The Artful Life

Meet The Therapist: Alfred (Al) Vautour, MSW LICSW, RDT Al, a licensed independent social worker and a registered drama therapist, has worked with children and adults in various capacities over 20 years including: in-school counseling, Youth Fire-Setters, Emergency Service Professionals, Immigrants and specializes with children on the Autism Spectrum. As an artist and as a clinician Al is committed to the central place of play, drama and story in the lives of his clients. He strives to assist individuals in accessing their stories through play and drama, always looking toward their existing strengths and emerging skills to bring about solutions to their challenges. Though specializing in Drama Therapy, his work is supported and informed by the wide use of expressive arts therapies and as such strives to pair the best modalities to the needs of his clients. Al is also a DBT trained therapist. Question: How did you get into this field? Answer:   I entered my undergraduate...

Meet The Therapist: Lisa Silveria, MA Lisa is an Expressive Arts Therapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor. She received her MA in Expressive Arts Therapy in 1993, and her training was focused on using the various arts modalities to assist others in exploring their issues, and expressing their feelings through the creative process. Lisa's professional experience has included working with a myriad of populations, including children and adults dealing with depression, anxiety, trauma, and addiction. Her professional specialties are sexual abuse and domestic violence. Lisa is also an adjunct faculty at Lesley University and Endicott College. Lisa is trained in both EMDR and DBT.   Question: How did you get into this field? Answer:   I've always loved the arts, and had been involved in music and drama activities. I had a BA in psychology, and was working at an alternative school for teens when I had the opportunity to meet and observe the work of the expressiv...

Meet The Therapist: Courtney Miranda, LMHC Courtney is an expressive arts therapist and mental health counselor who earned her Masters degree in Expressive Arts Therapies and Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University in 2015. She began her clinical career at Children’s Friend and Family Services working with children, adolescents, and adults, providing individual, family, group, and couple’s counseling in an outpatient and community-health based setting. In this clinical setting, she provided a multi-disciplinary approach of combining holistic, intermodal, creative modalities, with CBT, DBT, narrative, mindfulness, strength-based and person-centered care. She specializes in supporting and providing care for an array of presenting problems/concerns: mental health related issues, trauma-informed care/response, women’s/girl’s issues, depression, anxiety, family systems, cultural competency, grief/loss, self-identity development, self-exploration/growth, communication is...

Meet The Therapist: Diane Larochelle, MA Diane is a graduate of Lesley University with a MA in Mental Health Counseling and Expressive Arts Therapy. She has experience working with individuals who have lived experience with trauma recovery, substance use disorders, and mental health issues. Diane has worked as a classroom teacher and is familiar with the unique needs of children and families coping with mental health issues and emotional disabilities in schools.  In addition to using expressive arts in treatment, she is trained  in Trauma Informed Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Soul Collage®. Diane is an experienced group leader having facilitated groups for adult women survivors of sexual trauma, women with substance abuse, and expressive arts therapy groups for youth. Diane engages clients through an attitude of empowerment and education, understanding that clients hold valuable information and insight into their needs and dreams. Combini...

Meet The Therapist: Lyndsay Whitaker, MA Lyndsay is a mental health counselor, art therapist, and artist who holds a Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a specialization in Art Therapy from Lesley University. In addition to adolescents and families, Lyndsay also works with adults and older adults with a diverse range of treatment issues. Her areas of clinical expertise include: anxiety, depression, racing thoughts, trauma, PTSD, ODD, dementia and Alzheimer’s, and group work. Clinically, Lyndsay’s approach is described as: non-judgmental, client-centered, and strengths-based. As an art therapist, she is trained in using the arts (drawing, painting, collage, fiber arts, journaling, photography, poetry, sculpture, etc) to help her clients identify and express their thoughts and feelings.  Art is the language of images, and as such, bypasses the verbal processing centers of the brain, making it universally accessible. Lyndsay often utilizes the Attac...