Balancing the Artist and the Clinician

The following article appeared in the From The Hill Magazine Summer 2025 Issue. Follow these links to make a gift, update your information, or submit a class note.

By: Sarah Barr, Media Communications Specialist

Art + Therapy = Healing. This equation became a passion project for Dr. Ragaa Mazen, a sculptor whose major in psychology ignited a dream. In 1997, she founded the Master of Arts in Art Therapy and Counseling (MAATC) program at Albertus — still, the only degree of its kind in Connecticut.

Like a tapestry, Dr. Mazen’s legacy is so interwoven into the program, that the product — the graduates — carry out a professional culture that ethically serves a community in need. But Dr. Mazaan humbly credits her late husband, Dr. James Brine, as well as Dr. Stephen Joy, Terry Towne, ATR, Bill More, ATR, and the Psychology department and administration for their inspiration to inspire students.

To her, the perfect candidate for the MAATC program is a student with a strong academic record who, believes in a team approach and in the power of art to heal; believes in the use of objective criteria in validating the success of a therapeutic approach; is kind, insightful, and committed to helping others and to the profession; and is willing to work hard to achieve goals.

“Graduates of this program, having been trained by both Art Therapists and Psychologists, are prepared to interact and ‘speak the same language’ with other professionals in the field,” stated Dr. Mazen, “Trained in multiple disciplines, including use of object research methods, our graduates are prepared to become Registered Art Therapists and Licensed Professional Counselors.”

Her analysis couldn’t be more correct.

Meet Genna Riggi ’13 M.A., is the owner and founder of Artlighten LLC, an art therapy counseling business in Watertown, Conn.

She chose Albertus not only for its elite status in the field, but for its compassion.

“It felt like an amazing field, created just for me,” Riggi recalled.

Since the founding of Artlighten in 2018, Riggi has expanded her practice — hiring several other Albertus alumnae — Karina Sorensen ’22 M.A.; Francesca Siano ’19 M.A.; Colleen Warner ’22 M.A.; Rebecca Weinberger ’15, ’22 M.A.; Jenna Reeser ’23 M.A., and current intern Rachel Chiappa ’25.  And yes, there is an unspoken shorthand.

“There’s a family feel and approach. I know exactly the program they’re getting. My education was fulfilling,” Riggi said, crediting Mazen as the “goddess of the art therapy program.”

“She knows the roots she planted. It’s still woven through all the therapists who came through the program,” she stated.

Riggi tries to emulate Albertus’ strong, tight-knit family as it is a dynamic that resonates with her deeply.  As does the values-based, liberal arts education.

“It’s the way we are — ethically — how we’ve been taught and trained. It’s crucial when you deal with patients. They feel safe.,” she said of testimonials. “In that reflection of feedback, I’m always looking back to Albertus and those who taught me.”

“Being an art therapist is such a niche thing. When we get together for group supervision, it’s like magic — it makes me feel I’m living out my purpose — this is like a calling. We’re all there with such high authenticity. Art Therapy plus community saves you as a person — makes you feel very blessed in a very compassionate and creative community,” she added.

Here’s someone who couldn’t agree more: Sarah Guercia ’14 M.A., ATR-BC, LPC is the founder of Fox & Feather Healing Arts Services based in Guilford.

“The program taught me that healing through art-making is not just a profession, it’s a way of living and moving through the world. Art-making is my personal connection to spirituality. The program helped me open internal gifts I already embodied — to listen to my own wisdom and guidance, honor my own light within, and then help others do the same,” Guercia explained.

She opened her practice in 2017 with just one client — and knew instantly it was what she was meant to be doing. Today, she serves 80 clients with a team of six including — you guessed it — Albertus alums, including Rachel Cataudella Kerner ’18 M.A., Katy Hyland ’18 M.A., and Abby MacKinnel Ormrod ’15 M.A.

“They get it,” Guercia insisted. “I understand who they are — on a soul level. It’s an evolving process throughout a lifetime. I understand the unique gifts they bring to the profession. As a team, we celebrate those gifts and provide a very aligned experience for clients.”

That aligned experience is now in the very capable hands of its director and clinical coordinator Dr. Rebecca Arnold, a nationally Registered, Board Certified (ATR-BC) art therapist and Licensed Art Therapist (CLAT).

Arnold is very proud and excited about the Albertus comradery — which she describes as awe-inspiring.

“Our Albertus grads support each other — and in that way it feels like family,” she insisted “There’s increased opportunity for our graduates. What’s exciting about that too is the distinction our alumni carry forward into their careers. I can send an intern to one of our alumni settings and know that they’re going to get the ethical supervision and practical skills they need in their professional work.”

There’s a sort of glue — a holding the door open for the next person that creates an unspoken connection from alumni to student.

“Our graduates are fully prepared to not only move into the field but also to supervise those who are new therapists. They acquire skills in the classroom and internships that are transferrable to realistic employment opportunities,” Arnold said of career readiness.

“There’s a strong tether that holds us together. And it reflects on the College’s pillar of Community,” she added.

As to where the MAATC program goes from here, Arnold says it is her hope that its growth will continue by expanding the education of students from both Connecticut and other states. “That can create a ripple effect toward wider community connections where one graduating cohort supports the next, further broadening where art therapy is practiced.”