Grounded Healing
for a Changing World
Art therapy, eco-therapy, and climate-aware psychotherapy for adults and young people navigating transition.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist | Registered Art Therapist | CaliforniaWho I Support
I work with individuals and families across the lifespan, bringing creativity, depth, and attunement to every therapeutic relationship.
Clear, Grounded Support for Different Stages of Life
- Anxiety management / stress reduction / life balance
- Grief processing related to loss or transition
- Trauma integration work
- Authentic empowerment and voice
- Confident navigation of life transitions
- Nature-based healing, regulation, and growth
- Short-term targeted climate-aware therapy for eco-distress
- Parenting stress, overwhelm, and identity shifts
- Supporting children through transitions and big emotions
- Co-parenting, partnership strain, and communication
- Perinatal mood support and life-stage adjustment
- Emotional regulation and anxiety support
- Identity development and self-esteem
- School stress and social dynamics
- Processing grief, transitions, and climate-related concerns
- Eco-anxiety, grief, and anticipatory stress
- Values-aligned living and resilience building
- Boundaries, burnout prevention, and nervous system support
- Meaning-making in a changing world
Meet Ariella Cook-Shonkoff
Compassionate, Creative Support for Authentic Growth
I am a California-based Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Registered Art Therapist. I offer compassionate, creative support for people navigating complexity, transition, and growth.
My work integrates art therapy, somatic awareness, eco-therapy, and climate-aware approaches to support meaningful and sustainable change. Together, we make room for what is real, including anxiety, grief, life transitions, parenting stress, and the emotional weight of living in a changing world.
Through conversation, creative expression, and reflective practice, therapy supports clarity, resilience, and a deeper connection to yourself and the world around you.
How I Work
Somatic Depth, Creative Practice, Existential Curiosity
My work weaves together relational presence, body-mind awareness, creativity, and ecological attunement. I welcome children, teens, and families across diverse identities, cultures, and lived experiences. We move with care, not urgency, building support and resilience that feel steady and sustainable.
Art Therapy
Using creative expression as a pathway to healing, self discovery, and emotional processing with intention.
More About Art Therapy
Eco-therapy
Nature-based therapeutic practices that restore connection, grounding, and presence within the natural world.
More About Eco-Therapy
Climate-Aware Therapy
A framework for processing eco anxiety, climate grief, and environmental distress with grounded support.
More About Climate-Aware Therapy
Parents & Caregivers
Support for the emotional journey of parenting, identity shifts, and family dynamics with grounded guidance and clarity.
Learn More
Child Therapy
Creative, developmentally attuned support for young people navigating emotions, transitions, growth, and resilience.
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Group Therapy
Shared therapeutic space for reflection, connection, and healing within a supportive community setting.
Learn MoreRaising Resilient Children in an Uncertain World
Featured Book
Extending my clinical work into public reflection, dialogue, and community engagement.
My book explores the intersection of art therapy, climate psychology, and the lived experience of raising children in a changing world. It offers both clinical insight and personal reflection for parents, therapists, and anyone seeking meaning at the crossroads of creativity and ecological awareness.
“Raising Anti-Doomers is the perfect resource for parents, those considering parenthood, and everyone who cares about how climate change is impacting how we raise children today.” ―Jade S. Sasser, Associate Professor, University of California, Riverside
Explore:
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life”
— Pablo Picasso
Groups & Community Offerings
In addition to individual work, I offer group therapy and community workshops that bring people together around shared themes, from eco-anxiety to creative expression to the challenges of parenting.
Process and Values
Integrative, Relational, Developmentally Attuned Care
Support should feel steady, thoughtful, and responsive to the realities of your life. With children and teens, therapy often includes imagination, creativity, humor, and space to experiment with new ways of being.
My work is collaborative and paced with care. I pay close attention to the nervous system, developmental stage, family context, and the larger cultural and ecological landscape shaping your experience. We move in ways that support both depth and stability.
Sessions may include conversation, art-based exploration, somatic awareness, and practical tools that help integrate insight into daily life. At times, we may draw on the natural world as a source of reflection and steadiness. The goal is not simply relief, but a deeper resilience that feels embodied, meaningful, and sustainable.
WHAT GUIDES THE WORK
• Creativity as a pathway to insight, regulation, and meaning
• Trauma-informed care rooted in safety, pacing, and choice
• Somatic attunement to the nervous system and embodied experience
• Developmentally attuned care for children, parents, and adults
• Relational trust built through consistency and transparency
• Respect for identity, culture, ancestry, and lived experience
• Post-traumatic growth and adaptive resilience
• Climate-aware practices that build resilience
Insights from My PSYCHOLOGY TODAY
Evidence-based reflections on parenting, resilience, and emotional wellbeing for an uncertain world, published on Psychology Today.
The Anti-Doomer Mindset
Cultivating Resilience in an Age of Uncertainty
Ariella Cook-Shonkoff, MFT
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist
Psychology Today ContributorWhen You’re Ready
If you are ready to begin, I invite you to reach out. We can start with a conversation about what you are carrying and what support could look like.
