East Bay Art Therapy, 55 Santa Clara Avenue Suite 220, Oakland, CA (2026)

01/09/2026

What would change if you let yourself take up more space in your life?

This piece, "Sun Burst", by EBAT Art Therapist Sophia, was created as an exploration of visibility, presence, and self-permission. ☀️

She states, “As I created it, the boldness of the colors became a reminder that I am allowed to be seen, in my professional work, in my creativity, in my hobbies, and in the many ways I show up in my world. The colors did not hold back. They expanded without apology.”

🎨 Art has a way of surfacing what words often cannot, especially the places where fear or self-doubt quietly shape our choices.

There are often places in our lives where we feel called to step forward, yet hesitate because fear of failure, judgment, or taking up “too much” space holds us back.

Naming it can be the first act of courage.
➡️ One word: where do you want to take up more space right now? (Let us know in the comments!)

Art therapy is not about making something “good.”

It’s about using the creative process as a clinically informed pathway to insight, regulation, & growth.

You don’t have to be an artist, just open to curiosity.

Art therapy offers a structured, supportive space to explore these inner experiences with an Art Therapist who has completed extensive education and clinical training.

🖌️ Explore art therapy with East Bay Art Therapy and discover what can unfold when creativity is met with therapeutic care.

📆 Schedule a Therapist Matching Call today!

eastbayarttherapy.com

01/06/2026

𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀! 🎨

Meet Sonja Wishard, MA, LMFT, ATR-P (she/her), an EBAT Art Therapist whose approach is flexible, collaborative, and tailored to each client’s age, needs, &creative interests.

🖌️ Client-led, responsive art therapy
🖌️ Supporting adults through meaningful “a-ha” moments
🖌️ Honoring children’s innate wisdom through art, play, and presence
🖌️ Personal creative practice using writing, watercolor, brush pens, and collage
🖌️ Art as a tool for processing grief, transition, and becoming

👉 𝗦𝘄𝗶𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗷𝗮’𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸, 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵, & 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

At EBAT, we believe the therapist’s creative practice matters.

🤔 Curious how art therapy can support your well-being and goals?

𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆.

eastbayarttherapy.com

01/01/2026

𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗬𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 | 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆

In 2025, EBAT continued to expand access to creative art therapy services throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, serving individuals, families, schools, agencies, community organizations, and businesses.

🖌️ 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
• Marked two years of providing creative art therapy groups in partnership with Sutter Health
• Expanded clinical and community-based services across the Bay Area
• Welcomed new clinicians and staff to the EBAT team
• Promoted Lauren to Clinical Supervisor in recognition of her leadership and clinical expertise
• Facilitated wellness events for businesses and organizations
• Provided education and support for non-clinicians to ethically and safely incorporate art-based practices with clients
• Strengthened internal community through staff gatherings and professional collaboration

In addition to direct services, EBAT continued to share educational art prompts to support emotional wellness.

👉 One of the most widely engaged posts this year, “Ways to Express Your Anger,” highlighted accessible, developmentally appropriate approaches to emotional expression through art.

EBAT remains committed to ethical, trauma-informed, and creative approaches that support mental health, connection, and healing within the communities it serves.

We are looking forward to great things in 2026!

12/30/2025

Creativity has long been recognized as a powerful pathway for navigating life’s challenges. 🎨

In art therapy, the creative process becomes more than self-expression. It becomes a structured, supportive, and clinically informed way to explore emotions, process experiences, and build resilience.

Author Sarah Jio has shared this reflection in the context of her own life experiences, noting how engaging with art supported her through periods of emotional challenge.

The quote is attributed to her work, All the Flowers in Paris, reflecting on how creativity & art helped her personally navigate difficult times. 🌷

Art therapy offers a space where words are not always required. Through image making, symbolism, and reflection, clients can access inner experiences that may feel difficult to articulate, especially during periods of stress, grief, transition, or emotional overwhelm.

