Faculty And Staff
Current Instructors
Christina Becker
Christina Becker is a Jungian Analyst with a private practice in Toronto. Her journey took her to C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, Switzerland. She graduated in 2002.
In addition to her Jungian training, she studied astrology at the Faculty of Astrological Studies in London, England, and with Liz Greene through the Astrodeinst seminars in Zürich.
She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in music composition and has an active interest in sound healing and music. My post-graduate degree was an MBA in non-profit management. She continues to be a successful organizational consultant to the non-profit sector; she is the founder of the Canadian Nonprofit Academy and a principal in a small family business, Becker Associates.
Monique (Mo Thunder) Bedard
Mo (they/them) is a nonbinary/fluid, neurodivergent multidisciplinary artist and facilitator who grew up in a small town along the St. Clair River, they currently live in T’karonto (Toronto), which has been home for over a decade. They are Haudenosaunee (Oneida Nation of the Thames), French-Canadian and Anishinaabe (Aamjiwnaang First Nation).
Mo holds a BFA in studio art with a focus on drawing, silkscreen printing, photography and video from Fanshawe College and the University of Lethbridge, however, they are also self and community-taught. They have over 15 years of experience in community arts facilitation, organization, education, collaboration and consultation. Since high school, they have been working in community arts creating solo and collaborative murals and providing group and individual art facilitation. In June 2022, Mo graduated from the Toronto Art Therapy Institute (TATI).
Through their multidisciplinary art practice (painting, murals, mixed media, beading, journaling, poetry and textiles), they create visual stories about their lived experiences in connection to their personal healing. Mo is also inspired by intergenerational connections and healing, family and memories, personal and collective empowerment, and all of creation, especially skyworld.
Mo co-created and co-facilitated a community art / creative expression program for young Indigenous folks in T’karonto, Our Stories Our Truths (OSOT) and a mural collective of BIPoC 2SLGBTQQIAP+ and gender-diverse creatives, Earth Sky Collective (ESC).
They have a deep love and passion for learning Oneida language, zines, journals, art supplies, music, neurodiversity, organization, sewing, fashion and tattoos!
Taylor Bourassa-Wilson
Taylor Bourassa-Wilson is a Registered Psychotherapist and Registered Art Therapist in private practice at Wellness Grove Therapy since May 2021. Her approach to therapy is anti-oppressive, person-centred/Humanistic, and she is continually engaged with decolonizing her practice. Art and nature meet and merge to create a firm foundation for how she engages with psychotherapeutic practice, and are at the heart of her practice, identifying herself as an eco-conscious art therapist. She welcomes the inclusion of meaningful forms of media into the art therapy space including video games, television, books, anime and manga; taking the personal into consideration with each new client she meets.
She started her work with TATI post graduation as the administrator for the online student art therapy centre, and found the work fulfilling and engaging. She is now on the research advisement team as Thesis and Major Research Project advisor, Proposal reviewer and second reader; and instructs two courses for the distance learning program — Eco-art therapy amidst the ecological crisis & Theories and Ways of Knowing: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.
She has a passion for learning, education, and supporting students in their continued education, including working as an on-site supervisor for practicum placements, in class through instruction, and through the creation and dissemination of her self-published student resource book & continuing education courses.
Erin Briggs
Erin Briggs is a registered psychotherapist and art therapist who has been practicing for 8 years to help her clients with healing, psychoeducation and growth through expressive arts modalities. Erin has focused her work extensively with children and youth who have complex mental health needs at Youthdale Treatment Centres. She facilitates individual and group therapy for youth in inpatient, live-in treatment and outpatient settings. To expand her work in art therapy, Erin has also started to provide art therapy on a private basis, focusing on short-term, individual therapy.
With the complexity of this work, she further developed her skill set to focus on providing a trauma-focused approach to art therapy. Erin utilizes her continued education to being multiple frameworks into her practice including CBT, DBT, trauma-focused CBT, mindfulness practices and narrative therapy in order to guide those in need through their treatment and towards their goals.
Erin is committed to meeting her clients where they are at in terms of their mental health in order to support the development of a strong therapeutic relationship, while recognizing the need for different styles of communication and processing.
Meryl Calaguas Taylor
Meryl was born and raised in Manila, Philippines. After a personal experience with Art Therapy, her pursuits brought her to Canada to study at TATI. Since 2019, she has been working with survivors of sexual exploitation. She is passionate about trauma therapy and practices with a somatic lens.
