Art Therapy Buffalo
Anna McCarthy, LCAT, ATR-BC
![IMG_4565 IMG_4565](http://arttherapybuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/bb-plugin/cache/IMG_4565-e1630723040722-circle.jpeg)
- Licensed Creative Arts Therapist
- Registered & Board-Certified Art Therapist
- Internal Family Systems (IFS)
- Polyvagal Theory
- Reiki/Tarot
- Outpatient Mental Health: Children, Teens, Adults
- Private Practice: Teens and Adults
Anna McCarthy has been involved in the art therapy world for about 14 years... It all started when she was a young, doe-eyed, 17-year-old following the suggestion of her high school guidance counselor. She liked art and wondered what made people "tick," so she went to Mercyhurst University to get her bachelor's degree in art therapy. She then went on to earn her master's degree in Art Therapy from Nazareth College in Rochester, NY, where she gained a great deal of experience in the use of play therapy through her educational courses and during her internships. Following Nazareth, Anna moved back to Buffalo. She became registered, board-certified (ATR-BC), and licensed as an art therapist (LCAT). Anna gained a lot of clinical experience in a variety of settings: She worked at an acute psychiatric hospital providing individual and group art therapy to young children, teens, and adults. She also co-founded a local art therapy studio where arts-based groups were offered to adults in the WNY community. She also gained a tremendous amount of clinical experience while working in outpatient mental health clinics as a primary therapist for adults, and more recently children and adolescents.
In 2016, Anna experienced a crash course in the concept of "practice what you preach": She was a young mother, suddenly diagnosed with genetic renal failure and placed on the kidney transplant waitlist. This period of time was one of intense challenge, growth, and personal reflection; Anna needed to rely heavily on the creation of her own artwork to help her through this set of experiences. Ultimately, this led to the formation of a whole new authentic identity and purpose. She gratefully received a new kidney at the beginning of 2020 and set out to help others work through challenges through a combination of alternative healing practices and art therapy. In 2021, Anna officially started seeing teenage and adult clients privately in her studio in North Tonawanda. There, she specializes in helping her clients slow down, connect with their intuition and authentic voice, and express visually what cannot be communicated through words alone.