About Holly
Holly Zazo, LMHC, ATR, is a registered Art Therapist (ATR), Licensed Mental Heath Counselor (LMHC) and visual artist. She has experience providing trauma informed mental health care and Art Therapy to individuals in inpatient and outpatient settings. She currently works in private practice, as well as community settings in Naples.
Holly received her bachelors degree in Sociology at Kent State University and her masters degree in Art Therapy and Counseling at Ursuline College in Cleveland, Ohio. Her masters thesis “The Experiences of Bhutanese Refugees Through Storytelling and Art”, explored how Art Therapy can transcend language barriers when working with refugees and immigrants in social service settings.
Holly has experience as an Art Therapist in various settings, working with individuals of all ages. Highlights include time spent as a part of the palliative care team at Akron Children’s Hospital’s Expressive Therapy Center. There Holly provided Art Therapy for patients, facilitated support groups for families at the Ronald McDonald house, as well as self-care groups to support nurses, doctors, surgeons and social workers coping with compassion fatigue and burnout. She went on to provide individual counseling and Art therapy at Community Health Center, a large community drug and mental health agency. Her work here consisted of outpatient counseling, intensive home based therapy and facilitating group therapy at inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities. She provided services to adults, as well as youth within the juvenile justice system. Holly later facilitated Art Therapy groups on the acute inpatient psychiatric units at Cleveland Clinic Lutheran and Cleveland Clinic Akron General Hospitals, and served as a part if the treatment team. She has provided continuing education to fellow mental health practitioners on topics of Art therapy in treating addictions, and Art Therapy in community mental health agencies. Holly started her private practice in 2021.
Holly is currently a resident of Naples, where she works with individuals and couples at her practice. Holly takes a holistic, intuitive approach, incorporating Art Therapy, EMI (Eye movement integration), IFS (Internal family systems), mindfulness and somatic therapies to support her clients as they overcome trauma, depression, anxiety, addictions and unhealthy relationship patterns. She has facilitated community groups, including an Art Therapy group with sexual assault survivors at Collier Country Children’s Advocacy Center. Holly has also been fortunate to partner with United Arts Collier upon coming to Naples. With the support of UAC she has been able to provide Art Therapy groups at the Baker Senior Center and is currently facilitating an ongoing group at Youth Haven children’s shelter.
Holly is passionate about the power of Art Therapy and the expressive arts as a path to healing, knowing oneself, and finding joy. Holly looks at the therapeutic relationship as a partnership. You are the expert on yourself and your life. You have the answers you seek, although it may not always feel that way. Holly believes her role is to support, guide and stand by each client as they find the answers they seek. She believes the best way to find those answers is often not through words, but through art.
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