At East Bay Art Therapy, we integrate creativity with evidence-based therapeutic approaches to support emotional regulation, insight, and healing.

🖌️Art is not about skill or performance. It is about connection, meaning-making, and meeting yourself with compassion in the present moment.

If you are navigating a difficult season and are curious about how art therapy can support your mental and emotional well-being, we invite you to explore our services.

Learn more about art therapy and our services at East Bay Art Therapy.

👉 Schedule a Therapist Matching Call to get started. Link in bio

eastbayarttherapy.com

12/26/2025

🎨Therapeutic Art Making in Clinical Practice for Non-Art Therapists

Are you a mental health clinician curious about how to bring art into your sessions ethically and effectively for your clients well-being?

No need to go in blind anymore with creative interventions.

Art is a powerful way to connect, and build rapport in a therapeutic relationships.

What may be difficult for your clients to express in words can become more accessible when they are given the opportunity to express themselves through a creative art form.

Art making can serve as a bottom-up, somatic process that can help your clients communicate in a way that may feel safer for them.

In this training, you’ll gain the following:

🖌️Learn the history of art therapy and the psychology behind the creative process

🖌️Explore case examples that show how art can deepen therapeutic work

🖌️Get hands-on experience with art-making directives (yes, you’ll create your own art!)

This training will not make you an Art Therapist, but it will equip you with practical skills and activities to ethically incorporate into your practice, helping you build rapport and enrich the therapeutic relationship.

Attend VIRTUALLY via zoom with a supply list sent in advance

➡️Sign up today (link in bio) or email Tonia@eastbayarttherapy.com to reserve your place and expand your therapeutic toolbox for the new year!

12/23/2025

📣 Hiring Alert! Seeking a talented, friendly professional!

Are you a highly organized, detail-oriented, empathetic, & creative Administrative Assistant & Intake Coordinator?

If so, we have an opening to join our team!

We are a Creative Arts Therapists Practice, serving children, families & couples, & individuals in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In this role, you would be our first point of contact for potential clients. The main duty of this position would be to match potential clients with a therapist on our team for services, as well as assist our owner with administrative tasks.

This is a HYBRID (80% Remote, 20% In-Person, mostly Oakland, CA, and sometimes throughout SF Bay Area), part-time role, with room for growth in our dynamic creative arts therapy company.

Bilingual in Spanish is preferred.

👉 For a detailed description, including requirements, pay scale, and benefits, please visit our careers page on the East Bay Art Therapy Website.

https://eastbayarttherapy.com

📩 Send cover letter & resume directly to tonia@eastbayarttherapy.com

12/16/2025

Ground your nervous system with Art! 🧘

The holiday season can bring moments of connection alongside increased stress, sensory input, & emotional demands.

👉 These 5 art-based grounding activities offer gentle, process-focused ways to support regulation, presence, and nervous system calming through creative expression.

They can be adapted for different ages & ability levels, and no artistic experience is needed.

🔖 SAVE this post to return to when grounding support is helpful, & comment below to let us know which one you’re going to try first.

1. Washes of Color Art 🖌️
2. Grounding Circle Art 🟣
3. Shape Fill-in Art 🧩
4. Play Art 🖐️
5. Gratitude Symbols Art 🙏

12/16/2025

👏💯

12/11/2025

🖌️🍎 The Art of Nourishment: How Art Therapy Supports Eating Disorder Recovery

Eating disorders can profoundly impact a person’s relationship with food, their body, & their emotional well-being.

👉 In our latest blog post, EBAT Art Therapist Zaina Berger, MA, ATR-P, AMFT, shares her clinical insight into how art therapy can support individuals navigating these complex challenges.

Zaina specializes in working with clients with eating disorders, bringing both therapeutic skill & a trauma-informed, compassionate approach to her work.

The article explores how guided art directives encourage clients to externalize their experiences, examine difficult emotions, & build self-awareness in a safe & supportive therapeutic environment.

