Create to Regulate: Art as Self-Care for Everyday Wellbeing

Welcome to our May Wellbeing Wednesday event, brought to you by the Forest Park Board of Health! Online attendance also offered.

Art as self-care offers a practical and accessible approach to managing stress, regulating emotions, and supporting overall well-being. Engaging in creative processes—such as drawing, painting, or collage—can activate the body’s relaxation response, helping individuals slow down, release tension, and reconnect with the present moment. Creative expression also provides a nonverbal outlet for processing thoughts and emotions that may be difficult to articulate. This presentation will introduce the therapeutic foundations of art as self-care and offer participants an opportunity to engage in a guided, hands-on directive to experience its benefits in real time.

This talk will be presented by Elisha-Rio P. Apilado, MA, ATR-P. Elisha is a clinical psychotherapist and art therapist based in Chicago, Illinois. With over a decade of experience in advertising and art direction prior to transitioning into mental health, she brings a unique, integrative approach to her clinical work. A graduate of Adler University, Elisha currently practices at Rush Oak Park Hospital and Harper Grace Counseling. She is passionate about utilizing expressive arts therapy to support emotional regulation, deepen self-awareness, and reduce stigma around mental health care through accessible, creative interventions.

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Host or Publisher Forest Park Board of Health