Deer Lake (2009) oil on canvas 30x40 inches 

artist & art therapist.

What is Art Therapy?

Art therapy is a mental health profession in which clients, facilitated by the art therapist, use art media, the creative process, and the resulting artwork to explore their feelings, reconcile emotional conflicts, foster self-awareness, manage behavior and addictions, develop social skills, improve reality orientation, reduce anxiety, and increase self-esteem. A goal in art therapy is to improve or restore a client’s functioning and his or her sense of personal well-being. Art therapy practice requires knowledge of visual art (drawing, painting, sculpture, and other art forms) and the creative process, as well as of human development, psychological, and counseling theories and techniques.  


Today art therapy is a widely practiced in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities, wellness centers, forensic institutions, schools, crisis centers, senior communities, private practice, and other clinical and community settings. During individual and/or group sessions art therapists elicit their clients’ inherent capacity for art making to enhance their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Research supports the use of art therapy within a professional relationship for the therapeutic benefits gained through artistic self-expression and reflection for individuals who experience illness, trauma, and mental health problems and those seeking personal growth. 

Who benefits from art therapy?
Art therapy is practiced in mental health, rehabilitation, medical, educational, forensic, wellness, private practice and community settings with diverse client populations in individual, couples, family, and group therapy formats. Art therapy is an effective treatment for people experiencing developmental, medical, educational, and social or psychological impairment. Individuals who benefit from art therapy include those who have survived trauma resulting from combat, abuse, and natural disaster; persons with adverse physical health conditions such as cancer, traumatic brain injury, and other health disability; and persons with autism, dementia, depression, and other disorders. Art therapy helps people resolve conflicts, improve interpersonal skills, manage problematic behaviors, reduce negative stress, and achieve personal insight. Art therapy also provides an opportunity to enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of art making.


For more information visit the American Art Therapy Association at www.arttherpy.org

