KAYLA BERNINGHAUS
ART THERAPY AND TRAUMA THERAPY IN MAINE AND GEORGIA
I'm here to support you!
Finding the field of art therapy was a crucial discovery in my personal growth and professional journey. I believe each individual’s inner creativity is an important resource in navigating life's uncertainties.
I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC) in Maine, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in Georgia, and a Board Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC).
MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST
As part of my Master in Professional Studies in Art Therapy and Creativity Development from Pratt Institute (what a mouthful!), I was intensively trained to help clients with goals related to medical and mental health conditions.
Whether it’s natural elements, recycled materials, or conventional art media, I believe in the benefit of creating. My cats Ada and Gabby like to keep an eye on my art-making when they’re not busy teaching me about boundaries and playfulness. These goofballs are an important part of my own practice of accessing safety and warmth.
HELPER + CREATIVE + KITTY CAREGIVER
HOW I CAN SUPPORT YOU
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Regulate nervous system
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Express difficult emotions
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Identify adaptive strategies
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Process transitions, grief, and loss
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Connect to your authentic self
Art Therapy
Art therapy utilizes the creative arts process to help individuals grow and heal within a therapeutic relationship. The creative process provides an opportunity to externalize the internal and explore psychological processes that might be tricky or uncomfortable to verbalize.
No artistic talent or skill is required to participate in art therapy. While the final product created in sessions can offer a sense of accomplishment, art therapy is often about the act of creating in a non-judgmental environment. If you have tried different types of therapy that haven’t quite clicked, art therapy can help support you in communicating your needs, frustration, hopes, and fears in a visual way.
NeuroAffective Relational Model
The NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) is a depth-oriented, relational, and somatic model for addressing developmental and complex trauma. Patterns that helped protect and support you in the past show up as barriers to what you most want for yourself. NARM supports you in staying connected to you heart's desire by re-orienting to healing impulses in the present moment, accessing self regulation, containing difficult emotions, and deepening your capacity for connection to self and others.
With the interplay of traditional talk therapy and the felt experience of body-mind, NARM facilitates the expansion of internal capacities rather than emphasizing deficiency or dysfunction.
Deepen your healing
My approach offers a range of benefits that can support a variety of treatment goals. As an art therapist, I can act as primary therapist or supplement other therapy services in your healing journey. I work with you to tailor sessions to serve your individual needs through the incorporation of expressive arts, the NeuroAffective Relational Model, IFS, SE and ecopsychology.
“Just as a plant spontaneously moves toward sunlight, there is in each of us an impulse moving toward connection and healing.”
— Heller and Lapierre