Zaina highlights an art directive that invites clients to paint core emotions to reconnect with internal states that may feel overwhelming or difficult to name.

🖍️ This directive is especially supportive for folx with eating disorders, helping reduce emotional avoidance, increase emotional awareness, & provide a visual vocabulary for feelings, offering an alternative to relying on eating disorder behaviors to express distress.

Through creative practices such as life-size body outlines or sculpting representations of food & nourishment, clients can begin to recognize distorted self-perceptions & cultivate greater self-compassion.

This blog provides an accessible introduction to how art therapy can complement eating disorder treatment and help clients reconnect with themselves through creative expression.

📖 Read the full blog on our website (link in bio) to learn more about how Art Therapy supports healing for individuals with eating disorders.

https://eastbayarttherapy.com/blog

💗 Follow us for Art Therapy awareness, creative mental health resources, and information about our clinical services.

📱Want to work with Zaina? Schedule a Therapist Matching Call to explore Art Therapy for Eating Disorder Recovery.

12/09/2025

Need Motivation? 🫩Let’s Create it together!

👉What Holds Me Back & What Inspires Me?

This art activity we are highlighting supports motivation by helping you explore what holds you back & what inspires you to move forward.

🎨Creative activities like this offer a expressive outlet to process challenges, discover what drives you, and reconnect with your strengths.

This kind of exploration can awaken playfulness, problem solving, and self-expression helping you build confidence, clarity, and a renewed sense of direction. 🙌

In this art activity, start by creating a simple accordion-style book:

• One side lists or illustrates the things that what holds you back
• The other side represents what supports & inspires you in life

For example, if you’re feeling anxious or emotionally dysregulated, your “inspiration” side might include stepping outside for fresh air or taking a moment of self-compassion.

Try this out! You don’t have to be an artist to do this.

🔖Save this when you need motivation or a creative way to support yourself.

💗Follow us for Art Therapy awareness, creative mental health resources, & information about our clinical services.

12/04/2025

🎨 Art Therapist Spotlight! Meet Aurora

Aurora Daigle is an Art Therapist who was born and raised in New Orleans. Aurora first moved to the Bay Area in 2013 and graduated from San Francisco Art Institute in 2018.

While living in Oakland, she stumbled across Creative Growth Art Center & the open studio model of art therapy inspired her to go on to pursue her master's degree. In 2022, she graduated with her Master's in Art Therapy from Pratt Institute. Aurora is a Provisional Art Therapist working towards full professional credentialing in art therapy.

Aurora has a holistic approach to both life and art making and is passionate about being of service to people and the planet. She believes that through the art process one can deepen their relationship with themself and restore connections to the world around them.

Aurora specializes in working with new parents, youth struggling with anxiety and depression, grief, folx with substance use, learning and developmental disabilities, and those navigating life transitions and searching for purpose.

Aurora is committed to helping guide and hold space for people so that they may find their way to healing through creation and self-expression.

Aurora’s therapeutic approach draws on nature-based expressive arts therapy, mindfulness, somatic, & internal family systems frameworks.

Aurora has worked with various populations including systems-involved children, adolescents, and young adults in Brooklyn, NY. Aurora has also worked with adults in an inpatient substance use treatment facility in New Orleans.

Aurora is also an interdisciplinary visual artist whose focus is ceramic sculpture. In her free time, Aurora enjoys dancing, cooking, and going for hikes with loved ones.

Aurora is available to see clients ages 4+ at EBAT's Oakland Office on Mondays and Tuesdays (or virtually). Aurora also works off-site for EBAT providing art therapy groups at Oakland Technical High School in Oakland Unified School District.

ATR-P #24-045 National
Supervised by Tonia Herrero, MPS, ATR-BC, LCAT, ATCS

➡️ If you are interested in working with Aurora, visit eastbayarttherapy.com (link in bio) for a Therapist Matching Call.

East Bay Art Therapy

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