David Cho
David Cho (He/Him) is an art therapist with 13+ years of experience working with children, youth, adults, and families. His experience within community mental health agencies has allowed him to support clients through a trauma informed, client-centered, and anti-oppressive lens. David teaches at Humber College in both the Criminal Justice Services and Child and Youth Care program. In his 5+ years at Lumenus, he was able to support children, youth, and families, as well as staff, through his role as both Individual and Family Therapist and Clinical Manager. David was a key component in the creation of the mental health program through a partnership with MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment) at Launchpad, with a focus on wellness through an inclusive and community-based lens. He also has 5+ years of experience of trauma treatment and assessment work with children and adolescents within the community counselling sector. David has a passion for program development, advocacy, and community building through the creative arts.
Jacqueline Compton
Jacqueline(she/her) is an art and body-based therapist. She is a Registered Psychotherapist, RP and a Registered Art Therapist, RCAT, and is currently a student, completing her Sensorimotor Psychotherapy certification. Over the past 11 years, she has been developing a trauma-focused practice that uniquely incorporates art-based, body-based and talk-based therapy. Her approach is deeply rooted in art and creative psychotherapy, somatic therapies and neuroscience. Jacqueline works from an anti-oppressive, anti-racist, feminist, trauma-informed approach and specializes in the healing of trauma and how it shows up in one’s life.
Jacqueline has worked in the field of trauma and the Violence Against Women’s Sector in Toronto for over 11years. She began her work in the Caribbean with women and children that had experienced violence. She worked for more than five years as an art therapist implementing and creating service delivery at the YWCA Toronto’s Breakthrough program for women who have experienced violence and abuse, as well as part of supporting program development. Jacquie has also worked for the past five years at the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic that offers legal, interpretation, and counselling services to those that have experienced violence. She has worked in roles as Therapist/Advocate, Manager of counselling services, and as the Director of counselling services. In her roles, she has led and supported frontline staff, provided supervision and consultation to agencies and provided innovative programming development in trauma work as well as providing education on vicarious trauma and anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices. Jacquie has a deep passion for trauma and recovery and in her private practice works with clients that seek transformation and integration of their traumatic experiences into their lives. Jacquie believes that a trauma-informed approach is not just a frame of working collaboratively with teams and clients but is in fact, a way of being in relationship with others. Jacqueline identifies as a bi-racial black woman. She was born in Toronto but spent her formative years growing up on the island of St. Lucia. Jacquie has always had a deep passion and curiosity towards what makes us uniquely and ever so beautifully human.
Ruth Danziger
Ruth is an Expressive Arts Therapist, Puppeteer and Storyteller. She has facilitated puppetry workshops and art exchanges in remote northern communities with Community Works, and helped to develop and deliver inter-generational creativity gatherings there. In addition to her private practice, she has worked as an expressive arts therapist at Bloorview MacMillan Children’s Centre using puppets as a therapeutic medium with children and teens, and also animated puppetry and storytelling at the hospital’s Spiral Garden. With The Parent-Child Mother Goose Program, Ruth has been involved for over 20 years, as executive and program director in Toronto, and a senior workshop leader, teaching across Canada. As a storyteller she facilitates workshops with elder and newcomer communities in Toronto and edited I Bring You a Story a book of multicultural stories, collected from Toronto community members. Ruth is happy to be on the faculty at TATI as well as at Storytelling Toronto. Her workshops and presentations have been popular at professional conferences including CATA, Play Therapy International and IEATA.
And yes, though many years have passed, Ruth was a puppeteer with CBC television. For those of you who watched Mr. Dress-up, Ruth’s alter-ego was the puppet Annie.
Sharlene Friedman
Sharlene Friedman has been in independent practice since 1989. She works as an Art Therapist as well as with energy work in the form of Jin Shin Jyutsu® (a Japanese art of harmony and balance). Since 2007 Sharlene has been on faculty with the Toronto Art Therapy Institute as the Group Art Therapist.
In the past twenty-six years, in conjunction with private practice, she has worked with numerous agencies including women’s shelters, The Rape Crisis Centre of Peel Dufferin County, the Peel Collaborative and the Barbara Schlifer Clinic in Toronto, where her work focused on working with trauma, recovery and personal growth. From 1996 Sharlene was instrumental in creating and co-facilitating an open group for women who have survived childhood sexual abuse and trauma. She is the co-author of the manual, Weaving Our Voices-An open group for women who have survived Childhood Sexual Abuse and trauma- Group Leaders Manual, and was responsible for training agencies in Peel, Guelph and Toronto in this model.
Sharlene facilitated an open art therapy group for women called “Creating Connections” at the Harbourfront Community Centre in Toronto from 1995 to 2011. She also organizes workshops in Process Work and Jin Shin Jyutsu® and teaches Self Help in Jin Shin Jyutsu®.
Sharlene is available for consultations, facilitation, supervision and teaching.
