Melinda J. Emery ATR-BC, LMFT, CATC IV is the Director and owner of her own business, Family Therapist Art Resources, Inc. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist for the state of California and Indiana, a nationally Registered and Board Certified Art Therapist, and a Credentialed Addictions Counselor. Melinda has over twenty years of experience working with children and families as a licensed mental health counselor. She has a broad focus on the value of creative art expression, in her field of mental health and in the Arts and Humanities. Creative expression can facilitate the process of mindfulness, awareness, and communication about our history, our present, and to imagine the future through societal and personal lens.

She is a clinical member of numerous mental health organizations.  Melinda also serves on the College of Health and Human Services Advancement Council Board for Indiana State University.

Melinda has organized several art exhibits for communities and special populations using art to communicate and heal. She was President for three years for the Orange County Chapter of the American Paralysis Association. Melinda created the art exhibit, “Visions of a Cure” for individuals suffering spinal cord injuries. She has also developed art programs for children in communities and schools to focus on their development and growth. She developed a community project in the Wabash Valley in Indiana and highlighted the children’s art at the Terre Haute Children’s Museum in 2016.

She is published in the American Art therapy Journal for presenting a case study in therapeutic art therapy interventions for children with autism. Melinda has published a book, “Art For Recovery In Relationships,” A Creative and Self Reflective Activity Book. She has presented at numerous national conferences and in 2015 and 2018 presented at the CA Association for Alcohol and Drug Educators in Los Angeles. If you are suffering from addictions, it is not only about finding sobriety but about self-discovery.