Presentations & Lectures

  • October 26, 2013 - NJ Art Therapy Association, Annual Meeting, “Panel Discussion: NJ’s licensing efforts.”  The JFK School, Newark, NJ.
  • June 30, 2013 - American Art Therapy Association, Annual Conference, “Master Supervision Group: Reconnecting the Art Therapist with the Healing Presence.” Seattle, WA.
  • April 2, 2013 - Farliegh Dickenson University, Guest Lecturer, “Art Therapy in the Crisis Setting.” Undergraduate Psychology Department, Madison, New Jersey.
  • March 1, 2013 - The Healing Arts, Clinical Presenter, “Art therapy in the Crisis Center" Montclair art Museum, Montclair, NJ.
  • November 17, 2012 - NJ Art Therapy Association, Annual Meeting, “Panel Discussion: The history, current state and future of  NJ’s licensing efforts.” Fairleigh Dickenson University, Madison, NJ.
  • April 10, 2012 - New York University, Guest Lecturer, “Licensing Art Therapists: National Trends and Discussion” Department of Art and Art Professions, New York, NY.
  • January 12, 2012  - New York University, Guest Lecturer, “The Art of Loss: Supporting Resiliency in Individuals Coping with Bereavement, Complicated Grief and Ambiguous Loss.” Steinhardt School, Department of Applied Psychology, New York, NY.
  • November 7, 2011 - Marywood University, Guest Lecturer, “Changing Communities Beyond Vision Loss.” School of Art, Graduate Art Therapy Department, Scranton, PA.
  • October 3, 2011  - Marywood University, Guest Lecturer, “The Art of Grief and Bereavement: Supporting Resiliency in Individuals Coping with Death and Dying, Life and Living.” School of Art, Graduate Art Therapy Department, Scranton, PA.
  • May 25, 2011 -  The Healing Arts, Clinical Presenter, “Resiliency and Art Therapy: Atlantic Health’s Stroke Recovery Support Group" Atlantic Health, Morristown, NJ.
  • May 3, 2011 - 2011 SPRING CREATIVE ARTS THERAPIES CONFERENCE, “Communities in Action: Reaching Out to Blindness through Art,” Hofstra Univesity, New York, NY.
  • May 1 , 2011  -  2011 HUNTINGTON'S DISEASE ANNUAL SHARING & CARING STATE CONFERENCE, "Art Therapy and Huntington's Disease" Denville, NJ.
  • November 19, 2010  - Case Conference, “Working with Dissociative Disorder (Multiple Personality).”  Atlantic Behavioral Health, Overlook Hostpial, Summit, NJ.
  • October 6, 2010  -  2010 Art Educators Of New Jersey Conference, “Art Beyond Sight: Adaptive Materials and Embodied Directives.”  Garden State Exhibit Center, Somerset, NJ.
  • May 26, 2010 -  The Healing Arts, Clinical Presenter, “The Art within Vision Loss: Supporting Resiliency through Adaptive Materials and Embodied Directives." Arts in Healthcare – Hosted by Atlantic Health and The Arts Council of the Morris Area, Morristown, NJ.
  • May 18, 2010  - Parsippany Public Library, Guest Lecturer, “The Art Experience: Discussion of Art Therapy." A World of Ideas Lecture Series, Parsippany, NJ.
  • April 19, 2010 - School of Visual Arts, Guest Lecturer, “The Art of Grief and Bereavement: Supporting Resiliency in Individuals Coping with Death and Dying, Life and Living.” School of Visual Arts, New York, NY.
  • February 5, 2010 - School of Visual Arts, Community Lecture Series, Guest Lecturer, “Resiliency Beyond Loss” School of Visual Art, New York, NY.
  • April 27, 2009 - School of Visual Arts, Guest Lecturer, “The Art of Grief and Bereavement: Supporting Resiliency in Individuals Coping with Death and Dying, Life and Living.” School of Visual Arts, New York, NY.
  • January 31, 2009  - Delaware Valley Art Therapy Association, DVATA Annual Conference, "The Book of 10,000 Deamons and the Art of Personal Presence." Philadelphia, PA.
  • October 24, 2008 - New York University, Steinhardt School, Guest Lecturer, “The Art within Vision Loss: Supporting Resiliency through Adaptive Materials and Embodied Directives." Department of Art and Art Professions, New York, NY.
  • October 20 , 2008 - CALDWELL COLLEGE, Guest Lecturer, “Embodiment and Adaptive Materials: Art Therapy with the Visually Impaired.” Caldwell College, Caldwell, NJ.
  • September 19, 2008 - Canadian Art Therapy Association,  Association des art-thérapeutes du Québec & Concordia University, Art as Witness: Art, Art Therapy and Trauma Resolution International Conference, “When Trauma is in the Next Room: The Art of Older Adults Living with Dementia and Vision Loss.” Montréal, Québec.
  • September 17, 2008  - NJ Foundation for the Blind, Recreational Therapist Sensitivity Training, “Techniques for Working with Adults who are Blind or Visually Impaired: Art by Students of the NJ Foundation for the Blind.”  NJ Foundation for the Blind, Denville, NJ.
  • June 17, 2008 - New York University, Guest Lecturer, “The Art of Loss: Supporting Resiliency in Individuals Coping with Bereavement, Complicated Grief and Ambiguous Loss.” Steinhardt School, Department of Applied Psychology, New York, NY.
  • April 28, 2008 - School of Visual Arts, Guest Lecturer, “The Art of Grief and Bereavement: Supporting Resiliency in Individuals Coping with Death and Dying, Life and Living.” School of Visual Arts, New York, NY.
  • April 12, 2008  - NJ Art Therapy Association, 7th Annual Conference, “Communities in Action: Art Therapy with the Visually Impaired.” Caldwell College, Caldwell, NJ.
  • February 7, 2007 - NJ Foundation for the Blind, All Staff Training, “Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia and Other Cognitive Disorders.”  NJ Foundation for the Blind, Denville, NJ.
  • May 15, 2006 -New York University, Steinhardt School, Creative Aging Therapeutic Services Program, “Uncensored World: Living in the Moment.” Presentation: “Understanding the Art Process of Artists Living with Alzheimer’s Disease.” Department of Art and Art Professions, New York, NY.

