Aimee Steffen - Art Therapist

I am a Counselor and an Art Therapist because I personally know how life changing therapy can be. I witnessed a school shooting at Northern Illinois University while I was in undergrad in 2008. I was at a complete loss as to how to begin to understand what had happened. The art program that I was a member of was an incredibly close community. The support I found there, along with individual therapy and my personal art making allowed me to process what I was feeling. This experience directly impacted the direction that I saw my life taking. There are multiple ways we are creative and find joy and meaning in our lives which means we should look at multiple ways to approach treatment. The unexpected creative expression generated from art therapy builds new neural pathways, which leads to physical healing in the brain. Community is produced from this safe, supportive, and exploratory environment. I believe in a non-judgmental therapeutic relationship and a harm reduction approach to addiction. My treatment approach is based on the needs of each individual and integrates elements of : trauma informed therapy, art therapy, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), strength-based therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), and multicultural and social justice informed counseling practices.