Niloofar Alishahi, MA, LCAT, ATR-BC is a licensed and board-certified creative arts therapist and an advanced mind-body medicine practitioner trained through The Center for Mind-Body Medicine. Her work bridges art therapy, drama therapy, and expressive arts with somatic approaches such as Focusing, trauma-informed drama therapy, and psychodrama. Niloofar’s clinical and teaching philosophy is rooted in relational and trauma-informed frameworks that recognize how the body holds experience, and how creativity and connection can restore balance, meaning, and vitality.

In her private practice, Niloofar works with artists, immigrants, and adult children of immigrants, as well as sensitive and creative individuals navigating identity, belonging, and the challenges of being human. Her approach invites clients to access insight not only through words but through movement, image, and embodied awareness; allowing expression to emerge from the wisdom of the body. Niloofar views art and creativity as vital, universal languages that can hold both personal and collective pain, helping people metabolize trauma and reimagine new ways of relating to themselves and others.

As a faculty member in the MA in Clinical Psychology program at Antioch University Santa Barbara, Niloofar integrates experiential and expressive learning into her courses, emphasizing presence, attunement, and relational practice. Her teaching is guided by the belief that adult learners thrive through curiosity, collaboration, and embodied engagement.

Her personal creative practice, spanning clay, collage, and theater, remains a living part of her professional identity. Niloofar believes that in the face of global trauma, displacement, and disconnection, creativity and collective expression are essential practices of resistance, remembrance, and repair.