Professional Summary
Amy Smethurst, LPAT & ATR
Amy Smethurst (she/her) is the Embedded Clinician at the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning and the College of Arts & Sciences. Based in Cincinnati, OH, she is a licensed professional art therapist with a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University. Amy brings over fifteen years of clinical experience providing individual and group counseling, as well as outreach and consultation services in diverse mental health settings. She skillfully utilizes creative and expressive modalities to foster students' emotional processing, communication, and resilience across a range of concerns.
Approach to Therapy and Areas of Clinical Interest:
Amy's client-centered and strengths-based approach emphasizes creativity and self-expression to empower students in meeting their mental health needs within a safe and supportive environment. Deeply listening to student narratives, she recognizes their strengths and the impact of their background, sociopolitical context, and culture, often viewing distress as rooted in systemic issues and encouraging a holistic understanding of self. Integral to her work is the incorporation of interoception and somatic processing, guiding students to connect with internal bodily sensations for deeper understanding and healing.