Kristen Rashid (she/her) is the founder of Artful Explorations Therapy, an art therapy and counseling center for kids, teens, families, and adults. Kristen is a Registered, Board-Certified art therapist, and Licensed Professional Counselor, holding a Masters Degree in Creative Arts Therapy from Drexel University.

Throughout her career, clients have come to her for support in navigating through a range of issues and experiences including:
• Generalized anxiety
• Social anxiety
• Autism
• Depression
• ADHD
• Adjustments and life transitions
• Divorce
• Adoption
• Trauma
• Chronic Illness
• Grief/loss
• Identity exploration
• Emotion dysregulation

Kristen meets clients where they are and helps them engage in the creative process of making art as a way to express themselves, increase insight, spark change, make connections, and develop coping and problem solving skills. Fostering a positive therapeutic relationship and a supportive space for communication and growth is an important part of her approach with every client and family she works with, from clients as young as 3 years old and on through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.

Her clinical experience includes providing art therapy services for children and youth of all ages in a variety of outpatient and school-based settings, and for adults in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Before Artful Explorations, she worked for over a decade in the outpatient, private practice context through offering art therapy for individual children and their families, for teens and adults, and for small groups.

She’s a member of the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and the Pennsylvania Art Therapy Association (PAATA), previously serving as the Recording Secretary and the Archivist on the PAATA Board of Directors. Kristen has supervised graduate level art therapy students in the past, but is not able to offer internships at this time. She is available for graduate level off-site supervision as well as post-grad ATR and/or LPC supervision.

Kristen holds a BFA from The University of the Arts with a degree in Graphic Design and Book Arts, and has taught bookmaking workshops and classes for children and adults. In addition, she’s a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and finds joy in the creative writing process. Her bookmaking and writing experience has influenced her work as an art therapist as she’s guided clients to explore the narratives and symbolism in the images they create, and to tell stories through sequences of images that help bring about healthy change in their emotional landscapes.

Continuing Education Courses Kristen has studied have centered around such topics as trauma and TF-CBT, cultural humility, race, child art therapy, ADHD, school-based art therapy, and clinical supervision for creative arts therapists. Professional presentations Kristen has given have included Child Art Therapy in a Private Practice Setting, Understanding Art Therapy and the Expressive Therapies Continuum, School-Based Art Therapy and the Referral Process, and Pursuing a Career in Art Therapy. Kristen has also offered various workshops for children, youth, and adults on bookmaking and on using art to put feelings into pictures.

Contact Kristen to schedule a free consultation as a prospective client or supervisee, or to inquire about professional presentations and workshops.