Balancing the identities of artist and art therapist can feel like walking a delicate tightrope. For New York–based art therapist Tanvi Mehta, these roles are not separate worlds but interwoven parts of her professional and personal life. Her journey reveals how the dual identity of artist and art therapist enriches her clinical work and fosters deeper connection with clients.
From an early age, Mehta was inspired by her mother’s passion for art and the encouragement to use creativity as a form of expression and bonding. “Art was our language,” Mehta recalls. It served as a vessel for inspiration, motivation, expression, and empowerment in many ways. This foundation planted the seeds for a lifelong relationship with art that later became central to her therapeutic approach.
Mehta’s academic foundation in Strategic Design and Management and Communication Design laid the groundwork for her ability to think visually, conceptually, and relationally. Her later training through a Master’s in Art Therapy and clinical psychology in New York solidified what she had long sensed intuitively: that creativity is an essential dimension of healing. Rather than compartmentalizing her roles, she allows them to evolve side by side. In the therapy room, Mehta’s artist’s eye informs her ability to notice the subtle language of metaphor, texture, and space—elements that speak volumes beyond words.
She explains that while she does not insert her own art into sessions, her understanding of artistic language helps her attune to what clients are expressing visually and emotionally. Whether encouraging clients to interpret the meaning behind the colors they choose or the rhythm of their brushstrokes, Mehta finds portals into inner worlds that might otherwise remain hidden. Her artist’s sensibility also cultivates deep containment—holding client emotions with openness, curiosity, and without judgment.
Outside of therapy, Mehta’s personal art practice serves as a vital reflective and restorative space. She gravitates toward mixed media, watercolor, and poetry—mediums that allow her to process emotions and recharge creatively. For Mehta, creating art is not only about expression but about integration and renewal.
Owning the hyphen between artist and art therapist, Mehta embraces the complexity and power this duality offers. For Mehta, being both artist and therapist is a powerful synergy that defines her therapeutic presence.
