Art supplies scattered on a wooden floor, including tubes of paint, brushes, colored pencils, scissors, and a partially completed canvas painting of an abstract face.

Art Therapy

Your Catalyst to Calm & Discovery Through Creativity

Art therapy is more than just creating something beautiful—it’s a pathway to understanding, healing, and growth. When emotions feel overwhelming or difficult to put into words, the creative process offers a different way forward. At Firm Foundation Family Services in Ashburn, Virginia, our art therapy sessions help individuals explore their inner world through creativity, moving beyond surface-level expression into deeper clarity and calm. We guide clients toward greater self-awareness, emotional release, and a renewed sense of peace through intentional, creative work.

Meet Chia-Hua, Your Art Therapist

LPC, LCPAT, ATR-BC®

Chia-Hua is a Board Certified Registered Art Therapist® (ATR-BC®) by Art Therapy Credentials Board. She works with children, adolescents, adults, and families from diverse cultural backgrounds, specializing in trauma therapy, life transitions, and emotional regulation — including depression, anxiety, ADHD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

With her experience across diverse communities, Chia-Hua creates a safe, authentic space for growth, healing, and hope.

Chia-Hua is licensed in both Virginia and Maryland. She serves clients in-person at her Ashburn office and virtually throughout Virginia and Maryland.

ACB logo with the text 'Accredited Credentials, Verified Competence, Trusted Standards' next to it.
Learn more about Chia-Hua

Benefits Of Art Therapy

  • Build meaningful connection: Experience a sense of belonging through shared creativity and supportive community.

  • Express emotions beyond words: Explore and communicate thoughts and feelings in ways that don’t rely solely on verbal expression.

  • Engage your creativity: Tap into your natural creativity as a tool for self-discovery and healing.

  • Gain clarity and self-awareness: Use the creative process to better understand your emotions, experiences, and inner world.

  • Feel grounded and at ease: Experience a calming, restorative environment designed to support emotional well-being.

Community & Institutional Art Therapy Services

A glimpse into a museum-based art therapy program and group art therapy sessions that Chia-Hua co-facilitate at an adult day center in Washington, DC, where creativity becomes a pathway for expression, connection, and healing.

At Firm Foundation Family Services, we extend art therapy beyond the clinical setting into community, healthcare, and organizational environments. These programs are designed to support emotional well-being, connection, and expression in group-based and institutional contexts.

We provide tailored art therapy services for:

  • Adult Day Centers: Theme-based and open-studio art therapy groups that support emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being, including programs designed for individuals with ongoing or emerging health needs.

  • Caregiver & Staff Support Programs: “Care for the Caregivers” sessions offering monthly open-studio art therapy experiences for your team members to process critical recent events, promote emotional restoration, and connect with one another.

  • Hospital-Based Programs: Group art therapy sessions for patients, including individuals recovering from traumatic brain injury and other complex medical conditions, focused on expression, processing, and healing.

  • Children’s & Special Needs Programs: Creative group art sessions for children, including adapted approaches for children with special needs in structured environments such as summer programs and camps.

  • Museum & Community-Based Art Therapy: Experiential, theme-based art therapy programs held in community and museum settings that encourage reflection, creativity, and shared meaning-making.

  • Workshops, Support Groups & Team Building: Art-based experiences designed for organizations and teams to strengthen communication, reduce stress, and foster collaboration through creative engagement.

Upcoming Art Workshops

Events
Present & Future Collage Art Workshop - Date TBD
Jun 10

A small-group collage art workshop led by Chia-Hua, a Licensed Professional Counselor and Board-Certified Art Therapist. Explore your present and envision your future through creative expression. No art experience needed. $55 per person | Limited to 8 participants.

What People Are Saying

Person in an art therapy session drawing a bridge and tree on paper, using colored pencils.

“Art therapy is calming, beneficial, and effective.”

“The atmosphere/setting is conducive to express one’s self in a safe environment.”

Painting supplies and a paintbrush on a table in an art workshop with attendees working on their artwork in the background.

“The Gracefully Art workshop provided an intentional space to create art & share lived experience with others.”

Watercolor painting of the Earth showing a view of the globe with visible land and water, emphasizing yellow, blue, and white colors.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Our sessions are designed for children, tweens/teens, adults, and families. Everyone is welcome, regardless of prior art experience.

  • Not at all! Art therapy is about expression and emotional growth, not creating a masterpiece. All skill levels are welcome.

  • Art therapy helps with emotional regulation, stress reduction, trauma healing, problem-solving, communication, and self-expression. Participants often leave feeling calmer, more grounded, and inspired.

  • Chia-Hua specializes in trauma, anxiety, depression, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and life transitions, offering personalized support in every session.