Malissa Morrell - Art Therapy Researcher
@malissamorrell.net
Art therapist (ATR-BC, ATCS, LMFT).
SW PhD student in SLC, UT.
Experiential teacher, thinker, learner, scholar, author. 2-time cancer survivor. Creative crone.
All views are mine (which is kind of the point).
SW PhD student in SLC, UT.
Experiential teacher, thinker, learner, scholar, author. 2-time cancer survivor. Creative crone.
All views are mine (which is kind of the point).
✨ Day 1 at the art therapy conference in Portland.
October 9, 2025 at 2:32 AM
✨ Day 1 at the art therapy conference in Portland.
🤔 I didn't think I would go to the #aata2025 art therapy conference right in the middle of my PhD program.
🍁 But I just realized it coincides with my fall break! Better late than never.
🕺 See you there...? (Comment below if you're going, too!)
#arttherapist #arttherapy #arttherapyconference
🍁 But I just realized it coincides with my fall break! Better late than never.
🕺 See you there...? (Comment below if you're going, too!)
#arttherapist #arttherapy #arttherapyconference
August 21, 2025 at 3:13 AM
🤔 I didn't think I would go to the #aata2025 art therapy conference right in the middle of my PhD program.
🍁 But I just realized it coincides with my fall break! Better late than never.
🕺 See you there...? (Comment below if you're going, too!)
#arttherapist #arttherapy #arttherapyconference
🍁 But I just realized it coincides with my fall break! Better late than never.
🕺 See you there...? (Comment below if you're going, too!)
#arttherapist #arttherapy #arttherapyconference
Reposted by Malissa Morrell - Art Therapy Researcher
CPTSD is a injury-- & we don't heal injuries by judging them for their severity. "That shouldn't have been enough pressure to break that bone" doesn't magically make the bone un-broken-- but it can put us at risk of trying to walk on it & making it worse.
It's the same w/ CPTSD.
It's the same w/ CPTSD.
August 16, 2025 at 6:06 PM
CPTSD is a injury-- & we don't heal injuries by judging them for their severity. "That shouldn't have been enough pressure to break that bone" doesn't magically make the bone un-broken-- but it can put us at risk of trying to walk on it & making it worse.
It's the same w/ CPTSD.
It's the same w/ CPTSD.
Every few years I get obsessed with #murmurations all over again.
At one point I was trying to figure out if there was any way to concoct a murmuration tattoo.
They are beautiful and mysterious and magical all at once.
At one point I was trying to figure out if there was any way to concoct a murmuration tattoo.
They are beautiful and mysterious and magical all at once.
August 15, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Every few years I get obsessed with #murmurations all over again.
At one point I was trying to figure out if there was any way to concoct a murmuration tattoo.
They are beautiful and mysterious and magical all at once.
At one point I was trying to figure out if there was any way to concoct a murmuration tattoo.
They are beautiful and mysterious and magical all at once.
1/
😷 Please indulge me with the masked-up pic.
It’s a few years old, from my first day of chemo during COVID, but the sentiment seemed appropriate for this post.
🌺 Especially the “LFG” shirt. “Let’s f—-ing go!”
😷 Please indulge me with the masked-up pic.
It’s a few years old, from my first day of chemo during COVID, but the sentiment seemed appropriate for this post.
🌺 Especially the “LFG” shirt. “Let’s f—-ing go!”
August 14, 2025 at 7:43 PM
1/
😷 Please indulge me with the masked-up pic.
It’s a few years old, from my first day of chemo during COVID, but the sentiment seemed appropriate for this post.
🌺 Especially the “LFG” shirt. “Let’s f—-ing go!”
😷 Please indulge me with the masked-up pic.
It’s a few years old, from my first day of chemo during COVID, but the sentiment seemed appropriate for this post.
🌺 Especially the “LFG” shirt. “Let’s f—-ing go!”
🚨 1/ The University of Utah College of Fine Arts just published a write-up on four introductory classes we launched last semester. We had classes for each of the main creative arts therapies -- music therapy, dance movement therapy, drama therapy, and art therapy.
finearts.utah.edu/studio-25/mo...
finearts.utah.edu/studio-25/mo...
August 7, 2025 at 12:01 AM
🚨 1/ The University of Utah College of Fine Arts just published a write-up on four introductory classes we launched last semester. We had classes for each of the main creative arts therapies -- music therapy, dance movement therapy, drama therapy, and art therapy.
finearts.utah.edu/studio-25/mo...
finearts.utah.edu/studio-25/mo...
