors, suicidality, difficulties regulating mood, addictions, and psychosis. Laura started her career working with adolescents in residential mental health treatment in 2013. In her roles there, as both a Clinician and Creative Arts Therapist, Laura collaborated with adolescents and families, approaching care through a creative, trauma-informed, and individualized lens. Laura believes that positive change is fostered through open communication, collaboration, and shared goals, where youth and families have a voice in treatment. Laura has also had the opportunity to pilot a Creative Arts Therapy Program for Veterans in residential substance use treatment and spent several years developing and implementing group programming on an inpatient chemical dependency rehabilitation unit. These experiences have given Laura a deep understanding of residential care and treatment services, as well as insight into the importance of creating therapeutic spaces that offer a sense of safety, collaboration, and understanding.
Laura has been an Internship Supervisor for graduate-level Creative Arts Therapy students since 2015 and has continued mentoring in her role as an adjunct professor at New York University, where she teaches Art Therapy with Adolescents and Internship in Art Therapy. Laura’s creative approaches to this work have also been published in her authored manuscript in the International Art Therapy Journal (May, 2024).
Personal:
Laura spends most of her free time with her husband and young daughter swimming, dancing, gardening, and adventuring. She coaches her daughter’s softball team and plays in an adult league, diving in the dirt as the 2nd baseman. Laura is also a visual artist, whose work can be described as pop surrealism and includes drawings, paintings, murals, and street art. Her artwork has been shown and published since 2008.
Working in Mental Health & Human Services since 2013
Working at Shrub Oak International School since 2024