Petrea Hansen-Adamidis
Petrea Hansen-Adamidis is a Registered Canadian Art Therapist and Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario. Petrea has worked in the field of art therapy since 1994 at various agencies with children and adults. For the past 16 years she has worked with children and their families at a children’s community mental health center, Petrea serves individual and parent child dyads, specializing in trauma assessments and treatment. Petrea is also a psychotherapy supervisor and art therapy student field supervisor. She teaches the History and Development of the Profession of Art Therapy as well as Child and Adolescent Development and Art Therapy at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. Petrea practices in Toronto in private practice (www.arttherapist.ca) and runs expressive arts workshops for health and wellbeing with an emphasis on self-care in her private practice.
Maria Teresa Hernandez
Maria Teresa (she/her) is a registered art therapist, RP and RCAT, She dedicated 11 years to implementing and developing service delivery at the YWCA Toronto’s Breakthrough Program and Choices for Living Program facilitating art therapy groups for women and gender-diverse individuals who have experienced violence, or who are living with mental health challenges, utilizing dialogue, expressive arts therapy interventions, mindfulness, and body-based awareness practices. She has also designed and
facilitated mindfulness-based art therapy programs, including the Mindfulness through Creativity Program at the Mindfulness Centre, where she has been enrolled in mindfulness training for nearly 20 years. This experience has deepened her passion for integrating mindfulness and art therapy.
With a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from UNAM and a Graduate Diploma in Art Therapy from the Toronto Art Therapy Institute, Maria Teresa is a certified Yoga teacher and has completed the Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute Training Program Level I. The SoulCollage® Facilitator Training and The Applied Polyvagal Theory in Yoga – Level 1 and Level 2 course with Dr. Arielle Schwartz & Dr. Stephen Porges.
Maria Teresa has participated nationally and internationally in more than 21 solo art shows including three museums in Mexico: La Tallera National Institute of Fine Arts, Casa Trotsky, and Casa del Poeta. Her solo show Deconstructing reality: ALWAYS GOING ON BEYOND took place at Propeller Art Gallery from June 19- July 7, 2024. She has participated as well in numerous group shows. Since 2011 she has been a member of the Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts in the Queen Street West Gallery District, Toronto,
Ontario.
Maria Teresa’s approach is grounded in an anti-oppressive, anti-racist, feminist, and trauma-informed framework. She is committed to integrating mindfulness and art therapy to promote healing and social transformation.
Anand Jaggernauth
Anand graduated from the Toronto Art Therapy Institute in 2022. He started his private practice, ARTMA – The Art and Science of Therapy, in September 2021. The pillars of his practice are grounded in being person-centered, anti-oppressive and collaborative with a focus on therapeutic relationship and presence. Creativity, mindfulness and compassion are the foundation of his practice on which he continues to professionally train and develop in areas such as Narrative Therapy, EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Somatic and EFT. He is also a trained SoulCollage® Facilitator and holds a BSc in Geophysics from the University of Western Ontario. Anand’s major project at TATI, Art Therapy with Mindfulness in the Corporate Environment, brought art therapy into new environments. He brings this approach into his practice today by offering creative moments as a source of wisdom in traditional talk therapy spaces. In a commitment for more accessible therapy, Anand offers low cost mental health services through Hard Feelings in Toronto where he sees individual clients and runs an 8 week free art therapy group each year.
Rakshanda Khan
Rakshanda Khan, MA, DTATI, RP is an Art Therapist and Registered Psychotherapist practicing in Tkaronto Kanata (Toronto, Canada) on the traditional territories of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe peoples.
Rakshanda Khan graduated as an Art Therapist in the midst of a global pandemic. Since then she has been providing individual and group art therapy and workshops through her private practice and otherwise with children, youth and adults at hospices, shelters, hospitals, community centres and non-profit agencies in the Greater Toronto Area. As a South Asian immigrant to Canada, she also has experience with person-centred counselling in Pakistan. A combination of lived experience, training in art therapy, psychotherapy and peer support fuel Rakshanda’s approach to meeting individuals where they are at, as well as her commitment to mental health advocacy. She strives to maintain a critical self-consciousness in her work, practising from a client-centered, strengths-based, anti-racist and anti-oppressive framework that recognizes that we all embody creative resources that we can access for personal growth. Her scholarly interests include graphic medicine, digital and online creative processes, as well as traditional arts practices to guide healing.
Amy Lister
RP, DTATI, PCC, OCT
Amy Lister (she/they) is passionate about art therapy and the power of care, creativity and connection to heal. Living and practicing in Tkaranto (colonially known as Toronto), the Dish with One Spoon Wampum agreement guides Amy in her relationship with the land and with all human and more-than-human
kin.