Reposted by Malissa Morrell - Art Therapy Researcher
Sorta feels like "they are actively gutting cancer research" should be finding more purchase out there
July 29, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Sorta feels like "they are actively gutting cancer research" should be finding more purchase out there
Reposted by Malissa Morrell - Art Therapy Researcher
We need to teach people the difference between being uncomfortable and being unsafe. Because the discomfort of the safest people is endangering the most vulnerable, all day every day.
July 29, 2025 at 4:09 AM
We need to teach people the difference between being uncomfortable and being unsafe. Because the discomfort of the safest people is endangering the most vulnerable, all day every day.
Reposted by Malissa Morrell - Art Therapy Researcher
We are not going to diminish our CPTSD symptoms by snarling at our body & nervous system, "don't DO that!"
Managing trauma symptoms starts w/ meeting those symptoms w/ acceptance & compassion & patience-- which, yes, is a tall order when we're frustrated & confused by them.
Managing trauma symptoms starts w/ meeting those symptoms w/ acceptance & compassion & patience-- which, yes, is a tall order when we're frustrated & confused by them.
July 25, 2025 at 3:01 PM
We are not going to diminish our CPTSD symptoms by snarling at our body & nervous system, "don't DO that!"
Managing trauma symptoms starts w/ meeting those symptoms w/ acceptance & compassion & patience-- which, yes, is a tall order when we're frustrated & confused by them.
Managing trauma symptoms starts w/ meeting those symptoms w/ acceptance & compassion & patience-- which, yes, is a tall order when we're frustrated & confused by them.
Have you ever noticed that so many makers’ videos are posted in fast motion? Self-expression is not about speed and production… that’s consumerism and capitalism, not creativity.
#arttherapy #arttherapist #expressivetherapies #creativetherapies #experientialhealing #punkaf
#arttherapy #arttherapist #expressivetherapies #creativetherapies #experientialhealing #punkaf
July 25, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Have you ever noticed that so many makers’ videos are posted in fast motion? Self-expression is not about speed and production… that’s consumerism and capitalism, not creativity.
#arttherapy #arttherapist #expressivetherapies #creativetherapies #experientialhealing #punkaf
#arttherapy #arttherapist #expressivetherapies #creativetherapies #experientialhealing #punkaf
In a world full of JDs, be a Jerome.
Trump: It looks like it’s about $3.1 billion
Powell: I’m not aware of that.
Trump: It just came out
Powell: You just added in a third building
Trump: It’s a building that’s being built
Powell: It was built five years ago.
Powell: I’m not aware of that.
Trump: It just came out
Powell: You just added in a third building
Trump: It’s a building that’s being built
Powell: It was built five years ago.
July 25, 2025 at 6:04 PM
In a world full of JDs, be a Jerome.
Rise. Up.
There's a new dangerous executive order signed today that intends to ignore the Olmsted decision in order to encourage civil commitments of people with mental health disabilities or substance use disorders, particularly if they are homeless. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose and
www.whitehouse.gov
July 25, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Rise. Up.
I appreciate the commenters who are also encouraging us to request that libraries buy the books. Totally free for consumers and a benefit to the whole community. Punk AF.
Quick reminder that you can often buy books directly from the author and almost always directly from the publisher. Both options are massively better for both author and publisher financially, plus you don't add to the coffers of billionaires or corporations, which is punk as fuck. Buy direct! 📚
July 25, 2025 at 5:52 PM
I appreciate the commenters who are also encouraging us to request that libraries buy the books. Totally free for consumers and a benefit to the whole community. Punk AF.
Reposted by Malissa Morrell - Art Therapy Researcher
To future journalists: Journalism schools will teach you a lot of skills but I always say they won't teach you curiosity. They also won't teach you courage, which reporters must have to tell a lot of stories.
July 22, 2025 at 2:31 PM
To future journalists: Journalism schools will teach you a lot of skills but I always say they won't teach you curiosity. They also won't teach you courage, which reporters must have to tell a lot of stories.
![A hand holding scissors cutting through the word 'uncertainty' against a teal background. [Un]Certainty. The image has the title 'Are We in a Crisis of Curiosity?' at the top and the website 'www.MalissaMorrell.net' at the bottom.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:3o3odqrc4ghzjmgpcbg2qt7e/bafkreihpdtuungwcw64dhabvokfmycpls5jnxgyswbdo5avfe34yflnuna@jpeg)
I was just talking with my social work students about this, too. I'm afraid it gets worse before it gets better.
