Queer & Neurodivergent Therapy in Brighton, NY
Spotted Rabbit StudioWelcome to Real Therapy, Built for Beautifully Weird Humans
Queer & Neurodivergent Therapy in Brighton: How We Actually Help
A lot of people start looking for therapy in Brighton because something has gotten too heavy to keep carrying alone. Maybe it’s overwhelm that never fully turns off. Maybe it is anxiety that spikes your thoughts or tightens your chest. Maybe you shut down, go numb, or disappear into scrolling because your system cannot hold one more thing. Burnout, relationship strain, identity questions, chronic stress, and trauma responses can all show up in ways that feel confusing, even when you are doing your best.
Our art therapy supports:
• Autism
• ADHD
• LGBTQIA+ challenges
• Anxiety
• Depression
• OCD
• Burnout
• Complex Trauma
• Emotional Neglect
• Chronic Illness and Pain
• Life Transitions
• Relationship Stress
• Self-Esteem
• Identity Exploration
Talk therapy should not feel clinical or rigid
Mental health care should feel safe, accessible, and non-judgmental. At Spotted Rabbit Creative Arts Therapy, you get a space that feels like settling into a creative studio, where art and talk therapy can work together to help your nervous system exhale. If you are queer, trans, nonbinary, neurodivergent, late diagnosed, self-diagnosed, burned out, carrying complex trauma, or just tired of translating your life to a therapist who doesn’t get you, you are in the right place.
At our studio in Brighton, we provide art therapy that's designed to support you where you are. You can choose to talk, make art, or blend both. You can come in with a clear goal, or you can come in with a tangled feeling you cannot name yet. Here, you do not have to mask, perform, or shrink to get support that actually fits.
REASONS FOLKS SEEK THERAPY
A lot of people start looking for therapy in Brighton because something has gotten too heavy to keep carrying alone. Maybe it’s overwhelm that never fully turns off. Maybe it is anxiety that spikes your thoughts or tightens your chest. Maybe you shut down, go numb, or disappear into scrolling because your system cannot hold one more thing. Burnout, relationship strain, identity questions, chronic stress, and trauma responses can all show up in ways that feel confusing, even when you are doing your best.
Welcome to Our Studio: A Safe, Creative Environment
Spotted Rabbit Creative Arts Therapy is built around the idea that therapy can and should feel human. Our space is designed to be colorful and inviting, creating a more relaxed and organic environment for our clients to make art and heal in. When you feel safe and comfortable, you feel less stressed, and your mind has more room to breathe.
We also believe that you should get a say in how your sessions go. You can choose to talk, make art, or do a mix, depending on what you need that day. You do not have to be artistic. You do not have to impress anyone. Art-making here is not about talent. It is about giving you a place to express your inner world, without judgment or restrictions on the ways you express yourself, and ultimately heal.
Radically Affirming Care Where You Do Not Have to Translate Yourself
We know it can be frustrating to translate and explain your identity and story to a therapist who doesn’t get you. We support folx of all walks of life with an affirming, non-pathologizing lens. That means you can show up without the pressure to soften your truth, minimize your experience, or make yourself easier to understand. Our therapists have shared experience with the neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ communities, which means you will spend less time translating or masking your experiences and more time getting your mental health needs met.
In practice, this looks like care that respects pacing and consent, honors sensory needs, and uses identity-affirming language without turning your session into a debate about your reality. With us, care is affirming, welcoming, and safe for all.
Mission-Driven, Trauma-Informed Support for the Whole Person
We have intentionally created a creative and radically affirming space for our clients to explore their inner worlds without judgment or pressure. A founding principle here is that art-making can be a powerful bridge between what you carry inside and what you can finally name out loud.
This is trauma-informed care that is not just a label. It is collaboration, nervous system awareness, and steady support. It is building understanding, regulation, and self-trust, so your life can be rooted in authenticity and values, not survival mode.
Treatment Plans Tailored to You
No two people will thrive with the exact same approach, even if the symptoms look similar on paper. Our art therapists will tailor the work to you, your story, and your goals, with room to adapt as you grow.
The studio lights are on.
How to Find Us
You'll find us across from Edgeview Lane in Brighton, NY. Just look for the bunny
in the window. Yep, we're hard to miss.
Parking & Accessibility
Free parking is right out front, with ADA-accessible spots and a connected ramp
on the right side. We're 100% ADA accessible and our bathrooms are gender-neutral.
ADA-ACCESSIBLE
100% accessible with gender- neutral bathrooms and connected ramp access.
FREE PARKING
Convenient front parking with dedicated ADA spots.
EASY TO FIND
Look for the bunny in the window across from Edgeview Lane.
COZY SPACE
Dark grey house with giant bunny vibes...built for healing, not sterility.
Art Therapy: An Accessible Approach to Mental Health Care
....Therapy That Feels Different.
Art therapy is a mental health approach that uses the creative process alongside clinical support. It can include making images, working with texture, building symbols, and using materials to express what is hard to say out loud. You do not need to be an artist. You do not need a special skill. You only need a willingness to try something that gives your feelings a different kind of language.
