Over the last 25 years, I have been passionate about helping women heal from trauma and depression, manage anxiety to decrease stress, enjoy healthier relationships, and move through life transitions with ease and renewed hope. Offering compassionate care embodies my work as I believe that healing takes place when you feel welcomed, comfortable, and accepted. It’s from this place of caring and listening where I understand your needs and put a plan in place to help you meet your goals as we work together.

I rely on many different treatment modalities with an emphasis on positive psychology, cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT), and expressive arts therapies. To make your counseling more enriching, I also offer walk & talk therapy and/or art therapy for personalized experiences to gain deeper insights, discover new possibilities, and expedite reaching your goals in therapy. Teletherapy is available as well.

How I Help You

In therapy I provide a safe environment for you to explore your feelings so that you feel heard, validated, and relief. As you experience this compassionate support, we explore what is working/not working in your life & find solutions with increased insight to build confidence and raise hope. Many women focus outwardly on others oftentimes burdened with guilt, obligation, and fear. So I help you turn in to focus on you and what resonates within you. Accessing and strengthening your self-expression helps you feel more affirmed and consequently helps to decrease stress. With focus on your needs and desires, we discover ways of broadening your practices for wellness and vitality so you feel uplifted and inspired. Relatedness is at the core importance for women. So we also identify personal boundaries to create a gateway for healthier and more harmonious relationships to decrease stress and anxiety.

If you have experienced trauma, we will honor your personal journey and build your resiliency by identifying personal potential and inner strengths. Gaining these creative problem-solving life skills for personal empowerment puts your life on a new trajectory. As you bridge over to new beginnings, you feel grounded in foundations realized from your new growth.

Therapy can be a time not only for your healing and managing change, but it also can provide you with new life-long coping skills used beyond therapy for continued restoration and renewal.

There’s no wait.

You may have been considering therapy for awhile and now feel ready to start. I realize it takes so much courage to reach out. So I want you to feel welcomed without waiting. I reserve time each week to receive new clients so you do not have to wait to be seen.

I serve my clients in a warm and friendly office studio setting. My office is often described as a cozy place where my clients have been known to kick off their shoes and relax with a cup of hot tea.

I’m here to walk with you on your journey. Contact me today at 610.329.1684 or at info@createarttherapy.com for a free 15-minute consultation and let’s talk about how therapy may help you begin creating a life you love and living it passionately.

My Experience and Qualifications

Over the years, I have been honored and privileged to have served individuals and organizations providing individual and group counseling and art therapy with adults, children, and families. Prior to opening C.R.E.A.T.E., I worked with at-risk youth in residential treatment and special education services with Catholic Social Services. I also served adults, adolescents and children at a psychiatric hospital in departments serving women, women with eating disorders, adult psychiatric and children.  My desire to serve my community by offering art therapy outpatient services came true in 1998 when I founded and operated The E.A.S.E.L. Inc., one of the first free-standing art therapy private practices in Atlanta, Georgia which was awarded “Best of Marietta.” Through the E.A.S.E.L., Inc., I was fortunate to have served my community for 14 years before moving to Philadelphia in 2013. I have also worked with adult patients and their families with Main Line Health at Paoli Hospital in departments of oncology, telemetry, and palliative care.

Since 2008 I have been licensed as professional counselor and currently maintain licenses in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Virginia. I have been nationally board certified as an art therapist by the Art Therapy Credentialing Board since 1996. I am also certified as a Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional (CCATP).

I obtained my Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Texas at Austin in 1987, my Masters Degree in Art Therapy from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville in 1995 and completed specialization post-graduate studies in counseling from Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia in 2008.

I have been a member of The American Art Therapy Association since 1996 where I served on the ethics committee and am a member of the Pennsylvania Art Therapy Association.

I have published many papers and presented lectures locally and nationally on the subject of art therapy. As an advocate for children, I co-authored legislation with my state senator for anti-bullying in schools.

Along with serving my community by offering individual therapy, I also host wellness classes and professional workshops, supervise therapists, lecture, offer consulting for major corporations for wellness and stress reduction education, and organize community events. Joining efforts with other organizations in the community, C.R.E.A.T.E. also collaborates to offer a viable venue of support for the community of Malvern, PA and the greater Philadelphia metro-areas.

On a personal note...

I am a very (super….) proud mom of my two adult children Matt, a graduate from NYU who owns his film company in Manhattan, and Josee, who just graduated magna cum laude with her B.S. in Animal Science from Rutgers University Honors College. I love my grown “kids:”:). Ten years ago I was widowed early and became a single mom with teenagers. So I understand loss, grief, and the demands of being a single mom with an appreciation of hope and the promise of new life that hope does bring.

When I am away from the office and art studio, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, making art (all types!), kayaking by moonlight, hiking by rippling streams, taking road trips to new places, relaxing in odd poses during yoga, growing flowers in my window boxes and herbs in my garden for cooking new recipes, watching a good football game, and learning about other cultures and traditional folk arts with no end in sight.

It would be an honor to serve you. Please feel free to contact at 610.329.1684 for your free 15-mintute phone consultation so we can discuss your needs.

Snapshot of Cyndie’s qualifications

  • Licensed Professional Counselor in three states:

    • Pennsylvania (PC004783) since 2008

    • Virginia (0701004790) since 2010

    • Georgia (LPC005214) since 2008

  • Nationally Board Certified Art Therapist with Art Therapy Credentials Board (since 1996)

  • Certified Clinical Anxiety Treatment Professional (CCATP)

  • Over 25 years of experience

  • Post Graduate Studies in Counseling Mercer University/Atlanta, GA (2008-2010)

  • M.A. Art Therapy Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (1995)

  • B.S. University of Texas at Austin (1987)

  • List of Companies Served

How did C.R.E.A.T.E. in Greater Philadelphia, Inc. get started?

It all started with a little seed of hope.....Please visit my July 2018 blog for a history of CREATE