Behind many scientists is a lifetime of invisible, unsustainable costs. From unpaid internships to underpaid postdocs, the economic toll of a STEM career is staggering—and it's pushing talent out. My new perspective explores this crisis. #STEM #AcademicBlueSky journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Too poor to science: How wealth determines who succeeds in STEM
From student to researcher, a career in science can come with a high price tag. This Perspective explores how persistent financial barriers limit who can succeed in science, revealing how wealth shape...
journals.plos.org
July 22, 2025 at 1:56 AM
I was just talking with my social work students about this, too. I'm afraid it gets worse before it gets better.
I just found @tarabrabazon.bsky.social on BlueSky, and I feel like I just hugged a celebrity. She doesn't know it, but she, her YouTube, and her podcast have been crucial in my educational journey.
Dr. Brabazon, I'm about to start the second year of my PhD program, and I am so grateful to you!
Dr. Brabazon, I'm about to start the second year of my PhD program, and I am so grateful to you!
July 22, 2025 at 1:55 AM
I just found @tarabrabazon.bsky.social on BlueSky, and I feel like I just hugged a celebrity. She doesn't know it, but she, her YouTube, and her podcast have been crucial in my educational journey.
Dr. Brabazon, I'm about to start the second year of my PhD program, and I am so grateful to you!
Dr. Brabazon, I'm about to start the second year of my PhD program, and I am so grateful to you!
🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Study finds A.I. LLMs advise women to ask for lower salaries than men. When prompted w/ a user profile of same education, experience & job role, differing only by gender, ChatGPT advised the female applicant to request $280K salary; Male applicant=$400K.
thenextweb.com/news/chatgpt...
thenextweb.com/news/chatgpt...
ChatGPT advises women to ask for lower salaries, study finds
A new study has found that large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT consistently advise women to ask for lower salaries than men.
thenextweb.com
July 21, 2025 at 11:09 AM
🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Stop. What??? This is amazing. Like tinyfreelibrary.org, this woman is running a little free art supply library. And she tells us how to make our own.
artsupplylibrary.com
artsupplylibrary.com
Little Free Art Supply Library of Cherokee Street
The library is an outdoor cabinet in Saint Louis filled with free art and craft supplies that anyone can take and use. You can also drop off art supplies you don’t want or need so others can use them.
artsupplylibrary.com
July 21, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Stop. What??? This is amazing. Like tinyfreelibrary.org, this woman is running a little free art supply library. And she tells us how to make our own.
artsupplylibrary.com
artsupplylibrary.com
A lot has changed since we last talked. Let's review.
July 21, 2025 at 12:45 AM
A lot has changed since we last talked. Let's review.
I grew up pre-internet, a land of “someone once said” and “I don’t remember who, but…” In the Internet age, vague citeless claims do seem like they should be verboten.
When I am dictator, everyone who makes a claim "according to scientific studies," or similar phrasing, will have one hour to produce their citations. Those who fail to do so will be used as study subjects for whatever comes up. 🧪
July 20, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I grew up pre-internet, a land of “someone once said” and “I don’t remember who, but…” In the Internet age, vague citeless claims do seem like they should be verboten.
Reposted by Malissa Morrell - Art Therapy Researcher
We each find our way through these times
As an academic, I am doing this:
Uplift those whose research you admire. Diversify the academy.
Many ways to do this:
-Nominate for awards (did 2 yesterday)
-If you are in an academy, nominate to it (did 3 this month)
-cite them in a paper and/or talk
As an academic, I am doing this:
Uplift those whose research you admire. Diversify the academy.
Many ways to do this:
-Nominate for awards (did 2 yesterday)
-If you are in an academy, nominate to it (did 3 this month)
-cite them in a paper and/or talk
July 19, 2025 at 6:39 PM
We each find our way through these times
As an academic, I am doing this:
Uplift those whose research you admire. Diversify the academy.
Many ways to do this:
-Nominate for awards (did 2 yesterday)
-If you are in an academy, nominate to it (did 3 this month)
-cite them in a paper and/or talk
As an academic, I am doing this:
Uplift those whose research you admire. Diversify the academy.
Many ways to do this:
-Nominate for awards (did 2 yesterday)
-If you are in an academy, nominate to it (did 3 this month)
-cite them in a paper and/or talk
Reposted by Malissa Morrell - Art Therapy Researcher
Every time I cut my bangs, a therapist somewhere feels a disturbance in the force.
July 19, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Every time I cut my bangs, a therapist somewhere feels a disturbance in the force.