Art therapy can look like collage, markers, clay, visual journaling, or grounding exercises with color and texture. It can also be as simple as shaping a feeling into an image so you can understand it from a safer distance. This is especially helpful when words feel impossible, too sharp to touch, or like they disappear the moment you try to speak.
The work is trauma-informed and paced. There is no pressure to tell everything fast. You get to choose what you share, what stays private, and what your process looks like.
Therapy That Feels Different.
Start now, in-person or online.
Who We Serve: Therapy Services in Brighton, NY
• Autism
• ADHD
• LGBTQIA+ challenges
• Anxiety
• Depression
• OCD
• Burnout
• Complex Trauma
• Emotional Neglect
• Chronic Illness and Pain
• Life Transitions
• Relationship Stress
• Self-Esteem
• Identity Exploration
If you are searching for therapy services in Brighton, you may be looking for care that actually fits your life, not a generic checklist of symptoms. Spotted Rabbit Creative Arts Therapy supports individuals navigating many different questions and life transitions.
Care is trauma-informed and gender-affirming, with an approach that honors the whole person.
We draw from a set of modalities that can be adapted to your goals and needs, including ACT, attachment-based therapy, CBT, narrative therapy, IFS-informed parts work, psychodynamic therapy, somatic practices, polyvagal-informed work, and mindfulness.
It can be easy to accidentally slip into survival mode as adults, to stay functional while feeling disconnected. This often looks like anxiety that never fully powers down, burnout that keeps resurfacing, or trauma responses like shutdown, hypervigilance, people-pleasing, or numbness. Art therapy can help because it gives you a way to unravel and process your experiences and past.
Adult Art Therapy in Brighton: Talk, Create, or Do Both
Here, adult art therapy is not a professional art class, and it is not about being “good” at anything. It is a choice-based blend of creative process and clinical support. Our therapists can support mental health healing with options like collage to map overwhelm, clay to explore tension, or visual journaling to track patterns, with the flexibility to talk while your hands move or let the art hold the first draft until words show up.
Art Therapy for Children and Adolescents
Kids do not always have the words for what they feel, especially when emotions feel overwhelming, confusing, or like they are moving too fast. Art therapy can give kids a safe way to express what is happening inside through creative play and art-making, without pressure to explain everything perfectly. Sessions may include drawing, painting, collage, clay, and visual coping tools that help kids name feelings, build emotional regulation, and grow confidence in communication over time. You can read more on the benefits of Art Therapy for children and teens here: 8 Powerful Reasons Kids Benefit From Art Therapy.
LGBTQIA+ and Neurodivergent-Affirming Therapy in Brighton
You do not have to translate your identity, your brain, or your coping here. This support is built for LGBTQIA+ folx, trans and nonbinary clients, neurodivergent clients, late diagnosed or self-diagnosed clients, highly sensitive clients, and trauma survivors.
Affirming care is taken seriously here and is at the core of what we do. It looks like correct pronouns, sensory needs taken seriously, direct communication welcomed, unmasking supported, and no pathologizing of who you are.
Virtual Therapy Options at Spotted Rabbit Creative Arts Therapy
If getting to an office feels like one more thing you cannot hold right now, you still have options. Spotted Rabbit Creative Arts Therapy offers virtual therapy for clients across New York, so you can meet from home, from your car on a lunch break, or from wherever you feel most settled. Virtual sessions can look a lot like in-person sessions: you can talk, you can use simple creative prompts if that feels supportive, or you can keep it conversational and bring art in later.
The point is not to recreate a perfect studio experience through a screen. The point is to make therapy accessible, consistent, and nervous system-friendly, especially during busy seasons, flare-ups, sensory overload, or burnout. If you are not sure whether virtual therapy is a good fit for what you are working on, reach out, and Spotted Rabbit Creative Arts Therapy can help you figure out the best starting point.
Meet the Team
Brighton Art Therapists
KIT SHULMAN, LCAT
SARAH BEREN, LCAT
Therapy That Doesn't Try to "Fix" You. Care is available now, in-person or online.
Our Art Therapy Specialties and Areas of Focus
Good therapy is specialized. Our therapists bring focused training and lived experience, and they tailor care to exactly what you need. If you want therapy in Brighton that feels affirming, trauma-informed, and choice-based, specialties matter because they shape how deeply you will feel understood.
Anxiety Therapy
Anxiety is not always just “overthinking”, and it often manifests differently from person to person. We support anxiety with approaches that help you understand patterns while also giving your body a path back to safety. You can expect a blend of ACT and practical somatic strategies that help you build calm you can access outside the therapy room.
Complex Trauma Therapy
Complex trauma can shape the way you trust, attach, set boundaries, and see yourself. It can also create a constant sense of bracing, even when life looks “fine” on the outside. We can support you with trauma-informed support that helps you make sense of the chaos without rushing your story. Pacing, consent, and stabilization come first, so healing is possible without retraumatizing you.
