Grief-Focused Art Therapy in Gaithersburg, MD
Supporting children, tweens, teens, and adults navigating grief and loss, emotional overwhelm, and significant life transitions.
When words are not enough, there are other ways to express what you’re carrying.
When Words Are Not Enough
You’re carrying a weight that isn’t easily seen, and it can feel exhausting to keep holding it alone. You may find yourself wondering if things will ever feel okay again, or how much longer you can keep going without feeling overwhelmed or worn down.
You don’t need to carry this alone or try harder—you are doing the best you can with what you’ve been carrying.
Grief, loss, trauma, and major life changes can leave you feeling overwhelmed, disconnected, or unsure of how to move forward. Sometimes you know something is weighing on you, but you don't have the words to explain it.
Art therapy offers another way.
The 3 Brushes, LLC provides grief-focused art therapy for children, tweens, teens, and adults in Gaithersburg and Montgomery County, Maryland. Through creative expression and therapeutic conversation, we can slow down, explore what you're experiencing, and begin making space for what comes next.
Schedule a Complimentary 20-Minute Consultation
No artistic experience is necessary. You don't have to know what to create, either.
Begin Where You Are
You don't have to have everything figured out before reaching out.
Whether you're seeking support for yourself or looking for help for your child or teen, we can begin with what you're experiencing right now.
I’m Looking for Support for Myself
You may be navigating grief or loss, emotional overwhelm, trauma, an identity shift, or a major life transition. Art therapy offers a supportive space to slow down, express what may feel difficult to put into words, and explore your experiences through both creative expression and therapeutic conversation.
No previous art experience is needed. The focus is on your process, needs, and therapeutic goals—not artistic skill.
Explore Art Therapy for Adults →
I’m Looking for Support for My Child or Teen
Children, tweens, and teens do not always have the words to explain what they are feeling or experiencing. Art therapy can offer another language for expressing emotions, processing grief and change, strengthening coping skills, and developing greater self-awareness.
Sessions are adapted to each person’s age, developmental needs, interests, readiness, and therapeutic goals. Parents, caregivers, and legal guardians are included thoughtfully and collaboratively while appropriate privacy is maintained for the child or teen.
Explore Art Therapy for Children and Tweens →
Explore Art Therapy for Teens →
Not Sure Where to Begin?
A complimentary 20-minute consultation offers an opportunity to ask questions, briefly share what brings you here, and explore whether art therapy may be a good fit.
Meet Lindsay
I'm a Licensed Clinical Professional Art Therapist and Board-Certified Art Therapist (LCPAT, ATR-BC®) with more than seven years of experience.
I founded The 3 Brushes to create a therapeutic space where people can slow down, feel supported, and explore experiences that don't always fit neatly into a box or into words.
My work focuses on grief, loss, emotional overwhelm, significant life transitions, and complex trauma. I work with children, tweens, teens, and adults through an individualized, collaborative therapeutic process.
Art therapy isn't about making perfect art or being "good" at art.
It's about what becomes possible when you have another way to express, explore, and understand your experience.
You are welcome to begin where you are and move at a pace that feels supportive for you.
Learn About My Approach, Philosophy, and Values →
What Is Art Therapy?
Art therapy is a specialized form of psychotherapy that combines creative expression with therapeutic conversation.
You might draw, paint, work with clay, create a collage, or use another creative process. Sometimes a session may involve more conversation; other times, art-making may become the starting point for exploring something that feels difficult to say.
There is no right way to make art here.
You don’t need artistic talent or previous experience. The focus is on your experience, not a perfect piece of artwork.
Together, we may use art therapy and the creative process to:
Express emotions that are difficult to put into words
Explore and address grief and loss
Process difficult or overwhelming experiences
Develop greater self-awareness
Reconnect with yourself
Reflect on memories and relationships
Process meaning during times of change
Learn more: What is Art Therapy? →
When Grief Changes Everything
Grief doesn't follow a predictable path. Loss can affect how you think, feel, relate to others, and move through everyday life. It can come after the death of someone you love, but grief can also accompany other significant losses and changes.
