About Ariella Cook-Shonkoff

Ariella Cook-Shonkoff with wavy dark hair and a nose ring, smiling, wearing a black and white checkered jacket, sitting outdoors among green plants with dry grass. Behind her, there is a brick building and a netted structure.

I don't fit neatly into boxes. I am on the cusp of Gen X and Millennial. I am half-British and half-American. I spent my childhood on the East Coast, and most of my adulthood in the Bay Area. I am a psychotherapist and a writer. 

Creativity has been my backbone since I was a little girl. I used to get lost for hours in projects of my own design: card-making, writing poems or stories, jewelry-making, collage, ceramics, drawing or painting. This has been true throughout my lifetime. Whatever stage of life, whatever hardship or struggle, wherever I am in the world, I seek refuge and healing through the creative process. 

In my work with clients, I enjoy sharing this intuitive, inside-out understanding of the creative process. I hold a deep belief that both art and therapy are deeply transformative.

Therefore, Art + therapy = Art Therapy = Magic! 

Harnessing the innate creativity that all humans share -- with judgment-free curiosity -- has the potential to inspire joy, relief, energy, strength, calm, hopefulness, healing, peace, and the list goes on. 

Often-times, the harshest critics are ourselves. If only we can move past that and give ourselves the chance to express ourselves authentically. Self-compassion is a gift worth cultivating, and a focus of my work with clients.

My Therapeutic Approach

 

  • Maternal Mental Health (expectant moms, post-partum, moms of any stage)
    Teens & Tweens (includes parent coaching, family therapy)
    Trauma work
    Climate- Aware Therapy
    Eco-therapy
    Art Therapy
    Play Therapy

  • Climate Psychology Alliance of North America (CPA-NA) - Former Executive Committee Member, Current Co-Chair of Climate & Expressive Arts Committee
    California Association of Marriage & Family Therapy (CAMFT)
    Art Therapy Credentials Board (ATCB)

  • SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions)

    Somatic Experiencing- Level 1

    Ecotherapy Level 1 Certificate (EarthBody Institute)

    Sustainable Self Consultation Level 1 (w/ Thomas Doherty)

    Maternal Mental Health Certificate (Postpartum Support International)

    Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (w/ Dr. Bruce Perry)

    Certified Soul Collage Facilitator

  • I offer an integrative, holistic approach blending existential, mind-body, expressive arts, nature-based, feminist/social justice frames, systems theory, evidence-based and trauma-informed frames. Since life is complex, and people come to therapy from different places and for different reasons, I view my own adaptability as an important aspect of the therapist-client relationship. My style is creative, relational, curious, and collaborative.

 
Living room with a dark gray sofa, two large yellow pillows, and two checkered pillows, a blue abstract painting above the sofa, a small table with items on it, a side table with a jar and tissues, a small black bench, a bookshelf with toys and books, and a blue patterned rug on beige carpet.

My office is located in a quiet, professional building with other therapists in Berkeley, California.

The space is a cozy, calm, creative sanctuary: full of light, art, natural objects, scent sachets, and fidget toys. It is set up for both children and adults. It is my belief that adults can benefit from reconnecting with their "inner child." 

Eco-therapy, or “walk and talk” therapy, is offered seasonally at a park in the East Bay.

And, yes, my virtual office is open too!

Want to see if we would be a good fit?

Contact me for a free 15-minute consultation.

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“Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child, Listen to the DON’TS Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONT’S Listen to the NEVER HAVES Then listen close to me- Anything can happen, child, ANYTHING can be”
— Shel Silverstein, Where the Sidewalk Ends