"If one pulls on a single thread in nature, you'll find it attached to everything else.”
~ John Muir 1838-1914

 

 

 

​Education

Joseph obtained a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University and received his Master of Arts in Art Therapy from New York University in 2006. During his time at Northwestern, Joseph studied illustration and figure drawing at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and finished the first of his children's books, The Twelve Months. Through supportive educators, mentors and friends, Joseph fell in love with the subversive acts of creativity, healing within storytelling and the power of narrative which runs through all.  In graduate school, Joseph was an intern at Penn South Senior Center, Lennox Hill Neighborhood House and St. Luke's Hospital having completed his fieldwork studies at Bellevue Hospital. He was inspired by the resiliency in the people of these programs as they approached aging creatively despite in some instances living with illness, blindness, dementia and certainty of death. Because of their participation and their supportive caregivers, Joseph was able to complete his thesis on Supporting Resiliency with Group Art Therapy: A Proposal for Elders Living with Dementia and Their Caregiver. In addition to receiving professional training in Multi-Modal Approaches to Learning, Creativity and Communication from Teachers College Columbia University, and he has held a certificate in thanatology from The Association for Death Education and Counseling. Joseph is trained SoulCollageTM facilitator and a registered & board certified art therapist with the Art Therapy Credentials Board (Registration Number 07-267).

 

 

"We ARE the creative deviants" ~ Edith Kramer 1916-2014

 


Professional Practice
Joseph presently works as an art therapist in the inpatient and outpatient programs at Sierra Tucson in Tucson, AZ.  Joseph has worked extensively with children, adolescents, and adults thoughout the continuum of care within behavioral health care systems. Including starting his art therapy career by establishing an art therapy program within the geriatric psychiatry unit of Cabrini Hospital in Manhattan.  He has since worked within several hospital programs at Atlantic Health Systems in New Jersey. Including the residential treatment programs of both Overlook Hospital, Summit, New Jersey and Morristown Medical Center, Morristown, New Jersey. He has been the recipient of both a consumer service award, "Healing Hands," and professional contributions award "PACT" in recognition for his work within Atlantic Health Behavioral Health programs.  Joseph has served clients in partial hospitalization art therapy programs at Overlook and Morristown Medical Centers, outpatients and their families at Monsignor John F. Corr Stroke Rehabilitation Center, as well as developed and implemented a clinical art therapy internship program for graduate students of several programs in the Tri-State region.  His work in residential treatment motivated him to focus more in the area of relapse prevention and effective art therapy interventions throughout the continuum of care.  As a result of generous grants from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey and Morristown Medical Center he has implemented and provided innovative art therapy services in the emergency department of this regional trauma center.  This has often included providing art therapy to children, adolescents and adults aiding in the reduction of disparities in the delivery of mental healthcare through psychoeducation, art therapy and stress reduction.  His work within the Crisis Intervention Service provided individual therapeutic services to be extended to vulnerable populations and as a result improve their access to quality mental healthcare.  Joseph was an art therapist at Palo Verde Behavioral Health, Tucson, AZ 2017-2019. In the autumn of 2006 Joseph created an art therapy program at the NJ Foundation for the Blind: The Artists Studio.  The program has reached hundreds of adults through an open studio model in order to assist individuals adapting to living with vision loss so that they may engage in meaningful activities of healthy living. The program has been featured in numerous articles, and collaborated in Childrens Mental Health Awareness Day when the participants of The Artists Studio brought their experience to the children of St. Joseph's School for the Blind, Jersey City, New Jersey.  A joint exhibition of the work by these children and adults was entitled "Paint What You're Feeling" and was displayed in Helen Groman Hall at the New Jersey Foundation for the Blind, Denville, New Jersey in May and June of 2011.  Participants in The Artists Studio have gone on to win artistic awards in juried competitions, they have started their own businesses, they have maintained their basic integrity of living at home, they have stayed connected to loved ones, and they continue to study art in their communities.  

