EP 414: Creativity As Survival: Rewriting Trauma Through Making Art

What makes Lexi Morgan with Haven Healing Art Therapy a good neighbor?

What if healing didn’t start with words, but with a line on a page? We sit down with Lexi Morgan, PhD-level art therapist and founder of Haven Healing Art Therapy, to explore how creative process—not polished product—can calm the nervous system, safely surface difficult memories, and rebuild a sense of self after trauma.

Lexi shares her path from a college gallery to clinical training, explaining why art therapy is a regulated mental health profession and why much of her work centers on adults and teens. She addresses one of the biggest misconceptions in the field—that art therapy is simply “arts and crafts”—and instead reveals the clinical depth behind it. Her integrated approach pairs art therapy with EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and IFS (Internal Family Systems), creating a layered path to healing. Through bilateral stimulation, grounding exercises, and intentional art-making, clients gain tools to reprocess distress, contain overwhelming memories, and restore a sense of agency. A collage can map protective parts. A sketch can hold a charged memory. Even choosing a new color can become a moment of reclaimed control.

We also discuss the realities of building a practice across Dallas and Charleston, sustained by supervision support and strong word-of-mouth referrals. Outside the therapy room, Lexi stays grounded through museums, nature, travel, and yoga—living proof that creativity is not a luxury, but a daily regulation tool. Her philosophy is simple and empowering: everyone is creative, and every story is worth telling. If you have ever said, “I’m not an artist,” this conversation gently reframes what creativity can mean for resilience and mental health.

Listen to discover how art therapy works, why EMDR and IFS can deepen results, and how small creative practices can support emotional regulation in everyday life. If this episode resonates, follow the show, share it with someone who may need hope, and leave a quick review so more neighbors can find these tools for healing.

To learn more about Haven Healing Art Therapy, go to: https://www.havenhealingarttherapy.com/

Haven Healing Art Therapy

+1214-449-1816

Transcript

Welcome & Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_00 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of an art therapy center? Well, when we be closer than you think, today I had the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Lexi Morgan, with Haven Healing Art Therapy. Lexi, it is so great to have you on today. And I know I am excited to learn about what is art therapy. So please get started by telling our listeners just a little bit more about your company and your backstory.

SPEAKER_02 0:38

Yeah, so well, art therapy is a regulated mental health profession. Um, so you need at least a master's degree to be an art therapist. I hold a PhD in art therapy. Um, but how I got started is I was um a senior in college actually, working at a local gallery, and one of the local artists was also an art therapist, and I thought, and her art was a little bit different because in art therapy you're really focusing on the process rather than the product. Um, so I noticed her art and I, you know, struck up a conversation, said, Oh, I'm an art therapist, and I was like, oh, what's that? And from there I kind of did my research and applied to a grad school and got in. But kind of my backstory is that I grew up creating art and using art as a coping skill and a tool and sort of an escape to regulate my emotions and handle difficult things. And as I've grown older, I've continued to kind of do that. And I it's kind of a distinct process art versus um like art that you go to see in a museum.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

I was just about to ask you to let us know the most common myth or misconception you come across on the day-to-day. Would you say that would be it?

SPEAKER_02 2:14

I would say that people think that art therapists only work with kids. So when I say, tell someone that I'm an art therapist, they'll say, Oh, so you work with kids. Um, they think that we're usually like play therapists, which exclusively work with kids. Um, but actually most of my clientele and my the people that I work with are teens or adults. So mostly adults.

Clients, Referrals & Growth

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Yeah. Oh wow. Now at the end of the day, we all know that marketing is the heart of every business. So who are some of your target clients or audience? And how are you attracting them to your art therapy center?

SPEAKER_02 2:55

Yeah, so people that mainly that I work with are women and they are have experienced some type of trauma, have PTSD, or are struggling with a life transition or anxiety. And I've been really grateful. So I have a I was in Dallas and now I'm in Charleston, South Carolina. I have a a business in Texas and here. Um and I when I was working under supervision, I was getting a lot of referrals from my supervisor, which was amazing. So word of mouth really worked for me. Um and yeah, when you do good work and spread good work, people continue to seek your services. So that's kind of how I've been doing it.

SPEAKER_01 3:43

Yes. Well, I for one definitely love that. Now, have you ever thought about having your own podcast for the business before?

SPEAKER_02 3:51

I have never thought of that. Um, but it is a good idea. It could be, I've kind of always thought, oh, what would I talk about? But the more and I think it's the more niche you get in your field, you think that, oh, everyone must know what I'm talking about, but really you have a lot to share.

Life Outside The Studio

SPEAKER_01 4:10

Oh, yes. Now, switching gears outside of work, what do you or you and your family like to do for fun? Do you all go out and just paint everywhere?

SPEAKER_02 4:21

Sometimes I force my husband to do art with me or process his emotions using art. Um, but I have a 10-month-old daughter, actually, she's almost 11 months, um, 11-month-old daughter who I'm dying to like wait until she can actually like hold a crayon or do something um artistic. We keep trying and she's not quite there yet. She just wants to eat everything. Um, but and I have two dogs, so we like to spend time outside, um, go to museums, play in you know, nature, um, go on walks, go to the beach, that sort of thing. Travel is huge. Yoga.

Integrating Art, EMDR, And IFS

SPEAKER_01 5:02

Yeah. Very regulating for the system, I would say. No. Switching back to your business here, what makes your art therapy center really stand out? You know, what would you like our listeners to take away from learning about your business?

Mission: Everyone Is Creative

SPEAKER_02 5:20

Yeah, I think that what I'm doing differently than I would say other art therapists is I integrate other trauma-informed modalities. So EMDR, which stands for eye movement, desensitization, reprocessing, and IFS, which is internal family systems. Um, EMDR is a trauma, you know, evidence-based trauma method that um uses bilateral stimulation. So tapping into the neural networks of the brain through alternating tapping or eye movements, or sometimes buzzes, holding um buzzes, or looking at something that's just alternating. And what that does, it helps move emotions, memories, body sensations through the body to resolve them and desensitize them. And then, you know, the brain wants to heal and move toward wellness. And then the internal family systems portion of that is um what people know as parts work. So the, you know, emotional parts or a younger part of me. Um, and so what I've done is integrated all three of them, art therapy and these two modalities, to kind of um help people stay grounded and regulated, because those other two can be a bit um dysregulating, honestly. And what the art does is help, you know, center, ground, contain, bring us back to the present moment while dealing with difficult emotions or um distressing memories.

SPEAKER_01 7:03

Now, dealing with work in the healing sector, you know, what is your mission statement for your business?

SPEAKER_02 7:13

Yeah, I would say for everyone to know that they're creative. So I believe that everyone is creative and everyone has a story that is worth telling and worth sharing. Um, so everyone's an artist, everyone has, you know, a story to be told, and you know, tapping into that inner creativity that we all have and art as survival and art as you know a human connection.

Where To Learn More & Closing

SPEAKER_01 7:46

Love that. And where can our listeners go to learn more about Haven Healing Art Therapy?

SPEAKER_02 7:52

They can go to my website, um, which is Lexi Sorbara. It's still my maiden name, Lexi Sorbara.com. Um, S-O-R-B-A-R-A.com. Um, or my Instagram at Havenhealing underscore art therapy. And yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:14

Amazing. Well, Lexi, it is a pleasure to have you on today's show. Um, we wish you and your business the best moving forward. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 8:27

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP Frisco dot com. That's GNP Frisco dot com or call four six nine two two two two two two two two two two two two one nine three four four four four four five.