Amy brings her experience as a leadership coach, an educator, an organizational development
consultant within health care, and as a Work That Reconnects facilitator, to her art therapy, teaching and facilitation practices. She weaves together art therapy, emotion-focused family therapy,
polyvagal informed focusing and body-based approaches to her client work.
For Amy, supporting innovative, holistic research approaches is an important act of nurturing inclusive spaces for reflection and learning that aim to help interrupt historical harms within traditional educational and research structures. Committed to anti-oppressive practice, she works to create spaces for diverse points of view and ways of knowing to be considered and celebrated within scholarship and art therapy practice, promoting inclusion and expanded social and environmental justice.
Amy currently serves on the Canadian Art Therapy Association Board of Directors, participates in
several working committees, and is a member of, and/or volunteer with, many other art therapy,
psychotherapy and social change oriented organizations locally and across Canada. She was a
thesis advisor and instructor for the Canadian International Institute for Art Therapy (CiiAT) and has
presented at global events such as the World Art Therapy conference, UCLA HOPE Series, Climate
Psychology Alliance of North America, and the Work That Reconnects Network GAIA Summit. As an Alumni, Amy feels especially privileged to be supporting students at TATI and values being a part of the on-going growth and development of this community.
Amy’s life and work is focused on nourishing an individual and collective sense of belonging within
the web of life and an expanded capacity to care for self, one another and the wellbeing of all living beings.
More information: https://amylister.ca/about-amy-lister
Ruth Luginbuehl
Ruth Luginbuehl graduated from TATI in 2004 and won the Martin Fischer award for best thesis that year. In 2005 she established and is since teaching the course of Medical Art Therapy at TATI. She is delighted to be on the TATI distance learning faculty to teach this course. Ruth is a medical art therapist practicing in Toronto, Ontario. As a fully trained pediatrician her expertise covers physical illness and its psychological impact, with a main interest in palliative and bereavement care and fertility medicine. Ruth is also a professional artist working in her private studio, where she is teaching expressive arts to small groups.
Cynthia Morin
Later in life, Cynthia went back to school to study art, and was struck by how it enlivened her and provided insight into herself. This led her to T.A.T.I. and her passion for public practice art therapy; free community art studios, using the Art Hive model developed by Dr. Janis Timm-Bottos of Concordia University. Cynthia is passionate about the therapeutic potential of creativity in community and her mission is to spread the enlivening seeds of creativity and the experience of creating art in community with others. Cynthia believes that these free, community art making spaces should be in every community and that through them, individuals and communities can heal and thrive.
April Penny
April Penny is an artist and Registered Art Therapist with degrees in Fine Arts and Education from Queens University and a Post Graduate Diploma in Art Therapy from the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. She has been practicing art therapy since 2005 and provides art therapy services in long-term care settings in Hamilton, specializing in geriatrics and aging young adults with complex needs.
April has facilitated community-themed arts-based initiatives within these settings to promote resident creativity and bring visibility to the value of therapeutic art projects for these populations, co-created and facilitated art and horticulture therapy programs for individuals with dementia, and helped develop art studios and wellness rooms within various LTC settings.
April believes that art therapy as an accessible and inclusive therapeutic modality, can help to eliminate barriers of physical limitations. Art therapy provides an assisted means for individuals to create customized artwork, explore meaningful mark-making, have control and ownership, develop an alternate form of communication, and author unique and creative narratives.
As a Registered Art Therapist and RP, she has provided supervision for students since 2015. April is currently teaching the ‘Art Therapy with Older Adults’ workshop intensive at TATI and has provided eco-art workshops inspired by her grounding eco-art practice and passion for art hives and the open-studio model.
Afsaneh Shafai
Afsaneh Shafai is an interdisciplinary artist, Registered Psychotherapist and Registered Art Therapist, and a person of diaspora of Iranian-Canadian heritage. She graduated in Fine Arts from the University of Manitoba and she continued her studies in Art Therapy at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. She is based in Tkaronto (Toronto), the ancestral territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and the home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. She has decades of clinical experience helping a diverse population of all ages with their mental health challenges and struggles.
Yvonne Simpson
Dr. Yvonne Simpson is an educator, researcher, and disability justice practitioner whose work examines the intersections of enslavement, disablement, race, and occupational health and safety within the contexts of transnational migration and Canadian history. Her scholarship draws on intersectionality, critical race theory, and critical disability studies to interrogate gaps and distortions in health informatics and historical accountability. By analyzing primary and secondary source, including framing the Code Noir as one of Canada’s earliest disability policy, Dr. Simpson contributes original insights into systemic injustices experienced by enslaved Black and Indigenous peoples, as well as racialized Canadian-born and immigrant workers. Her research fills critical gaps in Canadian historiography and advances the field of critical disability studies.
