Crystal Drake (She/They)

As a graduate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), I hold an MA in Art Therapy and Counseling. My practice is rooted in a strength-based, trauma-informed, and relational perspective. I welcome individuals grappling with a spectrum of issues, including depression, trauma, anxiety, and major life transitions.

Melding traditional talk therapy with the dynamics of creative practice, I provide clients with a unique canvas to explore and express their experiences. Whether it's focusing on feelings of loneliness stemming from grief, loss, chronic illness, or carrying the burden of being a primary caregiver, we all need a judgment-free space for understanding our unique truths. 

As a queer and Indigenous therapist, I intimately understand the lived experiences of intersectional identities and the strength found in expanding beyond the limitations set by our cultural context.

Questions? crystal@forrealtherapy.com

INTERVIEW BIO WITH Crystal Drake

What have you learned from experiencing folks from across the life-span? 

Regardless of age or where a person is at in their life, we all have a profound desire to learn new things. This can be surprising to hear, especially when we're in the midst of a depressive episode or major life setback. We may feel unmotivated and creatively blocked. However, even in the case of significant cognitive or memory impairment that we often see in older adults, I have witnessed the desire for connection, support, and community. In my view, creative approaches and art therapy allow us methods to access the parts of ourselves or others that may at first appear closed off or blocked. With persistence and a willingness to explore new ways of being, we can continue to learn and grow throughout our entire lives.

I don’t consider myself an artist or even a creative person - How could working with you be beneficial or healing?

Challenging those thoughts and learning to reconnect with your creativity can help in other areas of your life, such as problem solving, connection, and finding purpose. Many people avoid art therapy because they believe they can't create something worthy. However, everyone can draw, even if they don't like how they draw or were once told they weren't good at art because they colored outside the lines. To be completely transparent, I hate drawing! And yet art is more than a pencil and paper. It’s an opportunity to foster growth, understanding, and connection free from the binary of good and bad.

What artists or artistic styles were you drawn to growing up? How does that inform how you approach therapy? 

My favorite artist is Jim Henson. I love the way he creates worlds of imagination through puppetry and cartoons, offering people the chance to play with their creativity and imagination. His work influences mine today - I am a playful person who uses my imagination frequently. It helps me break free from situations in which I feel stuck by envisioning creative solutions. I use color, fabric, and texture to create art that can be whimsical or serious. I believe that art has the power to create space for alternate worlds and perspectives to be explored and expressed.

How do you embody culture within therapy? 

I ask people about their culture, give them space to talk about it and be curious. With clients, we research where they come from and where they have been by taking a whole person approach to therapy. Considering their culture, a lot of psychology is based in Western ideas and we find ways to step out of the more restrictive methods of therapy. I consider the whole part of the person to foster contemplation, self exploration and trust. This is a critical element in therapy that I work to cultivate. By showing up as myself, being honest about who I am, where I have come from and the things I've experienced. Having experienced racism, understanding it by actually experiencing it, not just being a white person saying it exists. Being a therapist, I can fully understand how people are coming or where they come from having that lived experience.

What do you think is missing from therapy in our current time that needs to be explored? 

We need to move away from an individualistic approach to therapy and embrace the importance of group healing, which fosters community. In group therapy, individuals can accept support, relate to shared experiences, and gain understanding beyond what an individual therapist model can provide. I am interested in exploring more ways to hold space for groups in therapy. Additionally, I believe in the power of art as a means of connecting with one's creative side and exploring emotions. This includes not just visual art, but also dance, music, and theater. I wish there were more creative ways to understand and connect with our emotions, such as taking a field trip to an art museum. By experiencing therapy outside of the traditional therapy room and exploring new and innovative ways to connect with ourselves and others, we can create a richer therapeutic experience.

What is the hardest truth you had to accept? 

That I am going to make mistakes - We all will. That is how we learn but it can be difficult to learn new things and make mistakes. I struggle with the idea of perfectionism which is a result of living under capitalism and accepting that is the reality of the world I live in. I work constantly to try to find ways to attain perfectionism cause the world isn't perfect and neither are we, but there is this idea of perfectionism that creeps up every once in a while.

How does curiosity, creativity, and imagination change as we age? 

For some people, it does not necessarily change - it stays the same. A lot of people still have access to their imagination and creative self. For many others, they do not discover these parts of themselves until they are older. At times, a crisis can put people in unique positions where they have to be imaginative, creative, and inventive to survive. It might be their first time experiencing art since they were in kindergarten and were told they were not good at it. From this perspective, you can see where people get stuck or refuse to move forward because they’ve internalized criticism. It is important to bring them back and show them that not only can they make art, but also that people care about what they have to say. Some of the people I have worked with have dementia, yet despite these challenges, they are some of the most fun and curious individuals. They enjoy the process of creating without judgment in a way that younger generations often struggle with.

Can you share with us how identifying as queer and indigenous informs your therapeutic process?

By reflecting on the systems that are working within our American landscape today and in the past, I am sensitive to holding space for those in our community who are often unrecognized. Recognizing a multicultural identity often means existing within the in-between. While I present as a white person and was raised by my white family, I have always held a desire to connect with all aspects of my cultural identity and finding creative ways to do so. Although I have never had a direct connection to my heritage and recognize the privileges I had growing up, I never had the space to explore that side of myself. Therefore, I welcome that exploration within my therapeutic approach and look forward to collaborating with others in expanding their identities.

What is your universal piece of advice?

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. That is powerful and comes up in art making a lot too.