You may be grieving a relationship, a role, a sense of identity, a way of life, or the future you thought you would have.
Sometimes grief doesn't feel like sadness at all. It may feel like anger, anxiety, numbness, confusion, exhaustion, disconnection, or simply not feeling like yourself.
Art therapy can provide a space to explore those experiences without needing to explain everything perfectly.
Through creative expression and therapeutic conversation, we can make room for what is difficult, honor what matters, and begin exploring what healing might look like for you.
“Art is a wound turned to light.”
—Georges Braque
This practice is founded on a core philosophy. The name The 3 Brushes represents three values at the heart of my practice and symbolizes the belief that healing is a process grounded in three core values:
Trust, Compassion, and Growth
Art connects us to our humanity. Making art and engaging in the creative process can be a powerful source of emotional expression, reflection, connection, and well-being.
I endeavor as an art therapist to guide and support individuals from all walks of life towards better understanding, authentic expression, and meaningful growth.
To be rekindled. To find meaning, purpose, and light within painful experiences.
My role is not to tell you what your experience should mean or how you should move through it. My role is to offer a safe, collaborative space where you can move through your experience, find your own voice, and discover what benefits and serves you long-term.
Art can give form to what is felt, remembered, and experienced. Sometimes healing begins simply by having a place to exist.
Visit The 3 Brushes, LLC
The 3 Brushes, LLC offers a cozy, private, and welcoming space for in-person art therapy in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
The office includes a variety of art materials, from drawing and painting supplies to clay, collage, mixed media, and found objects, along with a comfortable therapeutic space.
The 3 Brushes is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and offers a welcoming space for in-person art therapy sessions. Conveniently located in Montgomery County, the office provides a private and comfortable setting. Free parking in lot available.
A calm and inviting art therapy space designed for creative expression, reflection, and therapeutic conversation. A variety of art materials are available, including drawing supplies, paints, clay, mixed media, and found objects.
Another angle of the interior office space. Art materials, reference books, and tools are available for use during sessions, creating opportunities for reflection, exploration, and processing.
Tea, coffee, and water are available to support comfort and relaxation during sessions, and light refreshments may occasionally be offered as part of creating a welcoming therapeutic space.
The waiting-area entrance is just off the elevator near Suites 400 and 404. It offers a quiet and comfortable place to pause before your appointment.
The waiting area offers a quiet space before sessions begin and serves as a welcoming place for parents and caregivers while children, tweens, and teens participate in art therapy. The space is designed to support a sense of ease and transition into the therapeutic process.
My Studio Practice
To Make Art Is to Respond, Reflect, and Resolve
Alongside my work as an art therapist, I maintain an active studio practice as an artist. My artwork explores themes of grief, healing, nature, emotional transformation, and the human experience.
The studio is separate from the art therapy practice, but it reflects the same belief that art can help us pause, notice, respond, and make meaning from what we experience.
I believe that to make art is to give form to what is felt, remembered, and experienced. It may mean responding to an experience, staying with what emerges, or bringing something toward greater clarity and understanding.
I invite you to explore my gallery of original artwork inspired by themes of grief, healing, emotional transformation, nature, and the human experience. Each piece offers an opportunity for reflection, connection, and encouragement.
Select original works are also available for purchase.
FAQs
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Art therapy is a psychotherapy that integrates creative expression with trauma-informed and grief-focused clinical care.
You do not need any artistic experience, gifts, or natural artistic talent to participate. The focus is not on creating “good” artwork, but on using the creative process to explore emotions, experiences, and personal growth.
Art therapy can be especially supportive for individuals seeking help with grief and loss, trauma, anxiety, or life transitions, offering additional ways to process experiences that may be difficult to express through words alone.
