Staff
Leara Glinzak, ATR-BC, MSAT
Owner and Art Therapist
Passionate, Creative, Empathetic
Leara Glinzak is a Board Certified Art Therapist, Founder and Owner of I Light LLC where she is also The Faris Foundation Art Therapist at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers. She attended Seton Hill University for her Bachelor of Arts in Art Therapy and Mount Mary University for her Master of Science in Art Therapy with a concentration in Counseling. Leara is passionate about advocacy, research and education where she has previous teaching experience as a professor at Grand Valley State University. Her research on working with adult’s distress with Cancer and a book review was published in the peer reviewed Journal of the American Art Therapy Association. She currently serves on the Research Committee for the American Art Therapy Association and was the previous President of the Michigan Art Therapy Association. Within the field she has presented nationally some include the American Art Therapy Association, Mount Mary Symposium, The Science and Art of Aging, Leading Age, and several more. She has been published in several articles and was interviewed on WYCE radio, interviewed for her work in Art Therapy Today and featured on Fox 17 news for her current collaborative international research project, The Traveling Loom. She has worked with those living with Dementia, trauma, grief, mental health, addiction, spiritual growth, community based projects and medical art therapy.

Photo Credit: Steph Kaye Photography
Specialities include:
Grief
Dementia
Hospice
Cancer
Terminal illness
Anxiety
Trauma
Distress
Addiction
Life Transitions
Disabilities
Spiritual growth and existentialism
Personal transformation and growth
Relationship building
Team building
All age groups ranging from 5-100+
Leara's promise is to provide a nonjudgmental environment for the person to feel secure and to be their authentic selves, to feel seen, heard, and to provide guidance through a creative process to reach goals to live a more fulfilling life.
Qualifications
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Board Certified Art Therapist
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Master of Science in Art Therapy with a Concentration in Counseling from Mount Mary University
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Research Published in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association
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Book Review Published in the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association
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Memberships:
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American Art Therapy Association
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Michigan Association of Art Therapy member
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Served as President of Michigan Art Therapy Association
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Research Committee member on the American Art Therapy Association
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Some Presentations include:
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American Art Therapy Association Conference, 2014, 2016, 2020
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Leading Age Conference 2015
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Art and Science of Aging Conference, 2016, 2017, 2019
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Mount Mary Symposium, 2015, 2016, 2019
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Recovery 70x7 2019, 2020
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Seton Hill University Art Therapy Guest Speaker 2019
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Dementia Education presentations throughout the greater Grand Rapids area 2014, 2015, 2016
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FAN of Grand Rapids, 2018
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FOX 17 News: GR Woman Weaving Community Together Through Giant Loom
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WYCE Radio Station: Heartside Art Therapy
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Guest Author and Featured Work Some Include: