Erin Partridge, PhD, ATR-BC is an artist and board certified, registered art therapist. Her clinical experience includes work in community, pediatric, forensic, and geriatric settings. Erin received a BFA, studying fine art, psychology and women’s studies in at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She went onto obtain a MA in art therapy from New York University in 2008, and a PhD in art therapy from Notre Dame de Namur in 2016. Erin’s teaching and lecturing experience includes teaching at NDNU in the art therapy department, guest lectures in art and counseling programs, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, workshop facilitation at several national conferences, and interviews with media about art therapy.

Her research interests incorporate the lived experience and focus on participatory, ethnographic, and art-based approaches. She is currently working on responding to the findings of her research within the elder care context, and conducting continued research in this setting.

Originally from Europe (France/Germany) but based in Houston (TX, USA), Marie Deschamps (she, her), PhDc, is an art psychotherapist, researcher, and artist, with a clinical specialty in psycho-oncology and palliative care (UNAM, Mexico). A current doctoral candidate at Lesley University (Cambridge, USA), her research focuses on enhancing self-disclosure of oncological symptoms in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center (TX, USA). A graduate of the MIT-Harvard Medical School innovation in healthcare bootcamp, she has been developing a software to integrate art-based expression in health data monitoring and collaborates with the SexTech lab at the New School University (NY, USA) on researching the use of AI generative art in fostering therapeutic attunement. For the past two years, she has been teaching future art psychotherapists from Central and South America at the Instituto Mexicano de Psicoterapia de Arte (IMPA). She is a mother to Emilio and Matteo.

For her day job, Ruchi Mehta heads Product Design for India’s largest online ticketing portal. In her personal capacity, she is a single mother, who likes to dabble in different mediums to give voice to her creative side. From weaving to shibori, painting to sketching, lino cuts to ceramics, she has a deep interest in physical materials. More recently though, her explorations have led her to use software like Procreate and Figma to produce artwork. She recalls a solitary childhood, painfully shy and reticent, a little girl who used art to deal with the overwhelming world around her. As an adult, whenever life threw her some curveballs, she used it to catalyse more creative work. With the advent of generative art using AI, she has found a new way to express her inner life.

Nancy Choe (PhD, LMFT, ATR-BC) has a special interest in employing an interdisciplinary approach to promote holistic and creativity-driven wellness. Her research endeavors in art therapy have centered on digital media and technology, narrative medicine, the expressive therapies continuum (ETC), and post-traumatic creativity. Based in Los Angeles, Nancy maintains a private practice, teaches art therapy graduate courses, and conducts exploratory arts-based research.

Originally from Europe (France/Germany) but based in Houston (TX, USA), Marie Deschamps (she, her), PhDc, is an art psychotherapist, researcher, and artist, with a clinical specialty in psycho-oncology and palliative care (UNAM, Mexico). A current doctoral candidate at Lesley University (Cambridge, USA), her research focuses on enhancing self-disclosure of oncological symptoms in collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center (TX, USA). A graduate of the MIT-Harvard Medical School innovation in healthcare bootcamp, she has been developing a software to integrate art-based expression in health data monitoring and collaborates with the SexTech lab at the New School University (NY, USA) on researching the use of AI generative art in fostering therapeutic attunement. For the past two years, she has been teaching future art psychotherapists from Central and South America at the Instituto Mexicano de Psicoterapia de Arte (IMPA). She is a mother to Emilio and Matteo.

Jedediah Walls (they/them), PhD, is a therapist practicing in a private clinic in Las Cruces, New Mexico, they hold a PhD in Media Psychology from Fielding Graduate University, and a Master’s Degree in Art Therapy and Clinical Mental Health from Edinboro University. In collaboration with the SexTech lab at New School University (NY, USA), they research the use of AI generative art to foster therapeutic attunement. Jedediah’s central passion lies in the seamless integration of media psychology and art therapy, with a particular emphasis on supporting the liberation and self-actualization of queer and neurodivergent individuals. They are actively involved in Media Psychology, a distinct field within the American Psychological Association (APA) under Division 46, dedicated to unraveling the intricate ways in which media and technology impact cognition, culture, and psychology. They contributed to “The Handbook of Art Therapy and Digital Technology” alongside Dr. Cathy Malchiodi, where they examined the application of virtual reality in therapy.

Dr. Natalie Carlton, ATR-BC, LPCC, has multi-systemic art therapy and counseling experiences from urban addiction/recovery and psychiatric in-patient settings to community-based, studio art therapy services for rural youth, adults, and families. As a board-certified art therapist and licensed counselor in New Mexico for 20 years, she worked with children, youth and family systems, people with developmental disabilities and chronic psychiatric illnesses, and within trauma and addiction recovery models. Justice, systems, feminism, and queer theories have been grounding orientations for the therapy support and access Carlton has provided and are her base for her current graduate teaching and leadership.

For her day job, Ruchi Mehta heads Product Design for India’s largest online ticketing portal. In her personal capacity, she is a single mother, who likes to dabble in different mediums to give voice to her creative side. From weaving to shibori, painting to sketching, lino cuts to ceramics, she has a deep interest in physical materials. More recently though, her explorations have led her to use software like Procreate and Figma to produce artwork. She recalls a solitary childhood, painfully shy and reticent, a little girl who used art to deal with the overwhelming world around her. As an adult, whenever life threw her some curveballs, she used it to catalyse more creative work. With the advent of generative art using AI, she has found a new way to express her inner life.

Erin Partridge, PhD, ATR-BC is an artist and board certified, registered art therapist. Her clinical experience includes work in community, pediatric, forensic, and geriatric settings. Erin received a BFA, studying fine art, psychology and women’s studies in at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She went onto obtain a MA in art therapy from New York University in 2008, and a PhD in art therapy from Notre Dame de Namur in 2016. Erin’s teaching and lecturing experience includes teaching at NDNU in the art therapy department, guest lectures in art and counseling programs, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, workshop facilitation at several national conferences, and interviews with media about art therapy.

Her research interests incorporate the lived experience and focus on participatory, ethnographic, and art-based approaches. She is currently working on responding to the findings of her research within the elder care context, and conducting continued research in this setting.

Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist, Advanced Certified Trauma Practitioner, Ursuline College Counseling and Art Therapy Faculty practicing in Northeast Ohio for 20 years, primarily working with children and adolescents. Gretchen is also a Buckeye Art Therapy Association (BATA) Past President, BATA Honorary Life Member and since 2017, has served on the AATA Board of Directors.

Nancy Choe (PhD, LMFT, ATR-BC) has a special interest in employing an interdisciplinary approach to promote holistic and creativity-driven wellness. Her research endeavors in art therapy have centered on digital media and technology, narrative medicine, the expressive therapies continuum (ETC), and post-traumatic creativity. Based in Los Angeles, Nancy maintains a private practice, teaches art therapy graduate courses, and conducts exploratory arts-based research.

Sze-Chin Lee (MAAT, AThS, LPC) is an art therapist, art educator and artist. He has worked across diverse art therapy settings, specializing in healthcare consulting for art therapy, and arts and health related programming. Sze-Chin has a keen interest in socially engaged art practices that involve communities in collaborative interactions. He believes that a thriving arts and health ecosystem requires the collaboration of numerous contributors and stakeholders to maximize the arts’ full potential to enhance people’s lives in creative, practical and meaningful ways.