Betsy Dancey
M.Ed, ATR
Registered Art Therapist, Former Art Educator, Artist
Services
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Individual and Group Art Therapy
- Mindfulness
Clinical Specialties
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Youth, Adolescents and Adults
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Trauma Informed Care
-
Anxiety
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Depression
-
Substance Abuse Recovery
-
Traumatic Brain Injury
-
Autism
Education
Betsy received her BFA in Studio Art from Michigan State University. She obtained
her Art Education teaching certificate, and then received her M.Ed with art therapy from
Wayne State University.
Experience
At Solstice Art Therapy, Betsy provides individual art therapy sessions with
children and adults, group art therapy and facilitates workshops. Throughout Betsy’s
career she has worked with the Butterfly Foundation and Creative Art Therapies in
hospital settings with children and adults who are struggling with mental illness. She
facilitated group therapy for children at Ennis Foster Care. Betsy worked at Common
Ground with inpatient clients who needed support with their mental health and
substance abuse. She also worked with people who have experienced traumatic brain
injuries with TBI solutions and serviced the special needs community with FAR
Therapeutic Arts in schools and individual therapy.
Philosophy
Art is powerful and gives people a voice for their life struggles when there may not be
words. When Betsy taught art she noticed that art was helping her students to
express themselves. She wanted to study this further and realized she could help
people more with art and became passionate about art therapy. Through art therapy
people can heal and become more self-aware. With the creative process, guided by an
art therapist, clients can decrease anxiety, increase self-esteem, recover from
substance abuse, find stability with mental disorders, and discover personal strength.
Betsy practices a person-centered approach. She provides a welcoming, safe place
where clients feel comfortable creating art and expressing their emotions. With
directives planned specifically for each person, goals can be met..
Fun Fact
Although it is not a goal to improve art techniques in therapy, if clients want to improve
skills, Betsy can incorporate her art education background into sessions.