Liv Tempesta (they/them)
Graduate Intern in Art Therapy
Specialities
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I support individuals navigating addiction and recovery, honoring each person’s lived experience and capacity for change. I create space to explore the emotional, relational, generational, familial, and systemic experiences that shape our relationship with substances and healing.
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I provide affirming, inclusive support for LGBTQIA+ individuals navigating identity, relationships, trauma, and the impact of oppression. I hope to create a brave space where clients are safe to authentically explore their identities with unconditional acceptance.
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I approach therapy with a particular awareness of how systems of power, oppression, and marginalization shape our mental health and lived experiences. I strive to support clients in better understanding their experiences within these larger contexts while reclaiming their voice, agency, and power to create meaningful change.
Therapeutic Approach
My identity as an emerging art therapist and counselor is grounded in the belief that healing happens through creativity, connection, and self-awareness.
My approach to counseling is integrative, drawing from person-centered, relational-cultural, trauma-informed, mindfulness-based, and expressive arts approaches. I value curiosity over certainty, collaboration over hierarchy, and cultural humility over Westernized assumptions. I am committed to practicing through a decolonized, trauma-informed, multi-cultural lens while advocating for a more equitable, anti-oppressive mental healthcare system. I strive to practice through a lens that acknowledges the historical and systemic factors contributing to psychological distress while honoring each client's unique lived experience and strengths.
I believe that therapy is not about fixing ourselves to function in society, but about creating the conditions for people to reconnect with their innate wisdom and capacity for transformation. I believe healing occurs not only within individuals but also within families, generations, communities, cultures, and systems.
About Me
As both an artist and a counselor, I view artmaking as a language for expressing experiences that cannot always be spoken, a means of integrating mind, body, and spirit into a lifelong exploration.
Education
I’m an Art Therapy & Counseling intern studying with Southwestern College. I received my Bachelor's in Art Therapy from Temple University, Tyler School of Art, and concentrated in Community Arts Practices. I am especially passionate about working with LGBTQIA+ communities and individuals navigating trauma, marginalized oppression, and substance use recovery.