Ariel Anderson, Professional Counselor Associate

she/her

I believe in helping empower you to solve your own problems through cultivating confidence, positive regard, and gaining power over thought distortions. 

I believe that experiential learning through the art making process and the therapeutic relationship can help one increase their ability for creative problem solving, self soothing, thought exploration, emotional expression, somatic processing, healthy communication, and reflective distance. 

I believe in dealing with the complexity of this world through utilizing chaos theory– the more we fill up the metaphorical toolbox of coping skills, the more options we have  to use whenever life brings us troubles or something unexpected, and the more we have an open mind to potential paths forward when we face troubles, the more likely we will choose a path that is in line with our values and helps us in achieving our desired goals.

Professional Life

Ariel completed her Masters of Art in Art Therapy from Lewis and Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling in 2022. Ariel’s experience in Art and Psychology includes: 

• Residential Dual Diagnosis Counselor and Art Therapist at Fora Health, an Addiction Treatment Center where she worked with folks struggling with addiction and a co-occuring mental health disorder including C-PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, and ASD.

• Art Therapist Intern and School Counselor at Beaverton High School where she worked mainly with adolescents with identity related struggles.

• Online Open Studio Facilitator for Lewis and Clark Art Therapy Department 

• Therapeutic Art Consultant and Art Muralist for Color Outside the Lines, a non-profit organization supporting art-based engagement with the foster youth community of Portland 

• Ariel completed the pre-art therapy track at Marylhurst University, studying Psychology and a multidisciplinary concentration in Art 

• Artistically, Ariel has dabbled with painting (oil, acrylic, watercolor, tempera), sculpture (ceramics and found objects), collage, fiber arts, digital photography, digital art, earth works, installations, murals, and stained glass. Ariel is committed to finding art processes that both engage and help heal the individual. 

Ariel specializes in working with adolescents and adults struggling with addiction or identity related issues (gender, sexuality, self image, and neurodiversity) as well as other co-occurring struggles like: 

• Anxiety

• PTSD

• Depression

Ariel utilizes the following therapies and frameworks within her art therapy practice:

• ACT

• DBT

• CBT

• Health at Every Size 

• Sex-positivity 

• Trauma-Informed 

• Harm Reduction 

Personal Life

Ariel was born and raised in SE Portland, she attended Linn Benton Community College, Oregon State University, and graduated from Marylhurst University. In her free time she enjoys: 

• Making multimedia artwork 

• Reading fantasy and sci-fi novels 

• Listening to audiobook lectures about astrophysics and the universe 

• Creative writing 

• Cuddling with her Great Dane and binge watching TV shows 

• Baking and Cooking 

• Hanging out with friends 

• DIY projects