Team

Emily Skelton (she/her) is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Board-Certified Art Therapist, and a gender affirming therapist with over a decade of experience working with children, teens and adults.  Emily is dedicated in providing inclusive, affirming, and creative counseling. With a focus rooted in the power of expression, neuroscience and the mind-body connection, Emily has trained with the Institute for Sensorimotor Art Therapy in Healing Trauma with Guided Drawing, and received her training in Eye movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) with the Institute of Creative Mindfulness. Emily is a professional member of the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) and attends monthly consultations with other Gender Affirming clinicians across the country.  In addition to her clinical and supervisory work at The Artful Healing Center, Emily is also a contracted Art Therapist with Valley Recovery Center, Ascend Healthcare, and The Hart School District, where she provides weekly Art Therapy and Expressive Arts groups.  Emily received her Bachelors in Psychology from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, and then went on to complete my Masters of Arts in Psychology from Phillips Graduate Institute with a concentration in Marriage and Family Therapy and Art Therapy. Emily is committed to keeping up to date with the latest evidenced based treatments, and is certified in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Depression Treatment Quality Improvement, and has been trained in EMDR.  Emily identifies as pansexual and has lived experience with internalized homophobia, coming out to self and others, imposters syndrome, etc.  Emily acknowledges that she is a cisgender white person with cisgender and white privilege, and even though she work with trans clients, she does not assume that she is an expert or truly understands what it is like to be trans, gender diverse, or BIPOC.

Vikram Weet (he/him) is the Director of Operations and Facilities for The Artful Healing Center. He has over fifteen years of operations and facilities management experience, including with Bunim-Murray, Productions, The Gameshow Network, Anuvu, and Modern HR. Born in Portsmouth, VA to a family of mental health clinicians, Vik has finally returned to his roots by joining The Artful Healing Center. With a deep appreciation for the work that mental health clinicians do for their clients and the community, he is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the Center. 

Lisette Lahana (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker and consultant with a full-time psychotherapy, consultation and EMDR practice in Oakland, California. She supervises and consults with beginner to advanced gender therapists across the U.S. She facilitates multiple consult groups focusing on supporting gender diverse and sexual minority individuals and their families. Lisette serves children, adolescents and adults grappling with sexuality and gender identity development. She has worked as a bilingual Spanish-Speaking clinician in community mental health, health centers and outpatient behavioral health programs. Lisette has been an adjunct lecturer for Smith College SSW and JFK University. She contributed to Families in transition: Parenting gender diverse children, adolescents, and young adults Eds. Lev & Gotlieb ©2019. A member of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health since 2002, she is a Certified WPATH Member and Certified WPATH Mentor. She holds a B.A. in Critical Gender Studies and a B.A. in Psychology from UC San Diego. She obtained her M.S.W. from Smith College School for Social Work. LICSW in MA 1999-2010 and LCSW in CA 2006-present.

My name is Kat Ralph and my pronouns are they/them/theirs. I am an Associate Clinical Social Worker in the state of California who specializes in working with the LGBTQ+ community, specifically Trans and Gender non-conforming youth, young adults, their families and loved ones. My passion is using my personal experience, formal education, and clinical skills to help teens and young adults navigate the overwhelming process of exploring identity.

Prior to working at The Artful Healing Center, I was a School Social Worker in a public high school in Texas. I have my Masters degree in Social Work from Texas Woman’s University and I completed both my undergraduate and graduate internships at Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star auditing their program to be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ youth.

Growing up in Texas, there weren’t many visible Trans and gender non-conforming folx in my community. Existing as anything but my sex assigned at birth wasn’t an option I knew I had. It wasn’t until my mid twenties that I started my gender exploration and it was the scariest, most liberating and nerve-racking experience of my life. Coming out as non-binary and being proud of my identity has given me the opportunity to connect with others who are also on their own journeys of self-exploration. Whether you’re at the very beginning of that process, still figuring out your identity or living as an out and proud member of the Trans community I would be honored to work with you while you navigate this thing called life.

I strongly believe that in order to be an effective clinician I have to bring the most authentic version of myself to every session and give my clients the space and security to do the same. Every person has their own story and experiences, I work with my clients to find the right therapeutic approach for each individual - therapy is not one size fits all so let’s find what works best for you!  

Supervised by Emily Skelton, LMFT #86601

Vanessa Perez (she/her) is a Registered Associate MFT- Art Therapist and is of Zapotec heritage and raised on Tataviam lands, known today as the Northeast San Fernando Valley. Attended LA Mission College, UC Irvine, and received her master’s degree in Marriage & Family Therapy/ Art Therapy from Loyola Marymount University. Vanessa has experience working with youth such as immigrant/ first-gen Latines, individuals affiliated in gangs, LGBTQ+ youth, and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) youth. Areas of focus include intergenerational trauma, race and ethnic relations, identity development, and all marginalized peoples including BIPOC and the LGBTQ+ community. As a woman of color, her lived experience has led her to center social justice in her practice such as addressing power imbalances within herself and the therapeutic environment. Vanessa’s therapeutic styles include Person-Centered Art Therapy, Intergenerational Family Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and pulls from different holistic approaches with the intention of tending to the body, mind, heart, and spiritual soul.

Supervised by Emily Skelton, LMFT #86601

Lora Hnat (she/her) is Registered Associate MFT and earned both her B.A in Music Therapy and her M.S. in Counseling Psychology at California State University, Northridge. Lora works from a trauma-informed, affirming perspective that focuses on the client’s strengths. She creates a safe, nurturing environment for clients who are struggling with anxiety, depression, grief, low self-worth, relationship issues, and trauma from childhood neglect and/or abuse.  Using imagery, narrative therapy, attachment theory, and emotion-focused interventions, she helps her clients to identify, process, and re-write the stories that they have come to believe about who they are allowed to be and what they can achieve. She is both a LGBTQ+ and a BIPOC ally and she endeavors to create a space where all people feel safe to explore and to celebrate their most authentic self.

Supervised by Emily Skelton, LMFT #86601