Profiles

Dr. Mary Roberts began her appointment to the Art Therapy and Counseling, MS Program at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) as Program Director and Assistant Professor on June 17, 2013 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2017 and full Professor in 2023. She is a graduate of Eastern Virginia Medical School, with a Master of Science degree in Art Therapy in 1997 and from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Art in 1995, after completing studio art foundations and sculpture work at Virginia Commonwealth University from 1991-1993. In May 2013, Dr. Roberts completed her Education Specialist degree from the Curry School at the University of Virginia. She earned her doctoral degree in Counselor Education at Old Dominion University in 2018. Dr. Roberts was appointed to the faculty in 2010 and served as Part-Time Faculty beginning Spring 2012.

Dr. Roberts has over 26 years of experience as an art therapist and art therapy educator. She is a Registered and Board-Certified Art Therapist (1999), Art Therapy Clinical Supervisor (2015), Licensed Professional Counselor (2000) and Approved Clinical Supervisor (2015). Dr. Roberts was EMDR Level II, fully trained in 2004. She is a practicing artist in mixed media painting. In the art therapy program, she teaches Assessment, Trauma and Neuroscience Informed Art Therapy and Counseling. She provides individual supervision and is the Clinical Internship Coordinator. Dr. Roberts has taught Group Counseling & Psychotherapy, Basic Counseling and Art Psychotherapy Skills, Adolescent Psychotherapy Skills, Group Supervision, Cultural Competency, and chaired student thesis and capstone work. Dr. Roberts previously served as the Vice President of the Virginia Art Therapy Association.

Dr. Roberts was invited to teach in the Art Therapy program in the Academy of Arts and Culture, J.J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia for spring and summer 2019. Dr. Roberts taught content in art therapy history and approaches, psychotherapy theories and approaches, and trauma informed art psychotherapy with specialized content in military trauma, combat trauma, integration of neuroscience and trauma, and multiple intersections of minority experiences, childhood traumas, neglect, abuse, and sexual trauma. Through this partnership, Dr. Roberts was able to develop a study abroad experience for EVMS Art Therapy and Counseling, MS students.

Dr. Roberts has engaged in a variety of research endeavors. She completed her dissertation: Exploring the Variant Experiences Through which of Racial/Ethnic Minorities Select Art Therapy as a Career, which is a qualitative study based on post intentional phenomenological theory. She has actively mentored students for thesis and capstone research. Dr. Roberts has conducted research and program evaluation to understand and analyze cohort education, art therapy education, and effectiveness of teaching related to the GATCP, which has resulted in curriculum, policy, and procedural changes. Dr. Roberts has consulted with Armed Services Arts Partnership (2015-2017) and the Virginia Stage Company (2019) for program evaluation. Dr. Roberts’s research agenda includes: art therapy with veterans for processing and coping with post-traumatic stress, facilitating military to civilian reintegration, and improving quality of life, art therapy for individuals with and care partners of individuals with dementia, program evaluations, and intersections of art therapy, biomarkers, neuroscience, and creativity. Currently, Dr. Roberts has two active grants, one working with veterans and another working with individuals with dementia. Dr. Roberts has actively supported student lead research and partnerships with faculty to write and manage grants and make time for research and special projects. In addition, by securing a variety of grants for students, research for art therapy and women’s infertility, art therapy for veterans, and art therapy for individuals with dementia, Dr. Roberts was able to develop the Arts for Optimal Health Program which visions and supports community integrated arts therapies for clinical services, research, education, and program evaluation. To date the Arts for Optimal Health Program has facilitated 10 grant and contract funded projects with 4 current grants and projects.

Before coming to EVMS, Dr. Roberts worked as an art therapist with adolescents in a detention facility. Dr. Roberts served the State Operated Programs with the Virginia Department of Education to train art and music therapists in best practice, ethics, and therapeutic boundaries in residential settings and education programs served by the state. She served as a mentor to new art therapists employed in State Operated Programs. Dr. Roberts has propelled the field of art therapy by encouraging the hiring of expressive therapists in education programs in detention facilities, pioneering and founding seven sustaining art therapist positions in her career, documenting standards of practice in writing, contributing articles to newsletters, and developing standards and curriculum for art and music therapists in education programs as a part of the regular school schedule as opposed to IEP related services. Throughout her career, Dr. Roberts has worked as an art therapist in residential, in home, community mental health, transitional services, and private practice settings with a focus on the treatment of trauma.

Dr. Roberts has integrated growth mindset and educational best practices into the curriculum and teaching in the Art Therapy and Counseling, MS Program at EVMS. Her goals continue to be focused on continued reflection and re-evaluation for program growth and improvement. She lead the efforts to move the program from Education Program Board Approval to CAAHEP accreditation, which was awarded in September of 2019. Currently, the program is seeking counseling education accreditation. Collaboratively with the faculty, she continues to lead the program to enhanced curriculum with integrated twenty-first learning skills and technology that are best practice and data driven to measure student growth. Dr. Roberts has a commitment to partnering with the community to further the field of art therapy and the mission of EVMS.