SOUTH TEXAS ART THERAPY ASSOCIATION

The South Texas Art Therapy Association (STATA) is an affiliate chapter of the American Art Therapy Association. The purpose of this association is to progressively develop the therapeutic use of art, advance research, improve standards of practice and to provide vehicles for the exchange of information and experience.

OUR OBJECTIVES

• to aim treatment most effectively toward rehabilitation and the improvement of human welfare

• to improve the effectiveness of those engaged in art therapy through the means of meetings and seminars

• to provide a professional support system for the profession and its practitioners regionally

• to encourage the development of professional training opportunities in art therapy

• to inform people about the field of art therapy

Meet the Board

Ellen (she/her) is a trauma-informed art therapist and licensed professional counselor based in Austin. She brings over 10 years of experience across community mental health, psychiatric hospitals, pediatric oncology units, and private practice. Her work is grounded in expressive and somatic therapies, with advanced training in EMDR, Internal Family Systems, and Somatic Experiencing. Ellen’s clinical approach is guided by an intersectional, feminist lens and emphasizes nervous system regulation, neuroscience, embodiment, and the therapeutic power of creative process. In addition to her clinical work, she provides supervision and consultation to art therapists and other mental health professionals and regularly offers continuing education and research on trauma-informed care, private practice development, and neuro- and somatic-based art therapy practices.

Hi! Hola! I’m Brii Valdez, LPC, ATR-BC (she/her/ella), a Spanish & English speaking, trauma-informed, first-generation, queer, bicultural Latina mother, clinical psychotherapist, and board-certified art therapist based in Austin, TX. I earned my MA in Art Therapy and Counseling from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2023 and moved to Austin to support folks navigating trauma, identity, and immigration-related stress. I work with survivors of trauma, neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ clients, first-generation Latinos and immigrants, and those managing mood disorders, anxiety, PTSD, grief, or life transitions, blending evidence-based talk therapy with art-based, somatic, and mindfulness practices. As Vice President of the South Texas Art Therapy Association, I am committed to strengthening our regional community by clarifying professional practices, expanding public education, and increasing culturally responsive resources and programming for Spanish-speaking therapists and the communities we serve. When I’m not in session, I practice yoga, spend time with my family, skateboard, soak up time in nature, and engage in my personal art practice.

Gina (she/her) is a Provisional Art Therapist and Associate Licensed Professional Counselor supervised by Alice “Bess” Green, LPC AT/S, ATR-BC. Gina currently works as a Creative Arts Therapist at a virtual intensive outpatient clinic facilitating groups for teens to older adults. She received her graduate degree in art therapy with an emphasis in counseling from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) and a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). As an art therapist, Gina has worked in a variety of settings including a level 1 trauma center, outpatient substance use recovery center, and group therapy practice specializing in neurodivergent teens. She currently volunteers as a grief group facilitator at the Chisti Center and a gallery teacher at the Blanton Museum of Art. Gina is a current board member of the South Texas Art Therapy Association and a former board member of the Writers’ League of Texas. Gina continues to work part-time at The Art Galleries (TAG) at ACC facilitating art-based wellness workshops. As an artist Gina focuses on mindfulness-based art and themes of memory, loss, and mementos. Gina is both a dog and cat person, a native Texan, and “3rd Culture Kid living in with her husband and teenager in Austin, Texas.

I am Kaitlin Maud (she/they), an art therapist in private practice working with adults navigating anxiety, burnout, neurodivergence, and/or chronic illness. I see clients in person at my studio, Maud and Moon, located at the Canopy Arts Complex in East Austin. In addition to my clinical work, I serve on the board of directors for SAGE Studio, an art studio supporting adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and I sit on the Rare Disease Advisory Board for the nonprofit counseling organization Give an Hour. Prior to becoming an art therapist, I spent 15 years in marketing and communications. I am a three-time TEDx speaker and have presented at SXSW and the AATA Conference. I am passionate about research and have published work on psychedelic-assisted art therapy as well as art activism with migrant communities. I joined the South Texas Art Therapy Association board with the goal of fostering a more active, connected, and engaged art therapy community across our region.

Interested in serving on the board? Board terms are for two years with our next election anticipated in December 2027.
Nominate yourself or someone you know for the interested position by emailing us at: stxarttherapy@gmail.com.