Our Mission Statement

GNEAF is open to anyone who uses the creative process in their work.

The mission of this premier organization is:

1. To provide for our members a place of community, education, and collaboration within our diverse field
2. To advocate our heart and soul-centered work by providing a directory for prospective clients, workshop attendees, or the media to easily find our services

Expressive Arts Facilitators utilize the creative process to foster self-discovery, enjoyment, and healing. It isn't instruction. For example, a quilting teacher instructs the student on the techniques.  But an Expressive Arts Facilitator may use quilting as the process for remembering a loved one, or for exploring the Creative Self, or for mindfulness and stress management, or for adjusting to living with a new diagnosis.  The intent is very different.

Therefore they may use:

Expressive Arts Facilitators may provide a therapeutic experience, however, they are not therapists. To find a trained and licensed therapist, please visit International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. Please note: there is no formal association between GNEAF and IEATA.

Can art therapists, music therapist, expressive arts therapist, creative arts therapist join GNEAF?
Of course! Many therapists combine their therapy work with non-therapy work.

What's the difference between therapy and non-therapy work?
That's a great question!  and you may find different answers depending on who you ask.  GNEAF feels that therapy is working with a client's past trauma such as abuse, PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), abandonment, deep parental or caregiver issues or with diagnosed issues such as clinical depression, schizophrenia, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) - just to name a few.

Non-therapy work is working with anyone - the general public.  Non-therapy work can be therapeautic or healing but it isn't "deep therapy" nor is it diagnosing or assessing.  Again, that's the work of a trained therapist.

What GNEAF is not
We do not monitor anyone's credentials or education.  Anyone who wishes to become a member is invited to join the community!  If you have an advanced degree and a license, please feel free to join.  If you took a weekend workshop, please feel free to join.  If you just feel called to the work, please feel free to join.  Imagine the possible collaborations that could happen with all these different types of people.

About GNEAF's Founder and CEO

Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli, MA eats, lives, and breathes the creative process (since you're reading this, you probably do too!).  She wholeheartedly believes in and has witnessed how it can change people by managing their stress, aquiring a deeper sense of self, engaging in aha! moments, and by healing small and large emotional wounds.  She completed her Master's degree in Expressive Arts Therapy from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA after years of working as the Director of Communications at an art advocacy organization in Chicago.  After a variety of therapy jobs, she no longer wished to be in that world of diagnosing and insurance limitations. Instead she wants to work with the general public so she opened her doors as The Expressive Arts Coach.

There's a variety of organizations and resources for expressive art therapists, art therapists, music therapists, etc.  But now as a non-therapist facilitator/coach, she felt a bit lonely and knew others like her who felt the same way.  A unifying organization specifically for expressive arts facilitation was missing.  There was a need to bring all these professional, creative people together and also a need to educate and advocate about our growing field.

So utilizing her background in communications (publicity, advertising, marketing) and after a lot of deep soul work, she opened GNEAF with an idealism that the members will change the world!

GNEAF also has a bunch of advisors and mentors.

Photo credit: www.PhotosbyEmily.net