In addition to her research, Dr. Simpson is deeply committed to knowledge mobilization and collaborative partnership. She has led curriculum transformation initiatives that promote decolonization, equity, diversity, and disability inclusion, working with faculty, students, alumni, and industry partners to ensure alignment with institutional strategic priorities and provincial standards.
Her professional experience spans accessibility services, education, and advocacy, supported by graduate-level specialization in education, disability studies, human rights legislation, and social justice. Dr. Simpson has held leadership roles in academia and across the private, public, and social service sectors. Throughout her career, she has built systems of support that foster growth, well-being, and sustainable alliances with diverse communities.
Jazmine Tufford-Singh
Jazmine Tufford-Singh is a registered art therapist (RCAT) and registered psychotherapist (RP). As an artist, Jazmine has always known the healing power of art, and she discovered the natural combination of psychology and art during her early undergraduate studies at the University of Guelph. Following this, she pursued the Creative Arts Therapies Masters program at Concordia University in Montréal, and it was the transformative support of the teachers in this program that inspired Jazmine to pursue teaching herself. Jazmine has worked in private practice supporting children, youth, and adults since 2014. She has created and facilitated art therapy programs for people of all ages and abilities. Jazmine is passionate about joining others in holding their stories, inviting people to connect with their inner creativity, and channeling this as a tool for growth, connection, and healing.
Jade Wu
Jade (they/them) is a non-binary, trans, neurodivergent, 2nd generation Chinese settler. They are a registered psychotherapist (RP), art therapist and artist. Jade holds a BFA in studio arts from Concordia University and diploma from Toronto Art Therapy Institute.
Jade has worked in various community healthcare services and social services providing counselling, case management, and advocacy for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals and individuals who have experienced violence and abuse. They are passionate in advocating for low-barrier harm reduction practices, racial justice, disability justice, sex work justice, housing justice, sexual/reproductive health justice and queer/trans affirmative healthcare. Prior to TATI, they worked in community arts and provided peer support for queer and trans individuals.
Jade is currently in private practice working primarily with queer and trans individuals, survivors of gender-based violence and bodies of culture. Jade provides individual psychotherapy and group therapy at community healthcare agencies. They weave in narrative and body-based practices into their art therapy practice.
TATI Academic & Practicum Advisory Committee
Sharlene Friedman
Jacquie Compton
April Penny
Taylor Bourassa
Patricia Ki
Dave Cho
Staff
Patricia Ki
PhD, RCAT, RSW
Executive Director
Patricia Ki (she/her) is an immigrant/settler of Chinese-Hakka descent originally from Hong Kong, currently living in Tkaronto. She is a registered art therapist and social worker, and holds a PhD in Critical Disability Studies from York University. She is a graduate of OCAD (BFA 2007), TATI (2011) and York University (BSW 2013, MSW 2014). Since 2008 she has worked in various community-based mental health and social services that support individuals who have experienced violence, housing/income insecurity, and intersecting forms of marginalization. She is also an instructor, practicum supervisor and major research project advisor at TATI, and an adjunct faculty member in the Critical Disability Studies program at York University.
Kristina Borg
HBA, MA
Operations & Student Services Manager
Kristina Borg (she/her) is an administrative professional with a deep admiration for arts-based education and research. She is a settler living and working in Tkaronto as the Operations and Student Services Manager at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. In her role at TATI, Kristina is responsible for managing systems and records relating to the college’s daily operations and student services, in collaboration with the rest of the staff team. Kristina has a long history of curiosity towards and love of the arts and their ability to heal and connect, particularly through her interests in dance and music. She holds an HBA in Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures from Mount Allison University, an MA in Spanish Linguistics from the University of Ottawa, and she has also pursued graduate studies in dance and cultural research. Kristina loves being part of the community of caring and creative folks at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute and she is always happy to provide support and guidance to prospective applicants, current and past students, instructors, and other community members. Kristina can be reached at kristinab@tati.on.ca.
Athena Bee
BA, BEd, MEd, DTATI Cand.
Office & Student Services Coordinator
Athena Bee (they/them) BA, BEd, MEd, is a Queer/2Spirit DTATI (Candidate) at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. Originally from Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia), Athena is of blended (Scottish, English, Mi’kmaq) heritage and transplanted themself to T’karonto in Aug 2024.
Athena’s radical politics and visible Queerness led to them feeling like a “too big fish in a too small bowl” which planted the seeds of their journey to become an Art Therapist.
Athena’s areas of study and interest lie in radical community vitality, decolonization, relationship building with the lands and waters, neurodiversity, disability justice, Queerness, accountability, and the ancestral wisdom we each hold.
Athena is a shameless dreamer, a staunch defender of those who are ‘othered’, and is endlessly humbled by the beauty and wisdom of kin who live on the fringes of society.
