Incorporating art in treatment can facilitate whole brain integration and can enhance the treatment process.
About
Coastal Art Therapy Services was founded to increase accessibility to creativity in mental health in the Hampton Roads community and specializes in art therapy and evidence-based counseling to help clients heal from life’s challenges. We value genuine, inclusive, sustainable clinical practice supported by research and strive to have CATS be the central hub for effective creative arts therapists in the Hampton Roads area.
Meet the practice owner
Lisa C. Thomas, LPC, ATR-BC
Owner
Since 2018, I’ve worked in the mental health profession in residential, school, outpatient, and private practice settings. I have a humanistic approach to the therapeutic relationship allowing me to genuinely connect with my clients and incorporate art therapy, CBT, DBT, RO DBT, and CPT approaches to help make progress in treatment. I specialize in trauma- and neuroscience-informed art psychotherapy and counseling, am foundationally trained in DBT, and have been trained by Dr. Alan Fruzzetti to provide DBT for parents, couples, and families. I am intensively trained to provide CPT for PTSD and am level 2-trained in RO DBT.
Before changing careers, I studied the neurobiology of addiction at the Scripps Research Institute and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, providing me with a unique understanding of brain-behavior relationships in the context of addiction and drug dependence on a neuronal level. My educational and research background in neuroscience has also solidified my interest and passion in art therapy through a neuroscience-informed lens.
I believe in what I do and I look forward to working with you.
Education:
BS in Physiology and Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of California, San Diego
MS in Art Therapy and Counseling from Eastern Virginia Medical School
Licenses/Certifications:
LPC (VA) 0701011111
ATR-BC 19-507
