Ellie P.

Where Healing Takes the Stage
Credit: Ellie P.Artist Bio

Elizabeth “Ellie” Phelps is a student art therapist intern pursuing her Master of Science in Art Therapy. Her clinical orientation blends humanistic, narrative, and mindfulness-based approaches. Ellie began her career while completing her Bachelors of Science in Psychology at Portland State University. She began working for Columbia Community Mental Health (CCMH) in 2021 as a Community Support Specialist at Pathways, the 90-day residential program for individuals navigating substance use disorder. She also provided cross-coverage at CCMH’s other residential facilities (Cornerstone and Alternatives) and continues to support all three programs on an on-call basis. She now practices in the Adult Outpatient Behavioral Health Services department at CCMH’s Creekside location, working with adults seeking support around emotional balance, trauma recovery, life transitions, and the complex pressures of rural community life. Ellie brings an authentic understanding of resilience and the importance of accessible mental health care in rural areas. Her clinical work is grounded in cultural humility, nervous system awareness, and person-centered creative presence, and she is committed to offering compassionate, inclusive, and meaningful care through the healing power of art-making.

Artist Statement

By altering this medicine cabinet, I created a stage where the healing unfolding within me could meet the healing I witnessed in others along the way. Painted black on the outside and gold within, it reveals the world of becoming each time the doors open. A simple object from someone’s bathroom transformed into a theatrical space for witnessing, framed by red curtains and anchored by a mirror that reflects both the viewer and the artist in equal measure. Inside, the shelves hold a constellation of objects gathered over time: an egg from my first year, small gifts from my cohort, pieces found or crafted during long wandering sessions through Goodwill aisles and the studio. Arranging them became a sandbox practice of intuition, curiosity, and meaning-making. An unfolding dialogue between what I was learning, what I was shedding, and what I was ready to claim.

Each object speaks to a part of my emerging identity as an art therapist: independence, voice, intellect meeting intuition, and the essential role of connection in transformation. Together they form a quiet choreography of growth, lit by the gold interior that suggests an inner luminosity often hidden beneath a steady exterior. The cabinet invites the viewer into a shared moment of witnessing, asking us to consider the tender, imperfect, and courageous work of becoming. Lastly, tucked among the shelves is a box of tissues; an homage to the many tears shed along the way.