Healing Through Creativity: How Expressive Art Therapy is Bringing Hope to Culmore

Expressive Art Therapy doesn’t ask someone to sit with “what’s wrong”, but opens a door to the unconscious mind, allowing answers to emerge through creation rather than direct questioning. 

In the heart of Bailey’s Crossroads and Culmore, a community facing some of Fairfax County’s toughest challenges, a quiet kind of healing is taking place. Through a partnership between The Women’s Center, Kaiser Permanente, and George Mason University, free trauma-informed expressive art workshops are helping residents reduce isolation, build connection, and discover mental wellness through creativity. 

At the center of this work is Esmeralda Gomez, Expressive Arts Therapist, whose own journey into this field matches the healing she now brings to others. 

A Path Shaped by Art and Identity 

Esmeralda grew up in Mexico, where a love of art and dance took root early. She went on to study psychology in college. When she migrated to the US, she spent seven years with a research-based community program focused on obesity prevention in young children and their families who were mostly recent immigrants as well. Her work involved visiting families in their homes and helping spark meaningful behavioral change.  

As part of that work, she helped start an ethnic dance club where kids could take classes after school, quickly growing into a space that offered emotional support, community, and belonging. 

But it was Esmeralda’s own experience of moving to the United States that shaped her path the most.  In her experience, navigating a new country meant reshaping her sense of identity, and for a while, she wasn’t sure who she was anymore. The motivation that once drove her seemed to fade along with it. 

To reconnect with herself, she turned back to her love of art and dance. She started painting again and began a dance class from her heritage. Slowly, she reconnected with herself through the very art forms that had always brought her comfort and felt like home. 

Her personal journey led her to pursue a Master’s in Holistic Counseling with a specialization in Expressive Arts, a perfect blend of the two things she loves most: psychology and creativity.

Why Expressive Art Therapy Works 

Esmeralda now uses the same tools that helped her heal to help others do the same. Through mediums like clay, paint, collage, crafts, movement and poetry, clients often experience “Aha“ moments, insights that might otherwise take much longer to surface through words alone.

What makes this approach so unique, she explains, is that it doesn’t ask someone to sit with “what’s wrong.” Instead, it opens a door to the unconscious mind, allowing answers to emerge through creation rather than direct questioning. 

“Many people who come to my sessions tell me they don’t do art because they were told they weren’t good at it,” Esmeralda shares. “But this space allows them to explore, to be curious, and to find out what they actually enjoy.” 

Tapping into creativity matters because so many of our emotions live there. Someone working through grief, for example, might find real calm and peace simply through the act of making something. Art and craft have been part of human life for as long as we’ve existed, and there’s something deeply comforting about using it as a form of expression. 

A Trusted Resource in the Community 

Esmeralda’s work is part of the Culmore Hub, a one-stop location offering free services to residents, including health checkups and immigration legal support. Every week, she sets up a table, meeting people exactly where they are, in a community facing real hardship. 

With 21.3% of residents living in poverty compared to 6% countywide, Bailey’s Crossroads and Culmore experience significant barriers to healthcare, food security, and employment. In addition, many residents carry wariness toward mental health therapy. 

Esmeralda has found a gentle way through. “I’ll teach you how to make something with clay, and let’s talk about life,” she often says. It’s simple, low-pressure, and easy to say yes to. Many residents visiting the Hub for other services are invited to join in while they wait, a warm, informal introduction that often becomes something more.

Through these sessions, Esmeralda regularly connects with people navigating unresolved grief, low self-esteem, domestic violence, and the stress of recent immigration. Many of the women she works with have left children behind in their home countries, carrying a weight that’s rarely spoken aloud until they find themselves in one of her sessions.

Recently, a group of women came together to craft “resilience trees,” using the exercise to reflect on their strengths, values, dreams, and hopes for the future. Projects like these provide a safe space to be seen, heard, and supported. 

The Impact So Far 

To date, 30 of the region’s most disadvantaged residents have received critical mental health support through these workshops. Many return again and again, drawn not just by the art but by the sense of community they’ve found. 

For many, it’s the first time they’ve ever spoken their story out loud to another person. 

“I came into the clinic with a lot of pain and fear from not knowing what this place was about,” one client shared. “I’m leaving more relaxed and hopeful after sharing what I’m going through.” 

Looking Ahead 

Esmeralda hopes to soon launch closed support groups, giving participants a safe, consistent space to go deeper and build on the trust they’ve already found. 

In a community that hasn’t always had many choices, The Women’s Center is helping create something powerful: hope. 

If you or someone you know could benefit from this kind of support, please reach out to us.