Johanna Murphy, ATR-P (she/her)
Provisional Registered Art Therapist ATR-P
Neurodivergent & Highly Sensitive Kids
Anxiety & Big Emotions Trauma
Grief & Life Transitions
Client Focus: Neurodivergent, Highly Sensitive, and LGBTQ+ Children and Teens Working Through Anxiety, Big Emotions, Trauma, Grief, and Life Transitions, Ages 2 Through Early Adulthood
Specialties: ADHD, autism, highly sensitive children, anxiety, emotional regulation, meltdowns and big emotions, behavioral challenges, trauma, grief and loss, divorce and separation, life transitions, separation anxiety, perfectionism and fear of failure, sensory overwhelm, social skills and friendships, low self-esteem and confidence, school stress, LGBTQ+ support, support for children with a physical disability, long-term illness, or injury recovery
Treatment Methods: Art Therapy, Nature-Based and Gardening Therapy (at Buddy's Place Therapeutic Farm), traditional talk therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Strengths-Based Therapy, Attachment-Based Therapy, Trauma-Informed Care
Johanna Murphy is an art therapist (ATR-P) who works with children, tweens, teens, young adults, and their parents, with particular depth for kids age nine and under.
She specializes in helping neurodivergent, highly sensitive, and LGBTQ+ kids find calm, confidence, and connection, and families often describe her as playful, patient, and easy to talk to. Before becoming a therapist, she spent over a decade working directly with kids and families, including years as a full-time nanny and running adaptive recreation programs for children with disabilities, so she already knew how to build genuine trust with a child. Johanna practices under the clinical supervision of Mary Caroselli, LMFT, and Joy Green, LCSW.
What sets Johanna apart is her gift for explaining, in plain language, how a child's brain is actually working. Rather than simply naming a diagnosis, she helps parents see what is underneath a meltdown, a shutdown, or a hard morning, and what actually helps. Her approach is collaborative and individualized, and she draws on evidence-based methods including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness-based stress reduction, strengths-based therapy, attachment-based therapy, and trauma-informed care. Her trauma work is further informed by specialized training from her internship at Walter Reed National Military Hospital.
Depending on what fits a child best, a session may take the form of traditional talk therapy, art therapy, or nature-based and gardening therapy at Buddy's Place Therapeutic Farm for kids who do their best work outdoors. Each of these is a distinct way in, chosen around the child rather than a fixed template, and every session carries a therapeutic purpose whether the work happens through conversation, art, or time outside. Art therapy in particular gives kids who cannot yet put a feeling into words another way to express it, which Johanna then works with clinically. Sessions take place in her Middletown office or outdoors, depending on what suits the child, and her art therapy is separately supervised by Terri Willis, MA, ATR-BC, LPAT, a board-certified art therapist, adding another layer of clinical oversight.
Johanna works closely with parents throughout, checking in regularly and sharing specific strategies to use at home so progress is not confined to one hour a week. Families often come to her hoping for fewer meltdowns, steadier mornings, real coping skills for anxiety, and a calmer household, and her work focuses on building toward those goals at each child's own pace. Her deeper aim is for every child to leave understanding themselves a little better, and for parents to leave understanding their child, which is often what brings the calm back to the whole house.
Johanna's decade-plus working directly with kids, including years as a nanny and in adaptive recreation for children with disabilities, means she knows how to build real trust with a child before the clinical work begins.
Her ability to translate what is happening beneath a meltdown or shutdown into plain language gives parents practical understanding they can use at home, not just a label.
With art therapy, nature-based work, and traditional talk therapy as distinct options, Johanna meets each child through the approach that fits them, supported by layered clinical and art therapy supervision.
"I'm excited to get to know what makes your child special, and help them see their own potential in fun, creative ways."
– Johanna Murphy, ATR-P