Nicole Castek
Art Therapy Intern
Bachelors in Fine Arts- Painting from Daemen College, Amherst, NY
Baking and Pastry Diploma from the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, IL
Masters Student, Counseling in Art Therapy, Adler University, Chicago, IL
Using the Power of the Arts
Nicole is pursuing my Masters of Arts in Counseling: Art Therapy from Adler University in Chicago, Illinois. She previously received her Bachelor's in Fine Arts- Painting at Damen College in Amherst, New York, and received her Baking and Pastry diploma from the Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago.
After working alongside family members with special needs and working within the Chicago burrows as a pastry chef, she felt a calling to give back to her community and to be part of the helping profession on a deeper level. Soon after, she started looking into art therapy. Nicole found that art therapy could inspire her strong inclination towards creative and artistic pathways while also using it to heal and help others.
For the last year and a half, she has been working as an assistant Montessori teacher in Chicago, Illinois.
"It has been an incredible environment to learn, collaborate with others, and build a creative community. It is an extreme privilege to teach through open-ended, hands-on experiences that help support early childhood development and growth."
As an emerging art therapist, she is interested in art-based research, the power of expressive and creative art therapies including dance-movement, and the power that a collaborative studio environment can have on the art therapist-client dyad.