Dr. Christopher Belkofer, PhD, LPC, ATR-BC is a full professor of Art Therapy at Mount Mary University, an Expressive Arts Therapist, and a Licensed Professional Counselor in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Dr. Belkofer has over twenty years of experience as a mental health clinician, scholar, educator, and public speaker. He has presented internationally on the intersection of art therapy and neuroscience, supervised and trained countless graduate students, published numerous scholarly journal articles, and contributed to multiple textbooks that are innovating the field of art therapy. His foundational research on art therapy and quantitative QEEG measures was the first research published in the field of art therapy to explore the biological effects of art therapy on the brain. This work, which was featured in the BBC documentary, Art for Heroes, as well as numerous conference keynotes, has gone on to provide foundational influence on the development of art therapy research, theory, and practice.
Dr. Belkofer is an engaging speaker who has facilitated international trainings, lectures, and workshops focused on the intersection of art, science, art therapy, and leadership. As an educator and trainer, Dr. Belkofer takes an experiential approach that incorporates dynamic topics such as trauma, clinical neuroscience, therapeutic arts, and the mind-body connection, and makes them directly applicable to art therapy across clinical and community-based settings. Dr. Belkofer balances evidence-based practice with play and creative expression to make the arts, science, and mental health accessible and applicable to a wide range of stakeholders. Dr. Belkofer is a founding member of CLARA Healing Institute’s Wisdom Collective training branch, collaborating with dynamic professionals across the fields of art therapy and neuroscience to provide innovating Continuing Education for Art Therapists who want to elevate to their next level of trauma-informed, neuroscience-based practice.
As a clinician, Dr. Belkofer provides psychotherapy, art therapy, and counseling for individuals from age 4 through end of life. He is especially suited to work with clients who have not had success with traditional talk therapy modalities and is sought out regionally to fill this gap in the therapeutic industry. Currently, Dr. Belkofer is especially passionate about working with high-achieving professional men who are navigating existential depression, the search for meaning, and burnout. He created and facilitated a unique men’s support group focused on understanding of the link between toxic masculinity and adverse mental health outcomes, providing a safe and creative space for men across the lifespan to explore emotions, beliefs, and self-leadership. He also specializes in working with neurodiverse adolescents and young adults, creative professionals, and LGBTQIA+ family systems.
Dr. Belkofer is a multi-media artist, performing in a 2-piece band as well as an ambient music solo project called Bernadette (released by Triple Eye Industries). He is an active member of the International Art Therapy and Neuroscience Collective, as well as the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity (SfNC). At this year’s SfNC conference, Dr. Belkofer was invited to be a featured artist performer and is currently collaborating on a number of projects with neuroscience and neuro-imaging researchers around the world. He is an exhibiting visual artist currently working in large abstract oil paintings, where he uses a similar process to his musicianship: layering, deconstructing and rebuilding both images and musical pieces to create new ethereal landscapes.