“At the deepest level, the creative process and the healing process arise from a single source. When you are an artist, you are a healer; a wordless trust of the same mystery is the foundation of your work and its integrity.”

- Rachel Naomi Remen, MD

My mom tells me that at the age of 5 I would spend whole days lying on the floor drawing my life away. I would draw animals. I would create my comic books. I would explore with colors. In retrospect, art provided more than escapism. It provided a safe space of mindfulness where I could process and sublimate (divert) my emotions.

As I grew intellectually, and my art skills developed, art as a coping mechanism to deal with my barriers and marginalizations became even more prominent, but it never felt forced. Art felt like such a natural part of me that it took years to realize that it was saving me from many negative realities.

My creative and art therapy journey has taken me to outpatient intensive programs providing support to people's recovery from substance abuse; working as a program leader for Atlanta’s famous WonderRoot in the areas of painting and drawing; volunteering for three months in the Andes highlands of Peru teaching art to children from a rural Indigenous background experiencing parental abandonment; working as a project manager assistant in several public art city festivals; creating and publishing a children’s books in the areas of mental health; creating intentional public art that addresses societal issues; attending a 7-month residency program through Chop Art Atlanta, crafting artistic and therapeutic oversight to a cohort of children experiencing homelessness; and most recently serving as a member for the Advisory Council for the Arts for MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority).

I continue to practice art therapy through privately contracted opportunities. If you are interested please reach out below or at francopsychotherapy@gmail.com