[Self-Study] Generative AI Art, Identities, and Attunement in Art Therapy

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.