Heart Space Art Studio
Process > Product
Heart Space is all about what it is like to make, create, explore and be curious. The workshops, classes and open studio times are meant to support individual, group and community experience of mind body connection and healing through arts, movement, learning and curiosity. Collaborators who offers something out of Heart Space have a collective goal in mind to create community, opportunity for learning, growth and connection to oneself and others.
Increasing access to the art making process
This art studio is a safe and inclusive space and to keep that experience in tact we encourage our guests to meet themselves and each other with curiosity and openness. We encourage participants to show kindness in their process as well as others. We ask that participants treat materials as if they are their own, with care and attention.
What is art therapy and how is it different from art as therapy?
Great question! Art is inherently therapeutic but first lets define what art therapy is…
"Art therapy is a mental health profession that enriches the lives of individuals, families, and communities through active art-making, creative process, applied psychological theory, and human experience within a psychotherapeutic relationship.
Art therapy, facilitated by a professional art therapist, effectively supports personal and relational treatment goals as well as community concerns. Art therapy is used to improve cognitive and sensorimotor functions, foster self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivate emotional resilience, promote insight, enhance social skills, reduce and resolve conflicts and distress, and advance societal and ecological change” -American Art Therapy Association
If I attend a group, workshop or class am I doing art therapy?
While working with a trained professional is the truest form of art therapy, at Heart Space we also believe that art, in and of itself, is therapeutic. So if you attend a workshop, class, group or open studio, you will likely feel the benefits of engaging with the arts and we believe that is therapeutic, however, unless it is otherwise noted with consent forms, the classes, workshops and groups are not therapy nor a replacement for therapy.
Heart Space Therapy
Individual - Family - Couples
Therapy Services with Maddie Johnson, LMFT, ATR
How did Heart Space start?
Heart Space has always been an idea for Maddie until 2023 when it became a reality. It grew from Heart Space Therapy which Maddie established in 2020 after working in various settings including hospitals, clinics and outpatient settings. Maddie wanted to decrease the stigma of therapy by creating a therapeutic space that is inviting, warm, creative and inspiring. Heart Space is located in a storefront near the intersection of 54th and Penn. Its has big windows, high ceilings and open space. As a registered art therapist, being able to have the arts easily accessible in the therapeutic setting was a challenge but not at Heart Space. Supplies and a creative space are right next to the comfortable and cozy sitting space. Heart Space is dedicated to creating a community space for people where you can show up as you are an engage with arts. The hope is offer a variety of workshops, classes and open studio times to connect individuals to the creative parts of themselves that they have potentially lost touch with or need support reconnecting to. Heart Space is an inclusive and open minded environment and embraces everyone just as they are when they walk in the door.
Who started Heart Space?
Meet Maddie Johnson, LMFT, ATR (She/Her/Hers)
Hello! I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist as well as a Registered Art Therapist. Having worked with clients in their home, along side them in partial hospitalization programming as well as in outpatient clinical settings, I know first hand how important it is to connect to your therapist. I believe for therapy to be successful there must be a positive and mutually respectful relationship between client and therapist. Therefore I focus on helping individuals feel comfortable as they engage in the process of understanding themselves and the world around them.
As a relational therapist I work from a systems perspective believing relationships are essential to our healing journey. Sometimes that means exploring our attachment styles and seeing how that affects our current relationships - healthy and unhealthy and then working towards gaining and maintaining relationships that feel supportive and safe. I identify myself as a mind-body therapist, meaning that I like to support clients as they become attune to their inner experiences. I also utilize cognitive behavioral therapy as well as psychodynamic approaches where applicable. I am also trained in Accelerated Resolution Therapy allowing me to support clients with reprocessing traumatic experiences.
I also believe therapy does not have to be all talk. As a Registered Art Therapist, I make art materials available to all clients who are interested. Art can be powerful within the therapeutic setting and is a helpful tool to create movement and growth. If my clients are open to it, we can explore making art together or we can take a directive approach and work on focused goals using art media.
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