Athena’s first love in art is print making, while also exploring work with water colour, acrylics, aerosol, leathercraft, embroidery, herbal medicines, and traditional beadwork. When they are not art making or working, Athena can be found acting as Cat Dad to foster kitties from the Toronto Cat Rescue.
Athena is very excited to be joining the staff and faculty at TATI as the Office & Student Services Coordinator, and they look forward to learning and growing along the way.
Amy Tschupruk
BA, RP(Qualifying), DTATI
Practicum Coordinator
Amy Tschupruk (she/her) is a settler of European descent based in Tkaronto. She is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) and Art Therapist with experience in long-term care, hospital, public school, and virtual/in-person 1-on-1, and is currently working in private practice. Focusing her thesis work on art therapy amidst ecological crisis, Amy strongly believes in the interconnectedness of wellbeing and the importance of approaching care work through an intersectional lens. She is a member of the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America and is committed to supporting clients and communities in navigating both personal and systemic challenges. With skills from her previous career in web development, Amy contributes to the art therapy field with digital and technological support, including her role as the Social Media and Communications Coordinator at the Canadian Art Therapy Association (CATA). Amy has quickly grown passionate about art therapy and the art therapy community, and is excited to be supporting students as Practicum Coordinator.
Rehaana Manek
MA, DTATI, RP(Qualifying)
TATI Student Art Therapy Centre Coordinator
Rehaana Manek (she/they) graduated from TATI in 2025. They are a registered psychotherapist (qualifying) in Tkaronto Kanata (Toronto, Canada) on the traditional territories of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe peoples. They have 2+ years working with children and youth and providing therapy in the education system. They are focusing on growing their practice and working in community service agencies through expressive and creative art modalities as well as talk therapy.
Clinical Supervisors
Please see profiles elsewhere on this page for the following clinical supervisors:
Erin Briggs, RP, RCAT, DTATI
David Cho, RP, RCAT, DTATI
Jacqueline Compton, RCAT, RP
Sharlene Friedman, DTATI, RCAT, RP
Petrea Hansen-Adamidis, DTATI, RCAT, RP
Maria Teresa Hernandez, RCAT, RP
Patricia Ki, RCAT, RSW, PhD
Rakshanda Khan, MA, DTATI, RP
Afsaneh Shafai, RP, RCAT, DTATI, BFA
Rapinder Kaur
RCAT, RP
Rapinder Kaur is a Registered Psychotherapist and Art Therapist, clinical supervisor, board member, sought after public speaker, community organizer and experienced facilitator. She is deeply interested in liberation arts and how individual and community empowerment can disrupt systems of oppression.
Rapinder has presented workshops online and in person nationally and internationally. Rapinder has worked in a number of different settings, including schools, women’s shelter, psychiatric hospital, group homes, long term care, social service agencies and is the founder of Art as Therapy a private community based therapy practice southern Kanadario.
Currently Rapinder sits on the Board of Directors for Dufferin Child and Family Services and Family Transition Place.
Erin Kuri
MA, CCC, OATR
Erin completed an undergraduate degree with honours in Psychology and Visual Art from York University in 2003. In 2007 she graduated with a master’s degree in Creative Art Therapies (Art Therapy option) from Concordia University. Since this time, she has been working as an Art Therapist in various roles and settings such as child welfare, rape crisis centre, women’s shelter, and children’s mental health. In 2012 Erin completed a post-master’s diploma in Social Service Administration from the University of Toronto, while working in the position of Manager of Counselling Services within a rape crisis centre. Erin has held the positions of president of the Creative Arts in Counselling chapter of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association and Chair of Public Relations for the board of the Ontario Art Therapy Association. Erin is currently a member of the Health Sciences Research and Ethics Board for the University of Toronto. Erin is a certified member of the Canadian Counselling Association, a Registered member of the Ontario Art Therapy Association, and a professional member of the American Art Therapy Association. In her spare time, she enjoys painting, knitting, reading, cooking, hiking, and spending time with family and friends.
Suzanne Thomson
BA, DTATI, RCAT
Suzanne Thomson is a registered art therapist who has been practicing art therapy over 25 years using a variety of expressive arts modalities to facilitate the full expression of people’s multistoried lives. She provides clinical consultation to schools, hospitals and community based agencies, facilitates therapy groups, conducts training in art therapy practices and designs treatment tools and curriculums. Committed to creating enriching experiences that inform and transform lives, Suzanne integrates the arts, therapy and community activism with the hopes that people can access their strengths, capacity for growth and experience their contributions to the broader community.
