It’s been overwhelming …
Life still goes on after they’re gone. Life still happens even with so many changes. It’s a lot to maintain.
Dishes to dry, laundry to fold, bills to pay, school to attend … constantly performing when you didn’t plan for this or want this.
You’re facing survival with a ‘grin and bear it’ face every day.
The weight of grief and the pain of loss is a lot to bear. Everything has changed, and there’s not much space for your pain.
You need and want to be seen, supported, and to take the edge off when you’re rolling another stone up the hill and are at a loss, with all the tears, rage, sadness, uncertainty, daily demands … especially when there are no more words… when you need to express what you are going through.
Art therapy may be the alternative you’re looking for …
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I am the owner and art therapist of The 3 Brushes, LLC.
I earned my Master of Arts in Art Therapy from George Washington University in 2017.
I am a Registered, Board-Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC) and a Licensed Clinical Professional Art Therapist in Maryland (LCPAT).
When I’m not hiking, kayaking, or creating art in my studio, I love spending time with the people I care about. My roots are in Colorado, and I enjoy spending time outside and connecting with nature. I have journeyed and resided in multiple locations across the US. I also find great fulfillment in volunteering locally and engaging in sustainability efforts.
Hello, my name is Lindsay. I am an art therapist working in private practice in Gaithersburg, MD, who supports children, teens, and adults in processing grief and loss. I do one-on-one in-person sessions.
Art serves as a strong partner in recovery, and when words are not enough.
The act of creating art provides the means for genuine self-expression in difficult times.
I am invested in my clients’ emotional and mental health needs by using art and the creative process to focus on holistic outcomes.
We work together to resolve the underlying distress of loss, integrate grief as a different life opportunity that offers meaning and purpose, and lessen the stress of living with grief.
Connect for a free 20-minute consultation.
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CONTACT FORM
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How Art Therapy Helps Process Grief & Loss
When working in therapy, even in art therapy, outcomes matter. Art therapy is experiential in nature and offers flexibility. We work with experience, and we work with being okay when you’re not okay. There is no right or wrong way. You do not need to be a skilled artist or create a masterpiece to benefit from art therapy. Your work won’t be on display or overanalyzed. There is beauty in the ugly, the imperfect, and the nonsensical.
The images, marks, smears, stick figures, whatever is at your fingertips and comes from the work of your hands, sustains you.
The important thing in this work is integration. Peace can come from pain. Suffering isn’t forever. Process and progress work collaboratively.
You are creating a new vision from what was taken from you. You have something to hold onto, to memorialize, to pass on, to keep, to remember. You are creating a new reality from what was and what is for another someday.
Art Therapy … is the catalyst for taking a step in trust when facing uncertainty, feeling compassion rather than criticism, and nurturing growth and change without pressure to keep performing in life.
Art Therapy offers many outcomes, but these are some we focus on together:
Making what is intangible become tangible
Empowerment through expression and the process of creating that fosters meaning and purpose
Builds capacity for inner resources; to build back safety and gain new perspectives
Grounds and centers perception, and that it’s safe to be revealed
Source of awareness, wisdom, and knowledge that serves long-term
Offers a rest bit from mental overload and a break from emotional noise
Alleviates stress, encourages responding rather than reacting
Art connects to the heart … and the mind and the body, this is a holistic practice that honors wholeness. You were never broken and do not need to be fixed. You are recreating from a place of despair and hurt to a place of peace and restoration.
Instills hope, there are no guarantees of tomorrow, but you can face tomorrow with grace
We sometimes need a witness to our pain to heal. This is not asking to move on a timeline when you’re processing a natural response to loss. Grieving is a natural response when who and what we love is taken and is not coming back, but is still with us. This is asking to be present with what presents and to make space for that pain to be seen, heard, understood, and given breathing room.
How Grief and Loss May Present
Grief and loss manifest differently for adults, teens, and children, but there are similarities as well. Grief and loss often show up as anxiety, depression, stress, overwhelm, numbness, isolation, or feeling lost, helpless, and uncertain, and even shame or feeling guilty when no wrong is done.
What shows up is not a personal failure; it’s how someone is surviving, coping, and trying to take a breath while treading through turbulent mental states and deep emotional waters.
Loved ones may not be at fault for not knowing what to do either. You may be in the midst of the hurt and pain, too. This isn’t commonly modeled, and hard topics about loss, death, dying, or uncertain life events are sometimes harder than others to work through and process. It’s tough! But it doesn’t have to be harder than it already is.
You may want to be there for someone in your life or for yourself. There isn’t a wrong or right way to do this. It’s a process, and there can be progress in that process. No one is asked to do more or carry more than what their capacity is. Grief and loss work can be about rekindling, releasing, relief, rebuilding, sustaining, memorializing, maintaining, so many forms and ways.
Even loved ones who seem like pillars of strength need permission to crumble and cry. Being human is enough. Living is exhausting sometimes. The mask only serves to hide what needs to be seen and cared for during times like this.
If your loved one or yourself matches some of these, this may be a sign to seek out support, sooner rather than later. It’s okay when you are new to the process or returning to this process. You are meant to be held where you are and supported with what you need for the present to feel relief from the past and hope for tomorrow.
The following is not meant to be an exhaustive list; there are several signs, and this may look different for others, but some major ones for consideration. Some overlap!
Children
Clinginess, needs more assurance, comfort, or needs to know what’s going to happen that day several times.
More controlling or appearing bossy in play or playing out scenarios that may be troubling to witness.
Asking about what happened and how it happened in detail, wanting to know more ‘grown-up’ information
Aggressiveness and rougher play with siblings, peers, and getting in trouble more at school, and seems to test boundaries at home more
Not soothing easily, tantrums, and meltdowns
Big emotions feel HUGE. Things seem BIG and scary.
Teens
Friend group may have significantly changed, or relationship dynamics may change suddenly. Friends may be supportive but distant because they can’t really relate, or friends become more acquaintances. The social support is lacking, and so is the space to carry it.
Easily irritable, frustrated, or angry. May be more sullen, withdrawn, and can go long periods without engaging with anyone, even when they may want to connect
Struggling more with identity issues: ‘Who am I now?’ with ‘Now what?’.
Isolation. Not the usual alone time or wanting downtime. Intentional in avoiding, hiding, or escaping family, home, or school life.
Willing to take risks that affect well-being or challenged with not wanting to, but not sure how to take the edge off
Adults
Struggling with focus and concentration, decision fatigue, and ‘grief brain.’
Sense of time is warped. Life feels surreal. You may experience dissociation.
Emotional and mental capacity needs breathing room more than usual. Feeling depleted most of the time.
Focus on keeping busy, overly productive, underlying issues may be in awareness and ignored
Loss of control, feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, or fear of being seen in suffering or wanting to be seen, and there’s no one showing up like you wanted.
Thoughts and feelings may show up as realizations later on or are ongoing: ‘This happened a long time ago, why do I still feel this way?’ or ‘I’m not ready to let go of certain things like I anticipated’, or ‘I’m carrying too much still.’
The body speaks for you: feeling like you’re made of rocks, floating in space, aches and pains without a direct cause, bursting into tears at the most inconvenient times, burning rage, etc. The body knows … and remembers
When you are ready to connect for support, feel free to connect with me.
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May 2026 UPDATE
Website under revision!
Currently not accepting clients, will begin accepting new clients Summer 2026.
Free parking is available. The closest metro station is Shady Grove. Located in Montgomery Village, near the Gaithersburg Square shopping mall.