Tonja Graves, ATR,  is a Registered Art Therapist who practices Psychotherapy and Expressive Arts Therapy. She received a Master of Professional Studies in Art Therapy and Creativity Development from Pratt Art Institute in New York in 2003 as well as a Master of Fine Art in Visual Arts from Azusa Pacific University in California in 2013. She began working in the counseling field in 1996 and has extensive experience working with children, teens, adults, seniors, families, and groups.

Tonja’s prior experience includes working in inpatient psychiatric facilities, educational settings (preschool through graduate level), and nursing homes where she has worked with individuals from diverse populations and backgrounds. She has experience supporting those struggling with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, divorce transition, self-harm, emotional and physical abuse, ADHD, bullying, behavioral difficulties in children, parenting education and skills, attachment disorder, sensory challenges, bereavement in children and adults, personal empowerment, self-care, boundary setting, complex grief, stress from adult life transitions, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Tonja is dedicated to using a holistic approach, one where the mind, body, and spirit are part of the therapeutic process. She believes in living life with joy, cultivating peace by being present in the moment, and consciously living a life free from suffering. She implements directive and non-directive modalities to process feelings and foster communication. Tonja utilizes a variety of counseling techniques to best support her clients through their journey, such as Art Therapy, Play Therapy, Sand-Tray, Mindfulness-Based Counseling, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), Psychodynamic Talk Therapy, and Solution-Focused Therapy. Her passion is helping clients gain effective coping skills, greater self-awareness, increased communication skills, and improved self-esteem.

Tonja uses an empathetic approach and believes in building a trusting relationship with clients, advocating that a healthy relationship to oneself is crucial to the therapeutic process. She strives to provide modalities to improve a client’s emotional, mental, and physical health through the creative process. She is dedicated to creating a safe space where she and her clients can work collaboratively to overcome life challenges.

“My journey to Art Therapy began in childhood where I found art materials to be a place of solace from social anxiety. My grandmother encouraged creativity during my childhood and it became a natural way for me to communicate feelings. Through the years I continued to connect to art as a means of expression. The loss of my father to cardiovascular disease was where I found art to be therapeutic in the healing process. After I received my B.A. in Psychology I worked as a psychiatric technician in an inpatient psychiatric facility throughout an eight-year span. An Art Therapist was scheduled once a week to provide therapy with clients in a group setting. The patients that were part of these group sessions would reveal more about themselves in a one-hour session than they would express within a 40-hour workweek. It was in observing these sessions that I realized the impact art could have on behavioral health within the therapeutic setting. I have discovered through my own art practice as well as counseling and teaching that art can be used in an experiential way in order to communicate and heal trauma. For the past twenty years I have worked with children, youth, and adults in a variety of settings including educational, rehabilitative, and clinical settings: schools, mental health centers, hospitals, and geriatric facilities.

“I am passionate about bringing hope and healing to children and families through the creative arts therapies. Art therapy is about teaching individuals to observe through creativity and then respond. I work to lead clients into a space that helps heal and repair trauma. I meet clients’ needs by finding connections and opportunities to expand self-discovery and human understanding. Drawing on an array of experiences, I have employed an interdisciplinary therapeutic approach to accomplish these goals, and I desire the opportunity to empower others through this.”