Major Research Project Advising Team
Please see profiles elsewhere on this page for the following research advisors:
Taylor Bourassa, RP, DTATI
Patricia Ki, RCAT, RSW, PhD
Erin Kuri, MA, CCC, OATR
Amy Lister, RP, DTATI, PCC, OCT
Christel Bodenbender
MA, CertAT
Christel Bodenbender (she/her) is an artist, speculative fiction author, yoga teacher, and professional art therapist. Dealing with life struggles during her university studies, she realized that digital art making was her personal therapy, which enticed her to obtain a Post-Master’s Certificate in Art Therapy at the B.C. School of Art Therapy in Victoria.
Driven by her desire to help others and her interest in digital technology, her client-centered art therapy practice can be found online, focusing on themes around trauma. Christel has years of academic advising experience at both TATI and the Canadian International Institute of Art Therapy, guiding students through the process of wrapping major project research into words.
Geneviève Cloutier
PhD
Geneviève Cloutier (she/they) — also known as Gen — is a neuroqueer artist, re-searcher, educator, and facilitator living on unsurrendered and unceded Algonquin Anishinaabeg territory. With over twenty years of experience across educational, community, and cultural settings, Gen holds a Media Arts degree from Emily Carr University of Art and Design and a SSHRC-funded PhD in Education from the University of Ottawa. Their work —published in journals such as Art/Research International, International Journal of Education & the Arts, and the International Journal for Qualitative Studies in Education — explores arts-based methods, critical and relational pedagogy/inquiry, and decolonizing methodologies.
Gen teaches various courses at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education, including: Research Methodologies, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Education, Gender, Sexuality and Diversity, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and both intermediate and senior-level visual art education. They have supported graduate students — particularly at the Faculty of Education’s counselling stream — with the design of Major Research Projects, and serve as a research advisor at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. Rooted in anti-oppression and intersectionality, their practice is grounded in co-creation, care-based ecologies, and the transformative potential of art.
https://gencloutier.ca/
Olena Darewych
PhD, RP, RCAT
Olena Darewych is a Registered Psychotherapist in Ontario, a Registered Canadian Art Therapist, and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Spiritual Care and Psychotherapy at Martin Luther University College which is federated with Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a Past President of the Canadian Art Therapy Association and author of the book entitled, Positive Psychology Arts Activities: Creative Tools in Therapeutic Practice and Supervision. She completed her PhD in Expressive Therapies at Lesley University and as a mental health practitioner has 25 years of experience working with individuals of all ages and from culturally diverse backgrounds in a variety of clinical settings in Australia, Canada, USA, and Ukraine. She currently facilitates expressive arts therapy sessions for adults with autism spectrum disorders at Lawson Ministries Hamilton Autism Centre. Her research portfolio includes quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, arts-based, community-based, scoping reviews, and survey studies.
Ninat Friedland
MA, RP, CCC
Ninat Friedland (she/her) is a registered psychotherapist and art therapist with over fifteen years of experience working with children, youth, adults and families in research, clinical and community mental health. She holds a BFA from York and a Master’s in art therapy from Concordia University, with additional training in couple and family therapy from the University of Guelph.
Ninat takes a trauma-informed and collaborative approach to therapy, with influences from mindfulness and somatic practices. Ninat is passionate about supporting wellness through creativity and empowering individuals to be active members in their community. Outside of work you’ll find her combing the beach with her children for natural art supplies, doing yoga, and working with clay.
Naveen Khalfan
LMFT
Naveen Khalfan is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Registered Art
Therapist with over six years of experience in the mental health field. She earned her Bachelor’s
degree from the University of California, Davis, and her Master’s in Art Therapy from Notre
Dame de Namur University in California, USA.
Naveen’s clinical experience spans a wide range of populations and settings, including individuals living with Alzheimer’s, suicidal adolescents, and communities navigating trauma, substance use, and the effects of systemic oppression. She has led mindfulness-based art therapy groups focused on substance use recovery and worked at Headspace for over three years, deepening her skills in youth mental health and community-based care. Her therapeutic approach integrates talk therapy with expressive arts modalities to help clients access deeper self-awareness and healing. She is especially passionate about supporting BIPOC clients in exploring emotional regulation, self-love, and anger within a culturally responsive and trauma-informed framework.
As a research advisor, Naveen is particularly interested in projects that explore creative therapeutic approaches, intergenerational trauma, and the influence of social and cultural identity on mental health. She is committed to guiding students in developing research that is both clinically impactful and personally meaningful.
Carmen Oprea
MA, MFA, ATR-BC, RCAT
Carmen Oprea is a registered art therapist with post-graduate training in sandplay therapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy. She holds master’s degrees in both art therapy and fine arts, and is currently completing her doctoral studies in psychology.