Depression Therapy
Depression can look like numbness, heaviness, disconnection, or feeling like you are moving through mud. Our approach considers your whole story, your environment, your values, and what your system has been carrying for a long time. Art therapy for depression can include practical shifts as well as deeper meaning-making, with space for art and talk to support energy, connection, and hope.
Intuitive Eating Support
With us, intuitive eating support focuses on rebuilding trust with your body and your hunger cues. We approach struggles with body dysmorphia or disordered eating gently and without shame, especially if food has become a coping tool or a battleground. The goal is more ease, more choice, and more connection with what your body is asking for, including the emotions underneath.
LGBTQIA+ Issues and Identity Support
Living away from your authenticity can create a quiet kind of grief, even if you are not naming it that way. We proudly provide LGBTQIA+ affirming support with therapists who understand the real-world context of queer and trans life. Therapy can support identity exploration, coming out timing, minority stress, self-trust, and a stronger sense of belonging in your own skin.
Neurodivergence Support (Autism, ADHD, OCD)
Masking can drain you. Being “high functioning” can still mean you are exhausted. We support our neurodivergent clients by helping them build a life that works with them and for them. Therapy can include nervous system support, routines that fit your brain, communication needs, and tools that reduce overwhelm without asking you to become someone else.
Non-Traditional Relationships Support
Non-traditional relationships can be deeply fulfilling, and they can also bring up attachment needs, communication challenges, and old patterns. Our therapists support their clients in clarifying what relationship structure fits them, building communication and emotional vulnerability skills, and navigating boundaries, agreements, jealousy, repair, and trust with care.
FAQs About Therapy in Brighton with Spotted Rabbit Creative Arts Therapy
COMMON QUESTIONS WE HEAR
Do you offer virtual therapy appointments?
Yes. We offer in-person and online art therapy in New York, so you can choose what fits your schedule, energy, and nervous system best.
Where are you located?
Our Brighton location is at 2376 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618. We also have a Pittsford location at 1169 Pittsford-Victor Road, Suite 250, Pittsford, NY 14534.
We are expanding our practice and welcoming new therapists to our care team--along with a third studio location opening soon in Greece, New York, serving the greater Rochester community!
Do you offer group therapy or only individual therapy?
You do not need the perfect speech. Simple and honest usually works best. You might say, “I notice things have been really hard lately, and you deserve more support. Therapy is a place that is just for you to talk, make art, or both with someone whose job is to help.” Avoid framing therapy as a consequence, and instead describe it as a support team member, like a coach or tutor for feelings. For younger kids, you can mention that there will be art supplies and cozy spaces.
Broaching the topic of therapy for teens or younger kids can be tough. If you are unsure what to say, your child’s therapist can help you come up with language that fits your family.
What is the intake process like?
You start by reaching out through the Contact Us form, email, call, or text (585-430-9877). You will share a little about what you are looking for, what support has or has not worked before, and any preferences you have for scheduling or style. Then you will be matched with a therapist and scheduled for a first session that feels clear, grounded, and not overwhelming.
What happens after I reach out?
You will hear back with the next steps, including questions that help clarify what you want from therapy and what kind of support fits best. If you are not sure what you need yet, that is okay. You can name what you are noticing day to day, and the rest can be sorted out together.
How do I know which provider to work with?
Start with what matters most to you: identity-affirming care, experience with neurodivergence, trauma-informed therapy, art therapy, or a more talk-based approach. We can help you match with an art therapist when you reach out, or you can get to know our providers ahead of time by visiting our Team Page.
Can I switch therapists if it does not feel like the right fit?
Yes. Fit matters, and it is normal to need a change. If something feels off, you can say so, and you can ask to explore a different match. You will not be judged for advocating for yourself.
What Should I Expect in the First Appointment?
Your first session is a chance to slow down and get oriented, not to tell your whole story perfectly. You will talk about what brought you in, what you want help with, and what safety and support look like for you. You can also share whether you want art-making involved right away, later on, or not at all.
Do I need to prepare anything before my first session?
You do not need a perfect timeline or a polished explanation. If it helps, jot down a few notes like what has been hardest lately, what you want to feel more of, and what you want less of. If you are coming in person, arrive as you are, including sensory needs, comfort items, or anything that helps you feel settled and safe.
How long does therapy take, and how often will we meet?
That depends on your goals, your capacity, and what you are working through. Some people want short-term support for a specific season, while others prefer a longer runway for trauma healing, identity work, or nervous system repair. You and your therapist will decide together what pace feels sustainable and useful.
Your Next Step Toward Feeling Better Starts Here
If you have been searching for "a therapist near me" in Brighton, you can feel safe knowing you will be understood and cared for here. Spotted Rabbit Creative Arts Therapy offers affirming, trauma-informed therapy that gives you options when talk therapy alone has not been enough. You can use art, conversation, or both. You can move at a pace that feels safe. You can stop masking and start building real tools for regulation, boundaries, and self-trust.