TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT, click here I accept Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, United Health Care, Optum, and Oscar. You will need to provide your insurance information and a credit card number. During the processing of booking an appointment, your insurance will be verified and you will know how much your estimated deductible. However, it is always a good idea to confirm with your insurance company. You will not be charged until after each session. All follow up sessions must be cancelled within 24 hours to avoid a late cancellation fee of $85. If you do not have insurance, my self-pay rate is $130, If you would like a free 15 minute consult to see if we are a good match for therapy, please feel free to reach out to me by email createtherapy.elizabeth@gmail.com or through my CONTACT page

I specialize in working with woman who are struggling with a history of trauma to include but not limited to: sexual abuse, rape, domestic violence, and traumatic grief. Other childhood traumas may include: being bullied or raised in an alcoholic home. Trauma impacts our sense of trust, esteem, safety, power/control, and intimacy. Our relationships with partners, family members, and friends are altered in ways we feel we cannot control. Isolated and alone, we suffer, not understanding why. If trauma has been a part of your history, I would love to walk the healing journey with you. Why women? I choose working with women because I want to be a part of the healing journey. I have experienced and witnessed disempowerment of women and I want to see more women gain insight, heal, and become self-empowered. I created a series, while in college, expressing my viewpoint of the struggles of women in our culture, Exposed. Our culture teaches women to feel and see themselves as not good enough. Women are depicted as passive, small, and incapable. Women are socialized to focus on their inadequacies more than their achievements. In schools and home life, girls are criticized and conditioned to believe that failure is a part of being female (Brown, 2007). For women that have experienced trauma, the belief of not being good enough is pervasive. Often clients will say, I am not lovable, I am bad. ​ Brown, B. (2007). I thought it was just me (but it Isn't): Telling the truth about perfectionism, inadequacy, and power. Gotham Books.

SESSION FEES: Insurance accepted: Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, Humana, Optum, Oscar, United Health Care Out of Network, private pay clients: $130 per 55 minute session (super bill available). CANCELLATION POLICY: Must be 24 hours in advance of appointment; $85 fee applies; no exceptions. NO SHOW POLICY: Fee: $85 applies for client who miss the session without 24 hours notice; no exceptions. INITAL INTAKE: A late cancellation or no show on the initial intake appointment, will result in a client NOT being rescheduled. No exceptions. BOOK AN APPOINTMENT: https://headway.co/providers/elizabeth-starnes-2?utm_source=pem&utm_medium=direct_link&utm_campaign=41567

You will need to have access to reliable internet service and a phone, tablet, or laptop. Please have something available to prop your device against so you can share the art therapy experience during the session. ​ Create a space for your art making during the session. This can be as simple as a table with a light source and internet. Ideally, a place where you can leave your art supplies out to use through out the week. ​ Platform used for therapy session is HIPPA compliant and provide a confidential session. ​ You will be required to share your current location during each session per best practices for telehealth. ​ Please use a location that is free from major distractions in order to get the most out of your session. ​ Telehealth pros and cons: ​ PROS It is convenient, no need to dress up, no need to leave your home, can fit in session time without having to travel to an office, more privacy - no sitting in a waiting room, and your pets can join you during counseling sessions! ​ CONS You must be aware of who is nearby and can hear your private information. Provide a distraction free environment. A reliable internet connections is required. Occasionally, even with the a reliable internet provider, interruptions can occur. You must reside in the State of Texas during all sessions.

According to the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association, “the expressive arts combine the visual arts, movement, drama, music, writing and other creative processes to foster deep personal growth and community development” (https://www.ieata.org). Furthermore, expressive therapies are considered as a holistic approach (Morrison, 2012). ”Expressive therapy goes beyond traditional talk therapy by using creative outlets as a means of expression, especially for those who have difficulty communicating and conveying thoughts and emotions” (Morrison, 2012, p. 14).

For client who agree to do art in session, they spend five minutes (or so) creating the art. Often times, we will use the whiteboard on Zoom for those that may be hesitant at first. Other times, client jump right in with paints or whatever medium they choose. For clients who are more comfortable with the concept, I assign art therapy as homework, often providing a prompt relevant to the session.

