Maggie Hanlon, MA, LAPC, ATR-P®

Hi, my name is Maggie. I want to offer you the ability to slow down and experience safety, compassion, and clarity when life feels overwhelming and out of balance. I believe that each person is the author of their own story, and that creativity is a powerful tool for reclaiming narratives that may have been shaped by systems of oppression and trauma. Through art-making, I work alongside you to name these forces, challenge the stories they impose, and create space for your identity, voice, and sense of belonging to be fully seen and honored.

I’m especially passionate about supporting women, children, LGBTQIA+, and neurodivergent individuals as they navigate identity, relationships, and life transitions. Grounded in a feminist framework, I recognize how culture and power shape our lived experience. In our sessions, art becomes both healing and liberating. I want to help you find a way to express what feels unheard, explore new ways forward, connect with a compassionate inner voice, and nurture a healthier relationship with yourself and others. My goal is to co-create a space where authenticity and self-expression are celebrated, traditional roles can be challenged, and your story can unfold with strength, resilience, and self-acceptance.

My Story

My interest in art therapy grew in the complex spaces between panic and peace. For years, I experienced sudden storming panic attacks that would rise without warning and steal the air from my lungs. In those moments, the world narrowed to a single point of fear. However, I learned that whenever I made art, something would shift. The storm would ease, and the clouds rolled back to reveal blue skies underneath. My breath would return. My body could rest.

What started as a way to self-soothe slowly became something much more powerful. I wasn’t just drawing, I was speaking. Art became a language, one made of shapes and lines instead of sentences, colors instead of explanations. In a world that demanded words I couldn’t always find, art offered a gentler vocabulary. Through art-making, I learned to translate my inner world into something I could see, understand, and ultimately heal.

Healing is not always loud or linear; sometimes it can be as soft as a paintbrush. The simple act of making marks on a page can help your heartbeat find its rhythm again. As I realized how deeply art had impacted my process, I felt called to guide others through their own creative pathways towards peace.

My work is rooted in the belief that art can be a bridge between chaos and calm, silence and freedom, between a person and their power. I know what it is like to feel overwhelmed and searching for a way back to yourself. I know that creativity can be a light on that path. I hope to offer others a space to explore their own stories with the same compassion and creativity that helped me reclaim mine.