The Art of Therapy
About Me
Jennifer D. Brown
ATR-BC, Psy.D.
ABOUT ME
As a psychologist and art therapist, I aim to help others create meaningful, fulfilling lives. My approach to therapy is relational, psychodynamic, mindfulness-based and research informed. I am an astute, intuitive guide for my clients through the clinical process, facilitating change and creating a space for healing. I believe in a collaborative relationship, while supporting individual strengths and meeting the specific needs of the person. In addition to my skills as a clinician, I am an experienced practitioner of mindfulness meditation and board certified art therapist. I treat difficulties associated with mood, anxiety, trauma, and major mental illness as well as life struggles in adjustment (i.e. relationships, bereavement, job related stress). I welcome clients from all ethnicities, cultures, and sexual orientations.
Experience
In 2000, I moved from San Francisco to study art therapy at New York University. As an art therapy intern, I worked with women and children, who were victims of domestic violence living in shelters. I’ve worked in hospice care for people with HIV/AIDS in treatment for addiction recovery at the Robert Mapplethorpe Treatment Center. On September 11, tragedy shocked the nation, completely changing New York City. Already trauma informed and training, but barely a graduate, I was recruited to work with Project Liberty, an organization funded by FEMA. Placed within Brooklyn Public schools, I utilized visual arts and other creative media with children and families affected by 911. I completed the master’s degree in art therapy in 2002 and continue as an art therapist in New York.
In 2003, I accepted the Art Therapy Fellowship, in Marriage and Family Therapy at Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The fellowship allowed me to continue with children and families while learning a new treatment modality.
In 2005, I entered the doctoral program at Pepperdine University. My training included counseling in addiction recovery with homeless men at the Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles, an area often referred to as skid row. I provided counseling in addition to testing in achievement for youth at Long Beach Job Corp, an alternative vocational skills center. During a year rotation at Long Beach Memorial hospital, I provided neuropsychological testing, assessment and psychological reports for patients with traumatic brain injuries. Through out my training and education, I made great effort to integrate my art therapy background. This effort culminated into the doctoral thesis I’d later complete, a synthesis of mindfulness, art therapy and clinical practice.
In 2009, I moved to Boston, working as a counselor and victims advocate for Cambridge Health Alliance, Victims of Violence, within the Center for Homicide Bereavement, leaving after a year to start internship training. My clinical training was completed at Boston University Medical Center in 2010 (APA accredited) and I received the doctoral degree from Pepperdine University 2011. In 2012, I began a postdoctoral fellowship with Children’s Services of Roxbury, assisting in the creation of an outpatient mental health clinic. I accepted a Psychology Fellowship in the counseling center at Brandeis University, assisting in the development and mental health needs of emerging adults. I remained with the university as a licensed staff psychologist until I formed my private practice, The Art of Therapy.