Why Did I Become an Art Therapist?

My journey in becoming an Art Therapist started at a young age when I turned to art to express myself and capture what was important to me in my world. In the process as I grew older, I built my skill which fueled the interest in continuing this as an outlet, and also started to provide positive verbal recognition from teachers and peers. (As a side note any of those new to Art Therapy, please note skill is not necessary to achieve the benefits of Art Therapy, I am mentioning this as a precursor to how I found my way to art therapy.) 

As I moved through into high school, I was able to feel and see the power of using art in art classes as a means of expressing an array of emotions including painful ones. A key drawing that is hanging in my home comes to mind that depicts part of my journey with pain and spiritual growth. This is a pivotal part in what I believe led me to pursue art and try to deeper understand how art could provide deep healing.

Following high school I began my journey at York University Visual Arts program, where I delved more into using various forms of art to create and give expression to experiences. In second year, I pursued an introductory to Psychology course and realized for the first time much of what I was experiencing internally was explained and understood in this field, and I felt less alone in my experiences. I could not get enough of some of the concepts taught, and knew intuitively I needed to pursue this in addition to Visual Arts. Thus I embarked on completing a double major which worked out well in my experience, as I found York to have a strong interdisciplinary approach. As I neared my final year of my undergraduate degree, I came upon Art Therapy. And I realized my ability to trust my intuition two years prior, had set me on the trajectory that I knew I needed to do, but did not have all the pieces to understand why or how it would all come together.

​Following graduation, I took two years travelling and working abroad, as I wanted to be certain that Art Therapy was the path I was destined to follow. My experiences showed me again and again, the healing power of creativity, and my continued interest to understand more about the field of psychology and how I could help others. I continued to have more certainty and more clarity about my path, and when I started my master’s level studies in Art Therapy, I knew I had found the very place I needed to be. As therapists we are strongly encouraged to do our own therapy journey, and I embarked on mine that included working with Art Therapists and Therapists trained in other modalities.

On a whole, I became an Art Therapist from my own healing journey and connection to art. I trusted my intuition which brought me to the very path I needed to be. Once I had found the path art therapy spoke to me on a deep level, and I knew from my own lived experience of seeing the power of art I could continue to heal myself and provide the healing space for others.

If you need additional support reach out to me, I am Nicole Levy, and I am here as your helping hand, let’s get started, book your complimentary initial consult today https://www.mindfulhealingjourney.ca/#/
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