top of page

SCHOOL of Expressive Therapy 

Vision Statement of the School of Expressive Therapy

​

At the School of Expressive Therapy, our vision is to cultivate a community where creativity and healing harmoniously intertwine, inspired by the teachings of the Bible. We aspire to empower individuals to find solace, strength, and self-expression through therapeutic arts, guided by the compassionate principles of love, hope, and restoration as exemplified in the Scriptures.

​

Drawing from the wisdom of Proverbs 16:24, "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones," we believe that expressive therapy can provide profound emotional and spiritual healing. Our commitment is to foster an environment where every individual feels valued and heard, embracing the transformative power of art, music, dance, and drama as conduits for personal and communal growth.

​

Guided by the promise of Isaiah 61:3, "To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair," we envision a future where the School of Expressive Therapy stands as a beacon of hope and renewal. Through our programs, we seek to instill a sense of purpose and joy, enabling individuals to rise above life's challenges and contribute positively to the world around them.

Goals for the School of Expressive Therapy

​

  1. Promote Healing and Wholeness through Creativity
    The primary goal of the School of Expressive Therapy is to facilitate healing and wholeness through various forms of creative expression such as art, music, dance, and drama. This aligns with the biblical principle found in Psalm 147:3, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." By providing students with tools and techniques to express and process their emotions, we aim to contribute to their overall well-being and spiritual growth.

  2. Cultivate Compassion and Empathy in Students
    Another core objective is to nurture compassion and empathy in our students, enabling them to better understand and support others in their therapeutic practice. This goal is inspired by Ephesians 4:32, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Through experiential learning and reflective practices, students will develop a deeper sense of empathy, which is essential for effective therapeutic relationships.

  3. Foster a Community of Support and Encouragement
    Creating a supportive and encouraging community is essential for the growth and development of our students. This objective is rooted in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." The school aims to build a nurturing environment where students feel valued and supported, encouraging them to share their creative works and personal journeys openly.

By embedding these goals within the framework of biblical principles, the School of Expressive Therapy strives to equip students with both the professional skills and spiritual grounding necessary for effective and compassionate therapeutic practice.

FAITH BASED

“Mystery is endless knowability.” — Richard Rohr

My approach to expressive arts therapy is shaped by more than three decades of working across two worlds that many keep separate: the sanctuary and the therapy room. As a worship artist, church musician, and Registered Expressive Arts Therapist, I've come to believe that creativity and healing are not parallel paths — they are the same path, walked with different vocabularies. Music, movement, image, and story have always been how people process what words alone cannot hold, and my training — from conducting choirs and playing organ, to earning my MA in Creative Arts & Play Therapy and my Doctor of Ministry in Arts & Theology — has taught me to trust the arts as a legitimate, rigorous, and deeply human therapeutic language.

This conviction is the foundation of the F.A.I.T.H. framework I use at TheraHarmony — School of Expressive Therapy (SET):

F — Find Peace through Expression

Creative expression — whether through art, music, or writing — offers a way to move through anxiety toward peace, not by suppressing what's difficult but by giving it a form.

​

A — Acknowledge Emotions Honestly

Healing begins with honest naming. Expressive arts create a safe container for people to acknowledge pain, brokenness, or confusion without needing to explain it away first.

​

I — Inspire Hope through Creativity

The act of making something — a song, an image, a movement — is itself an act of hope. It says a future is still possible, even in the middle of hardship.

​

T — Transform Pain into Purpose

My own journey  taught me firsthand that pain does not have to stay pain; it can be reshaped into purpose. Working with at-risk youth, grieving families, and multicultural congregations for over 30 years has shown me the same is true for others: creative work can turn suffering into meaning and direction, rather than leaving it simply endured.

​

H — Harmonize Body, Mind, Heart & Spirit

A great symphony does not stay with major chords alone — it moves through a numinous flow of combinations, colors, and shapes, from the loudest crescendo to the sound of silence. The creative process works the same way in a person: it doesn't stop at emotional insight. Music, movement, and art bring the physical, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of a person into that same kind of movement — tension and rest, sound and silence — which is where lasting integration and wholeness take root.

I bring this framework into every context I work in — supervising postgraduate students, developing therapeutic music and arts programming for youth in residential and behavioral health settings at Youth for Tomorrow, creating and offering School of Expressive Therapy programming, and directing worship arts in multicultural congregations. Across all of it, my clinical training in Creative Arts & Play Therapy, HeartMath, Enneagram, and Choice/Reality Therapy gives me the tools; but it's the F.A.I.T.H. framework that gives that work its center of gravity — the conviction that every person, regardless of background or circumstance, can find peace, hope, and wholeness through the creative act.

bottom of page