Art therapists are mental health professionals with master’s-level training in art therapy and clinical practice. In Maryland, practitioners may be licensed as Licensed Clinical Professional Art Therapists (LCPAT) or Licensed Graduate Professional Art Therapists (LGPAT), and may also hold national board certification such as ATR-BC®.
To learn more about the art therapy profession, you may visit the American Art Therapy Association.
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Grief can feel overwhelming, nonlinear, and difficult to express in words alone.
Art therapy provides a supportive space to process loss through creative expression, reflection, and therapeutic conversation. This can include exploring emotions, honoring memories, and making meaning from life changes over time.
Art therapy may also help when grief feels confusing, emotionally intense, or accompanied by disconnection from self, others, or daily life.
Learn more about:
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Each session is individualized and may include conversation and discussion, art-making, or a mixture.
Some sessions involve guided prompts or art therapy directives, while others are open-ended creative exploration. You may work with drawing, painting, clay, collage, or other materials depending on your needs and comfort.
Art-making is used to support emotional expression, reflection, and insight. We also use verbal processing to help make sense of what emerges.
There is no “right way” to participate. Sessions are collaborative, paced according to your needs, and focused on emotional safety and meaning-making.
Learn more about SERVICES.
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Words absolutely have a place in art therapy!
Art therapists use conversation, reflection, and focused discussion to help clients explore their experiences, gain insight, and process emotions.
The balance between verbal discussion and creative expression depends on your goals, preferences, and therapeutic needs. While art-making and the creative process are foundational aspects of art therapy and are encouraged as valuable tools for self-expression and healing, I recognize that words are also an important part of finding and strengthening your voice.
Together, we can use both creative expression and conversation to support your growth, self-understanding, and therapeutic goals.
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I work with children (7–10), tweens (11–12), teens (13–17), and adults (18+).
Art therapy supports emotional expression at all ages. No artistic experience is required.
For children and adolescents, creative expression can be especially helpful when emotions are difficult to put into words.
Art therapy can support healing, growth, and self-discovery at any stage.
Anyone who thinks, "I can only draw stick figures," that's perfectly okay. You do not need artistic talent or experience to benefit from art therapy.
The focus is not on creating “good” artwork, but on using the creative process to explore emotions, gain insight, and connect more deeply with yourself and others.
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I primarily offer in-person art therapy in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Virtual sessions are limited and generally reserved for specific circumstances, such as caregiver, legal guardian, or parent sessions conducted separately from child or adolescent sessions.
Clients participating in virtual sessions must be physically located in Maryland at the time of service.
Art materials are the responsibility of the client, though suggestions and recommendations can be provided if needed.
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Individual therapy sessions are typically 53–60 minutes. When separate parent or caregiver sessions are included as part of treatment, those appointments are also typically 53–60 minutes.
Session frequency and the overall length of treatment are individualized according to your needs, goals, and clinical considerations.
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I am an out-of-network provider and do not bill insurance directly.
Fees
Initial Intake Session: $200
Ongoing Individual Psychotherapy Sessions (53–60 minutes): $150
A limited number of reduced-fee appointments are available at $125 per session during select early-afternoon weekday times. Availability is limited and may vary.
A superbill can be provided for clients who wish to seek possible reimbursement from their insurance company.
Clients may also find it helpful to use Reimbursify
This is an online service that simplifies the process of submitting out-of-network claims. Reimbursify allows clients to submit claims electronically and track their reimbursement status through its platform. The 3 Brushes, LLC is not directly affiliated with Reimbursify.
I encourage you to contact your insurance provider directly to ask about your out-of-network mental health benefits, deductible, reimbursement rate, and any prior authorization requirements.
Reimbursement is determined by your individual insurance plan and is not guaranteed.
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The office address is located at:
101 Lake Forest Boulevard
Suite 400 & 404
Gaithersburg, MD
20877
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A free 20-minute consultation is an opportunity to discuss what brings you to art therapy and determine whether this approach feels like a good fit. If we decide to move forward, we will review next steps and begin intake and scheduling.