No! Being an artist and doing art therapy are completely different. Art is used in therapy to express yourself without words and reconnect with the body and emotions, to gain insight. It is as simple as using color, line, and texture to express your feelings regarding a situation. A common misconception is that the art making has to be "good". It is not about making "good" art, it is about expressing yourself and using art as a pathway to healing. If you are hesitant, please know that we can go at your comfort level. There is no pressure. We can walk through it together. Doing art in therapy is not in anyway art lessons. It is much deeper than creating artwork, it is expressing what has no words. I have witnessed client's increased insight after creating art.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is an evidence based therapy based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (treatment that focuses on thoughts and feelings) for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, and related conditions. PTSD can develop when an individual experiences a traumatic event such as physical and sexual abuse or assault, accidents, threats, military combat, or being a witness to violence or death. CPT focuses on the connections between thoughts, feelings, behavior and bodily sensations. CPT provides a way to understand why recovery from traumatic events is difficult and how symptoms of PTSD affect daily life. The focus is on identifying how traumatic experiences change thoughts and beliefs, and how thoughts influence current feelings and behaviors. An important part of the treatment is addressing ways of thinking that might keep individuals “stuck” and get in the way of recovery from symptoms of PTSD and other problems. https://cptforptsd.com/about-cpt/ Art therapy assists with connecting to the body and emotions, which is a common symptom of trauma. Reframing is a technique used in art therapy to help clients view their situations from different vantage points. By creating art, the client is exploring a broader scope of the problem. Art making can tease out false perceptions and distorted cognitions to explore in therapy sessions. Art therapy is understood as beneficial when working women with trauma. The non-verbal approach provides a safe space to explore difficult feelings (Malchiodi, 2012). Treatment incorporating art-making and cognitive therapeutic techniques can assist a client to begin to reconstruct the self, increase coping abilities, and improve cognitive flexibility through art-making (Rosal, 2018). Art-making becomes a form of problem-solving and a way to resolve shame (Malchiodi, 2012). Rosal, M.L. (2018). Cognitive-Behavioral Art Therapy: From Behaviorism to the Third Wave. Routledge Malchiodi, C. A. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of art therapy. Guilford Press

You will need to complete and submit initial paperwork prior to your first session. This includes Intake forms, Telehealth Informed Consent, Informed Consent for Psychotherapy, Practice Policies, and Notice of Privacy Practices/HIPPA. You will receive a link to complete all forms from Simple Practice. ​ First session is designed to get to know each other, establish goals, and share your story. This is the opportunity to discuss what is not working in your life and your hopes for the future. How do you see your life one year from now? What are your hopes and dreams ? What do you see as holding you back? ​ Before the second session, if you are comfortable with using art, prepare a space for artmaking. Nothing fancy is required - a table with good lighting and art supplies. Please keep in mind that art is used in therapy for self-expression and not to create art to hang on your wall. Being an "artist" is not required. ​ Between sessions, you will be given an art based assignment to deepen insight. I recommend a spiral sketch/art pad to have a container for your therapy journey. Remember that this is not art to hang on walls or grade, this is expressing feelings through line, color, and texture. Being and artist is not required!

BASIC SUPPLY LIST ​ My hope is that you will create a dedicated space for art making both during the session and following. This will allow easy access to process homework. This space does not require more than a table, light, internet access, and simple art supplies. Art journal (any spiral bound sketch pad - heavier weight paper is preferred) Acrylic paints (a 12 pack of craft paints, any brand; or any paints you prefer), water, paper towel Paint brushes Pencils optional: markers, chalk pastels, colored pencils old magazines Playdoh (3 ounce container) or similar or reusable clay material anything that can be turned into art, your choice! However, any art making materials that you would like to include, please do. Some ideas may include: collage materials, scraps of fabric, yarn, macramé materials, quilting materials, clay, nature items...........It is about self-expression with what speaks to you. If you are anxious or uncertain about using art in therapy, please feel free to express that. No pressure. It could just be a simple experiment for a couple sessions to see how it feels.

I feel like I was born with the love of art in my blood, is my best answer. It is like oxygen to me. My earliest memories are at the coffee table drawing cartoons from the Sunday paper and being outside with dirt and water making mud pies. Time seemed to disappear when creating. I don’t remember a time where I did not have my hands in something – drawing, sewing, crocheting, painting, quilting. As an adult, art became a way to processing my feelings. It is a healing agent, where I can connect with emotions, and shut down the constant chatter in my brain. Art becomes a peaceful, retreat from my thoughts and a sanctuary where time and space disappear. Through the many bumps in my life, I have used art to express my feelings and found it to be helpful. Today I realize that the art was an acknowledgment of my emotions and experience. My mind, body and spirit got on the same page. I could "see" what I was feeling and gain insight into myself. This process helped me move forward and unstick from hard emotions. It was very healing.

I never knew art therapy existed until a retired art therapist lectured at a local art club meeting many years ago. At the time, I thought it was fascinating but imagined it was out of my reach. I had no college degree at the time and was a busy stay at home mom with three beautiful children. A few years into forty, I started pursuing my own dreams of a college education. While pursuing my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, I developed a series of painting to explore the struggles of women in our culture. See my journey here. Years passed, walking through the Boston Museum of Fine Art’s gift shop in 2013, I stumbled upon Art Heals by Shaun McNiff. This book confirmed many of my own experiences with art and my desire to share the healing power of art. My dreams of becoming an art therapist were rekindled. It was time. I recently had left a full-time job and had secured working a few hours a week as an art teacher with at-risk teens at a juvenile detention center. Art was the bridge to the teens opening up. Although I had all the mom skills to talk to them, I knew they needed more than that. So, I went on to earn my Masters in Counseling. Following graduation I began my pursuit of art therapy and enrolled in Prescott College, which was one of only four colleges offering the required coursework. Today, as a registered art therapist and registered expressive arts therapist, I find great joy in watching art making open conversations that talk therapy alone does not. I have observed it to be a deeper way to understand the client. Talk therapy can be effective, however, I've noticed that client who suffer with trauma, anxiety and grief often struggle with verbally expressing themselves. The avoid acknowledging their pain. Shapes, symbols, colors, and line making provides another form of expression.