Carolyn Ryan

Professional biography

Carolyn Ryan is a Long Island University Clinical Art Therapy and Mental Health Counseling alumna who lives and works on Long Island. She is an art therapist, a behavioral health supervisor for the psychiatry department at Stony Brook Medicine, an emergency psychiatric room clinician, an independent artist, and a mental health community advocate.

As a New York State Licensed and Board Certified Art Therapist, Carolyn provides creative arts therapy and additional therapeutic services for children, adolescents, and adults. Her education and internship experiences have included developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, school-aged children with emotional needs, medically frail and terminally ill children, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, mental illness, and addiction.

Carolyn integrates trauma-informed and person-centered evidence-based practices, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychoeducation, solution-focused therapy, and DBT skills. She has experience supporting concerns including anxiety, depression, mood disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, addiction, and severe mental illness.

Carolyn was part of an expansion of therapeutic services in the county psychiatric emergency room and was among the first art therapists to work as a clinician on an ACT team in Nassau County. She has presented at the New York State conference about art therapy in the community and continues to advocate for homeless individuals and people who are often underserved by the mental health care system.

Carolyn’s philosophy centers on the human capacity for hope, strength, and progress. Through art therapy and talk therapy, she supports clients in exploring emotions, looking within, and moving toward greater overall wellness through goal-oriented treatment.