Creative Being Therapy

Holistic support to create a life you love.

Creative mind-body therapy for healing and personal growth.

In-person and virtual psychotherapy for adults and teens in Detroit, Michigan, seeking a holistic, evidence-based, and trauma-informed approach.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Welcome to mental health care that nurtures your whole self.

I’m Liz Ahlbrand, a licensed counselor and expressive arts therapist, specializing in trauma-informed care for those who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or burned out. The people I work with are doing and feeling it all, and many are drained from navigating a world where they feel like they can’t be their full selves. If you’ve been carrying too much, this is a place to set it down, rest, and reset. Together, we’ll make space for you to find authenticity and balance again.

Conventional talk-only therapy can fail to produce lasting change. I offer a holistic approach that blends talk with creative, body-based practices like mindfulness, movement, music, art, and storytelling. Together, we’ll affirm the whole YOU—helping you grow through and heal anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic pain, difficult relationships, substance use, life transitions, and more. Our process explores the interconnection of your mind, body, spirit, identities, relationships, and culture, equipping you with practical skills to reclaim your life.

You are already a creative being. You’ve found innovative ways to survive and thrive throughout your life. We will draw on your strengths to support you in this creative process, honoring your pace and centering your voice. My role is as your collaborator, supporting a psychotherapy plan rooted in your experience and consent, so you can show up just as you are – and create a life you love.

Holistic

Therapy should honor the whole you, inside and out. Together, we’ll explore how your mind, body, identities, relationships, and environment connect – considering everything from nutrition and sleep to historical, cultural, and systemic influences. With this full picture, we can get to the root of things and empower you with insight, tools, and resources that truly make a difference.

Creative

You were born to create. Society may try to turn creativity into mere productivity or performance, but it’s your birthright – an essential part of being human. In therapy, we’ll engage the full creative process, from resting and rooting to ripening and composting, helping you reconnect with your natural, embodied wisdom and cultivate a life in full bloom.

Being

Being here, as you are, is enough. In therapy together, there’s no pressure to be “better” or have it all figured out. We will support intentional, authentic renewal at your pace, creating a safe, expansive space where you can finally exhale. Much of healing happens through connection, so we can also tend to the ways you can be and belong – as your true self.

Specializations

I am a proudly 2SLGBTQIA+, neurodiverse, and BIPOC allied clinician who specializes in working with adults and teens (14+) of all sexual and gender identities, ethnicities, races, religions, cultural backgrounds, abilities, body sizes, lifestyles, and relationship styles. I offer care for individuals, couples/dyads, and groups around:

Therapies

I provide integrative counseling, designed to support meaningful, lasting change by working with the whole person in the context of their life. Click on each heading below to learn more about the main therapeutic modalities I use.

Expressive Arts Therapy

Expressive arts therapy (EXA) intentionally integrates imagery/visual art, sound/music, movement/dance, storytelling/dramatic enactment, creative writing, and imaginative play as a form of psychotherapy. The creative process itself, not artistic products, is where healing and empowerment happen. EXA can dig deeper than traditional talk therapy, making it particularly effective for people with trauma histories or neurodiverse folks who navigate the world in beautifully different ways. EXA also increases our brain’s ability to change, called neuroplasticity. Some ways we might integrate EXA include mindfulness practices, embodied self-expression, and experiencing a safe sense of play and joy.

Somatic (Mind-Body) Counseling

“Soma” means body. Traditional talk therapy typically focuses on the connection between thoughts and behaviors. Somatic therapy brings the body and emotions into the equation in an evidence-based and trauma-informed way. You’ll find that somatic counseling differs from traditional therapy because, instead of talking about past events, we shift our focus to what’s happening in the present moment. We’ll often use mindfulness techniques and can easily integrate somatics with expressive arts therapy. The goal is greater self-awareness and the ability to respond to ourselves with care and curiosity.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CTB) is the gold standard of evidence-based mental health therapies. CBT helps you notice and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors so you can feel better and handle life’s challenges more effectively. It is the first line of treatment for many mental health issues, including substance use, compulsive behaviors, anxiety, and depression. I combine CBT with mindfulness and body-based techniques to offer a well-rounded approach.

Relational-Cultural Therapy

Relational‑cultural therapy (RCT) is a feminist approach grounded in how people grow and heal through relationships and how sociocultural factors shape those relationships, particularly systems of power and oppression. In therapy, RCT can help you understand and explore patterns that perpetuate disconnection, practice relational skills, and work toward creating a more authentically connected life where you feel a sense of belonging and empowerment.

My work is also informed by dialectical and behavioral therapy (DBT), narrative therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, internal family systems (IFS), psychoeducational models, neurobiology, nature-based therapy, harm reduction, liberation psychology, and transformational justice.

Ready to take the first, small step?

Overwhelm, anxiety, and other life issues can often pile up and get worse when you don’t get the support you need. It’s never too late to change, but putting it off can make it harder to. Let’s get started together today.

Fill out the interest form below to schedule your free 15-minute consultation. We will discuss your goals for therapy, my approach, and decide whether we would be a good fit to work together. If so, we can schedule you for your first session right away.

Let’s Get Started