START Creative Arts Therapy

Home
United States
West Islip, NY
START Creative Arts Therapy

Offering in-person, telehealth therapy services across NY state. Your mental health journey STARTS here!

Our West Islip office is home to a dedicated group of licensed clinicians now accepting new clients.

09/06/2026

Someone asked what you thought of your piece. You said it was "fine." They said, "yeah, I could tell." And your whole chest caved in.

Because it wasn't "just a piece." It was the thing you made when words ran out. The thing that finally felt like the truth.

For artists, the work isn't a separate object. It's the language you use when words fail you. It's how you metabolize what happened to you. It's you, filtered through your hands.

That's not a flaw. That's the whole reason the work matters.

You're allowed to make things that feel this personal.

09/04/2026

"Your feelings make sense. AND you can still choose a different response."

So much of what we're told about emotions is either/or. Either your feelings are valid, so the reaction is justified. Or the reaction was wrong, so your feelings must be wrong too.

Both of those are exhausting. And neither is honest.

Your anger makes sense. AND you don't have to send the text. Your grief is real. AND you can still get out of bed today. Your shutdown is protective. AND you can practice something new next time.

Two things. Both true. That's the point.

You're not broken. You're not "too emotional." You're a full human.

08/12/2026

Looking fine and being fine are not the same thing.

Some of the most exhausted people you know are the ones who never miss a deadline. Never cancel plans. Never let their voice crack in front of anyone. They've mastered the performance of okay so thoroughly that even the people closest to them believe it.

Then they come home, sit in the car for twenty minutes, and cry.

You are allowed to fall apart in front of someone. You are allowed to say "actually, no, I'm not okay" when someone asks.

08/05/2026

Calling all creative arts therapists.

Join Samantha Disador, MA, LCAT, RDT and Marisa Paolillo, MPS, LCAT, ATR-BC for a live experiential CEU workshop on integrating drama therapy and art therapy through long-term co-leadership. Explore collaboration, art and drama theory together, and multimodal methods for facilitating Yalom-based groups.

Sunday, August 23, 2026. 4:00 to 6:30 PM ET. Online via Zoom. $120. Students save 25% with code STUDENT25.

Group size capped at 20. Register at startcreativearts.com/ceu-workshops.

07/29/2026

Depression doesn't always look like sadness. Sometimes it looks like a canceled plan. A left-on-read message. A quiet retreat from the people who love you most.

Not because you don't want them. Because you're convinced you're too heavy to carry right now.

Depression whispers that you're too much and not enough at the same time. It tells you that reaching out will only prove it right. But the people worth keeping don't need you to be light. They need you to be here.

If you're the one canceling, hiding, ghosting your own life right now, we get it.

07/24/2026

"No" is a full sentence. And yet somehow it feels like a betrayal.

If saying no leaves you rehearsing apologies for three days, you're not selfish. You're conditioned. Somewhere along the way, you learned that your yes was the price of being loved.

Guilt is not proof you did something wrong. It's a feeling. A loud, uncomfortable feeling that shows up whenever you break a pattern. You can decline the invite, the extra project, the emotional labor. You can hold your ground without turning it into a five-paragraph essay.

Your energy is not community property.

07/13/2026

Ever walked away from something with your sibling, partner, or friend and remembered it completely differently? You're not making it up. Neither are they.

Memory isn't a recording. It's a story your nervous system writes using your attention, history, and what your body read in the moment. Two people. Same event. Different true stories.

Healing starts when we stop fighting over who's "right" and get curious about both.

07/09/2026

What does Expression Lab actually do for a kid? More than you might think.

Confidence. Friendship. A safe spot for big feelings. New ways to communicate. And the kind of summer Saturday they remember.

Expression Lab runs every Saturday from July 18 through August 22, 3:00-4:30 PM. Ages 5-9. 248 Higbie Lane, West Islip. $40 per session. Registration is open on our website.

07/07/2026

Expression Lab is open. Ages 5-9, six Saturdays this summer, all about creative chaos.

Two of our creative arts therapists co-lead every week. Kids paint, move, play, build, and share. The first session is COLOR CHAOS on July 18.

If your kid loves making a mess. If your kid has big feelings and not enough words yet. If summer needs to be more than screens. This is for them.

Saturdays, 3:00-4:30 PM at 248 Higbie Lane, West Islip. July 18 through August 22. $40 per session. Registration is open on our website.

07/06/2026

Ever been in therapy, said all the right things, understood it intellectually, and still felt it sitting in your chest?

Some things don't live in words. Stress, grief, and trauma get stored in the body. Talk can name it. Movement can move it.

You don't have to be a dancer. You just have to let your body have a turn.

Address

248 Higbie Lane
West Islip, NY
11795

Telephone

+16318672501

Website

https://www.startcreativearts.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when START Creative Arts Therapy posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to START Creative Arts Therapy:

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in West Islip?