Bramble Art Therapy is a sliding-scale Art Therapy practice. It is a part-time project led by Registered and Board-Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC) and Licensed Creative Therapist (LCAT) Lauren Chester.
Bramble is founded on the belief that creative expression is a powerful and necessary process in healing and that access to mental health support should be financially sustainable.
Offerings:
(Virtual)
Individual Art Therapy sessions
ATR-P Supervision
Peer support for mental health practitioners
(In-Person)
Art-based groups at community sites in the SF Bay Area
Why “Bramble”?
For most of my career as an Art Therapist, I have worked in non-profit community settings and hospitals. Throughout my career I have struggled ideologically (and personally, financially) with the overwhelming financial hardship that paying out-of-pocket for weekly therapy can require. I have personally experienced this in my own search for mental health support, and I have witnessed many others become discouraged and stop seeking necessary support. Mental Health care is a human right, and co-regulation and connection are needed now more than ever.
Brambles (aka the ‘Rubus’ genus of plants which includes blackberry), are a group of resilient plants who have been used in medicine since prior to written history. They are related to the rose family, and likewise include thorns (good boundaries). Rubus’ are adaptable to a wide variety of conditions, they are abundantly generous with fruit, and provide protective shelter for animals and smaller plants. Their leaves can also be used medicinally to strengthen the body’s tissues. All of these are qualities I hope this practice can embody and share through the use of art and relationship.