Ryan Spies
Child, Teen, & Family Therapy | Educator | Advocate for Creative Healing
Ryan Spies (she/her) is a Student Art Therapist and Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) in Ontario whose work sits at the intersection of creativity, story, and healing. She is currently completing her clinical training and thesis work at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute (TATI), where her research explores how art-making can support adoptees in processing primal wounds, disenfranchised grief, and the search for biological identity through arts-based autoethnography.
Ryan holds an MFA in Media in Design and brings over 16 years of experience teaching post-secondary art and design. Having guided emerging creatives through their developmental, emotional, and artistic journeys, she has a deep understanding of how creativity can support self-exploration, identity formation, and emotional regulation—particularly for teens and young adults navigating transition, stress, anxiety, and academic burnout.
Across her clinical work, Ryan takes a client-centred, trauma-informed approach. She meets each person where they are, honouring their unique pace, story, and emotional landscape. Her sessions integrate mindfulness, somatic and body-centred awareness, and grounding strategies that help regulate the nervous system and build emotional resilience. Ryan believes in the power of the creative process to reconnect clients with themselves, support meaning-making, and offer gentle pathways for expression beyond words.
Ryan currently works with children and youth ages 5–18 and is especially passionate about supporting teens and young adults as they navigate identity development, academic pressures, perfectionism, and the complexities of growing up in a high-stress world. She values collaboration with caregivers and families, striving to create a supportive circle around the child or youth through open communication, shared insights, and co-created goals.
Rooted in compassion, curiosity, and the belief that everyone has an inner creative wisdom, Ryan supports clients through expressive art-making, sensory engagement, and narrative exploration—helping them move toward regulation, clarity, and a grounded sense of self.