314. The hidden power of creativity in supporting mental health, resilience, and burnout with art therapist Sharon Itkoff Nacache

Sharon Itkoff Nacache is joining me to break down the myths and truths about art therapy—what it is, what it isn’t, and why creativity can be such a powerful tool for healing, integration, and resilience.

Together we explore:

• The common questions people have about art therapy, and how integrating creative arts into therapy can support emotional processing, integration, and healing. 

• The difference between open studio models, art therapy, and art psychotherapy and how each can serve different therapeutic goals.

• How art can help us (and our kids) process overwhelming experiences that might feel too big or complex to articulate with words alone.

• Why the materials matter: How Sharon intentionally uses tools like dry or wet media to support different emotional states and how you can use these same principles in your own creative exploration.

• Why creative expression goes far beyond painting or drawing—how journaling, movement, or even doodling can become powerful tools to ground yourself in moments of stress or burnout.

• A simple yet powerful exercise Dr. Sarah uses with her clients to identify and reconnect with unmet needs that you can do too.

• What it means to build "creative resilience" and how it can help you access more joy, safe risk-taking, and a sense of internal flow.

• Sharon’s best strategies for those who feel creatively blocked or don’t consider themselves “artistic” and why you don’t need to be an artist to benefit from creative self-expression.

Whether you’ve been curious about art therapy or are simply looking for accessible ways to reconnect with yourself and find a sense of emotional grounding, this conversation is full of both inspiration and tangible takeaways.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MY GUEST:

Co-Create Art Therapy

GET HER BOOK:

📚 The Days Before I Met You: A Creative Space Honoring the Birth of a Parent

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES AND RESOURCES:

📚 Your Brain on Art

📚 Art Therapy and Childbearing Issues

📚Art is a Way of Knowing

📚Therapeutic Arts in Pregnancy, Birth, and New Parenthood

👉🏻 Whitney Museum and NYC Health + Hospitals Arts in Medicine department

👉🏻 Postpartum Support International

CHECK OUT ADDITIONAL PODCAST EPISODES YOU MAY LIKE:

🎧 33. How parents can use music as an emotion regulator with music therapist Vered

🎧 47. What we hold in our bodies: Unlocking emotions through dance and movement therapy with dr. Lori Baudino

🎧 240. Processing birth trauma: How to make sense of, heal, and move forward after a difficult birthing experience with Dr. Sterling

🎧 282. Beyond the 6-week checkup: A realistic look at postpartum and early parenthood with Dr. Jessica Vernon