 

 

"How is it possible that suffering that is neither my own nor my concern should immediately affect me as though it were my own, and with such force that it moves me to action?"  
~Arthur Schopenhauer 1788-1860

 

 

Community Service

Motivated by a deep appreciation for change Joseph has an interest in the radical power of creating.  Since being a participant in a high school mentorship program at the Detroit Children's Museum, Joseph has realized the difference that one person can make in life of another. Volunteering in college for programs like Chicago Cares, Inspiration Café, local Artist Co-Ops & Arts Councils, PBS Pledge Drives, and many local charity events, Joseph continues to mentor students in community based programs.  He has served on the board of directors of the New Jersey Art Therapy Association, and the American Art Therapy Association.  He has served on the College of St. Elizabeth Allied Health Services Program Advisory Committee, the Alliance for Arts & Health New Jersey Steering Committee, the State of New Jersey Council on the Arts Cultural Access Steering Committee.  In 2012 he was the Conference Coordinator of New Jersey Coalition of Creative Arts Therapies Conference featuring speakers and attendees from several States including Harriet Wadeson who shared her inspiring artistic journey while living with cancer treatment.  His active involvement in his professional community has included the Finance, Governmental Affairs, Membership and Resolution Committees of the American Art Therapy Association.  Joseph has been the New Jersey Chapter Delegate to the Assembly of Chapters and Governmental Affairs Chairman of the New Jersey Art Therapy Association. He has served on the Collaborative Governance Committee of Overlook Hospital. As well as maintained a connection to transformative and meaningful high school mentorship programs through Warren Hills High School and Brighton High School.  In September 2011, Joseph coordinated a group painting project on banners which was completed at Autism Family Services Annual Beach Bash in Belmar, New Jersey for families with children who have autism. The Banners of Awareness are made available for display in New Jersey for Autism Awareness events.  Joseph's commitment to self-empowering/self-sustaining learning has meant he has volunteered his time for community lectures, program tours, community mural painting, as well as facilitated a support group art therapy experience for children living with anxiety/selective mutism in Kinnelon, New Jersey.

 

 

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the source of all true art and science."  ~ Albert Einstein 1879-1955

 

 

Teaching, Lecturing & Consulting

Joseph has presented in numerous settings on issues in art therapy, as a guest lecturer and adjunct professor, and he is an assistant professor at Marywood University's Master of Arts in Art Therapy Program. Having previously taught clinical supervision at New York University and adult human development and aging at The School of Visual Arts. Joseph teaches group art therapy, developmental dynamics in art, art based assessments, clinical supervision and art therapy with special populations at Marywood, as well as provides advisement to undergraduate students focused on developing a career in art therapy. Joseph is completing research at Morristown Medical Center, Crisis Intervention Services on art therapy in the Emergency Department. Additionally, he researches art and analysis of the art completed by historical figures noted for their other achievements. Joseph is deeply involved in the research and articulation of practicing the ancient Tibetan healing art of Chöd; his forthcoming "The Book of 10,000 Deamons" examines the historical applications and presents a modified practice through art making.  The Book of 10,000 Deamons workshop may be scheduled directly with the artist/lecturer for interactive learning experiences.

 

 

"If you ask me what I came to do in this world, I, an artist, will answer you: I am here to live
out loud." ~ Émile Zola 1840-1902

 

 

Artist
Joseph paints and sculpts, and his work has been presented in numerous settings including the Marywood Art Faculty Biennial Exhibition 2013, Mahady Gallery, Scranton, Pennsylvania; the National Arts Program, Juried Group Exhibition, Morristown Memorial, Morristown, New Jersey and Overlook Hospital, Summit, New Jersey in both 2008  & 2009. Joseph has participated in a group project through reconstructing a chapter in a collaborative Altered Book Project, “The Mad Hatters Tea Party” of Alice in Wonderland a fundraiser for the NJ Art Therapy Association at the Riverdale Art Center in Riverdale, New Jersey.  Joseph's work was included in the 2008 program "In the Pink," a group exhibition in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Atlantic Health Mind Body Institute, Morristown, New Jersey. "My work has evolved from being about communicating something I believe in - to that of being a part of a process.  The complexities of the work sometime take me a couple of months to accept the resting point in the journey I take with the art materials, but that means I have many projects which I'm working on simultaneously. So, in essence my art has become of great urgency in my process of being. Respecting the uncertainties and celebrating the subtlety of each moment: when I forget these things I miss so much."  Joseph will be spending the Summer of 2014 painting in Northern Michigan. Please contact him if you have interest in a private commission.