Carmen provides art therapy services to individuals and groups of all ages through her clinic, Access Art Therapy, Montreal. She is particularly dedicated to offering culturally sensitive art therapy to Inuit and First Nations adolescents, drawing on her deep respect for Indigenous knowledge systems. Her facilitation and supervision work reflects a strong interest in community-based and art-based supervision models, inspired by public practice art therapy. She is the organizer of the World Art Therapy Conference and other professional events dedicated to creative arts therapists at www.artstherapies.org.
She is currently a co-investigator on research projects related to art therapy and depression at Concordia University, and previously served as Research Coordinator for the engAGE Living Lab under the direction of Dr. Timm-Bottos. Her research interests include art-based and community-based approaches, public practice art therapy, and trauma-informed, culturally responsive approaches.
Russell Rozinskis
MA, PhD(c)
Russell (he/him) is a member of the TATI research advisement team focusing on proposal reviews. He is dedicated to fostering a supportive and welcoming environment. He holds a Masters in Critical Disability Studies, a diploma in Social Service Work, and a Bachelor’s degree in English. Currently, he is pursuing a PhD in Critical Disability Studies, which deepens his understanding and commitment to this field.
His professional journey has involved diverse roles, including supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities, serving as a research assistant for a multi-country mental health and human rights project, and working as a 50/50 ambassador for the Jay’s Care Foundation. These experiences have enriched his appreciation for the significant positive impact of art therapy and the value it brings to provide accessible participant-centered therapy.
In his spare time, he finds peace and stability in the great outdoors, whether it’s camping or simply being still with nature. These moments of tranquility inspire and rejuvenate him, allowing him to bring his best self to TATI.
Heather Stump
HBA, BFA, MSc., PMCAT, RCAT, CAGs, ACTA
Heather got hooked on stories at an early age—lying on her grandmother’s bed and listening to
what she and her sister called “Real Live Talking Stories”. Years later she makes a living empowering others—through visual images and words–to tell and embrace their own personal narratives. Heather is especially interested in how changing the plotline of personal and collective stories can have a miraculous effect on transformation and healing.
Heather has been in private practice as a Registered Canadian Art Therapist since 2007. She has
worked with clients with challenges related to: workplace stress, lateral violence, grief and loss, chronic illness, homelessness, as well as a wide variety of mental health issues. She has been a Research Advisor for over ten years and has experience with quantitative, qualitative, and arts-based research methods. Heather has Metis roots in Ontario and has recently relocated from the Cree First Nation of Chisasibi in northern Quebec to the East Kootenays in BC.
Heidi Zhang
MSW, RSW
Heidi Zhang (she/her) is a Registered Social Worker and Psychotherapist and holds her MSW from York University, Canada. Heidi’s research interests lie in utilizing decolonial, critical race and post-structural theory to examine therapeutic practice and knowledge production. She is particularly interested in how therapeutic knowledge and approaches are shaped by, and can potentially disrupt, the logics of neoliberal capitalism.
Heidi’s advising interests include critical mental health, narrative and emotion focused therapy approaches, anti-oppressive practice, critical theory and pedagogy, curriculum development, child and youth mental health, and East Asian diaspora research. Born in Beijing, China and fluent in Mandarin, Heidi can advise students that involve the Chinese language in their Major Research Paper. Heidi has worked in both community and academic settings providing teaching, psychotherapy, case management, community-based research, and curriculum development. Heidi currently works in a university providing mental health counselling to students and holds a small private practice.
Past Instructors
We’re grateful for the contributions of past instructors at TATI:
Emma JM Ates, RP, DTATI
Susan Beniston, MFA, ATR-BC, RCAT, OATR
Sharona Bookbinder, BSc, DTATI, MBA, DAT, OATR, RCAT, RP
David Boudreau, M.A., M.S.W. R.S.W.
Helene Burt, DA, RCAT, RP (Inactive)
cc Chau, DTATI, RP, RCAT, OCT
Barbara Collins, MA, RP, RCAT, CTS
Claudia Corradetti, MA, RP, CCC
Alexandra Hanania, MA, DTATI, RP
Naomi Kates, B. Design, DTATI, MA, RCAT, RP
Rapinder Kaur, RCAT, RP
Shelley Kavanagh, BA, DTATI, RCAT, RP
Anu Lala, B.Sc., DTATI, RCAT, RP
Nicole Levy, DTATI, RP, RCAT
Claudia Mandler McKnight, BA, MA, BEd, DTATI, RCAT, RP
Beth Merriam, MA, ATR-BC, RP, CCC
Ella Rogalska, DTATI, Dip.TCPP, RP
Tisha Summers, BA, CYW, DTATI, RP
Suzanne Thomson, BA, DTATI, RCAT
Sonya Thursby, DTATI, RP
Lenore Walker, BRE, MRE, DTATI, RP(Qualifying)