Amanda Shaw

SERVICES Hello and welcome! I am glad you are here. ​As a trauma-informed Art Therapist and Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern, I am dedicated to helping hold your story through art. I believe that you are the expert and that my role is to leave you feeling empowered and capable of directing your own treatment and life journey. ​We will use evidenced based therapy to optimize finding creative solutions to mental health needs and ongoing treatment. I am experienced in working with those suffering from self-harm, low self-esteem, parent-child relational issues, depression and trauma. I am here to help. ABOUT ART THERAPY Art therapy is an expressive modality that is used to help individuals move through life challenges and work towards self-acceptance and growth. Art therapy relies more on imagery and symbols than just the spoken word. This focus helps to bypass verbal boundaries and create a safe, external space within which we can reflect and make meaning. It is a modality that focuses on process over product. You therefore do not have to be a skilled artist to work with an art therapist. Instead, you just need a desire to understand yourself on a deeper level, and a willingness to explore and express creatively. During a session, we may utilize a variety of art material and techniques according to your needs and preferences. Such material includes: acrylic and watercolor paint, colored pencils, oil pastels, collage material, 3-D items such as plaster and clay, and sand tray miniatures. We will not focus on how well you can create something, but rather on what you learn from the imagery you create. A piece of art that represents how you feel and experience your world is what I consider to be true art. Engaging in the creative process can help an individual improve their quality of life. It can help you improve interpersonal skills, reconcile emotional conflicts, manage behavior, reduce anxiety and depression, foster self-awareness, and increase self-esteem. AMANDA SHAW Amanda is a Florida native and artist at heart. She received her Bachelors degree in psychology, with a minor in studio art at the University of Central Florida in 2014. Before obtaining her master's in Art Therapy at the George Washington University, Amanda taught elementary art education at a title-I school in Cocoa, Florida for two years. She has worked in a variety of positions within the art and mental health fields. These positions include Dependency Case Manager with the Department of Children and Families for Brevard, Florida and School Programs Assistant for the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in D.C. Formerly the Membership Chair(2020-21) of the Florida Art Therapy Association(FATA), Amanda is passionate about getting involved with her local, state and national organizations. She has been a member of the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and active chairperson for (FATA) over the years. ​ Presently, Amanda works with at-risk youth at an inpatient psychiatric stabilization facility in Bradenton, FL. She serves as an Adolescent Therapist on a unit of 20, collaborating with an interdisciplinary treatment team to provide crisis stabilization for clients suffering from suicidal ideation, homicidal ideation, self-harm and severe mental illness. Amanda sees private clients on evenings and weekends. In her spare time Amanda practices her own creative flow with art, yoga and holistic healing as a Reiki II practitioner. She continues to spread love, light and healing on the East and West coasts of Florida.