are you going round and round the therapy circle?
Stuck and can't seem to move?
Have you been talking and talking and talking about the same issues and feel like you're getting nowhere? At Integrated Arts Therapy, we can help you get out of your head space and into your heart space to make real and sustainable change. Whether that's gaining insight into your behaviors and relationships, digging deeper to heal wounds from your past, or simply releasing the negative energy that's holding you back, Integrated Arts Therapy reaches beyond the surface to customize a treatment plan just for you through a variety of techniques including music and sound, visual arts, animals, and more.
Is alternative therapy for you?
If you are struggling with any of the challenges below, Integrated Arts Therapy serves adolescents, teens, and adults of all ages. We may be the alternative you need.
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Bipolar disorder
- Suicidal ideation
- Aggression/danger to others
- Trauma/PTSD
- LGBTQIA+/gender identity issues, body dysmorphia
- Neurological disorders
- Developmental disorders
- Personality disorders
- Grief and bereavement
- Relationship issues
what we do
Integrated Arts Therapy offers alternatives to traditional talk therapy. We provide options designed to help individuals discover their own creativity as they learn to manage emotions. Time to put a little fun in your therapy! We emphasize self-exploration and self-expression through a variety of modalities including:
- Music therapy
- Sound healing/Himalayan and crystal singing bowls/vibration
- Guided meditation
- Animal-assisted therapy
- Therapeutic art
- Therapeutic recreation
- Creative movement
- Writing
- Games
- Nature
These evidence-based practices support functioning in all domains, promoting positive change psychosocially, cognitively, physiologically, developmentally, existentially, and spiritually. Integrated Arts Therapy utilizes an eclectic and psychodynamic approach to target specific goals from a holistic perspective. Integrated Arts Therapy addresses such areas as:
- Emotional management
- Self-regulation
- Social and relationship skills
- Communication skills
- Mindfulness
- Healthy boundaries
- Relapse prevention
- Problem solving
- Self-care
- Coping skills
- Goals and motivation
- Intention and purpose
- Overcoming triggers
- Stress management
- Wellness
music therapy
Music therapy is an ancillary healthcare profession using music as the foundation for therapeutic interaction. The American Music Therapy Association officially defines music therapy as "the clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals for people of all ages and ability levels within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program. Music therapists develop music therapy treatment plans specific to the needs and strengths of the client who may be seen individually or in groups. Music therapy treatment plans are individualized for each client. The goals, objectives, and potential strategies of the music therapy services are appropriate for the client setting” (AMTA 2025).
Applied by a qualified practitioner, music therapy is the systematic use of music to achieve non-musical goals for a wide variety of clients and their families in numerous settings, including hospitals, physical and neurological rehabilitation facilities, medical clinics, centers for developmental disabilities, day treatment centers, group homes, mental/behavioral health agencies, drug and alcohol programs, general and state hospitals, geriatric care programs, assisted living facilities, hospices, public and private schools, special education programs, correctional facilities, residential facilities, research programs, private practices, and prevention and wellness programs.
A music therapist uses music within the context of a therapeutic relationship to elicit positive change in individuals developmentally, physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally, existentially, and spiritually. Music therapy addresses all domains of human operations to assist clients in realizing their full potential. Treatment involves strategic use of music, focused for healing, learning, and change. Examples of music interventions include singing, playing instruments, creative movement, receptive listening, music-based discussion, songwriting, drawing to music, musical games and stories, improvisation, sensory integration, and sound exploration.
sound healing
Sound healing is an alternative therapy that uses vibration to improve health and well-being. It is also known as a sound bath or sound meditation, and has roots in ancient cultures and traditions. Sound healing can treat a wide variety of conditions, both physical and mental, including chronic pain, blood pressure, cholesterol, heart disease, stress, anxiety, and depression. Instruments may include Himalayan singing bowls (metal), crystal singing bowls (quartz), tuning forks, gongs, and chimes.
Sound affects us on a cellular level, impacting brain, nerve, muscle, and organ function. Responses involve neural, physiological, and biochemical reactions within the body, as our minds and bodies synchronize to the vibrations of the sound. Sound healing aims to channel the power of these sound vibrations, for relaxation, release, and healing.
This energy work can influence brainwaves and neurotransmitters by involving the use of vibrations from instruments to reach the nervous system and influence the chakras (the body’s energy centers). These vibrations can calm distressed emotions and regulate mood.
Sound frequencies may synchronize neural activity by shifting brainwaves into different states. For example, low-frequency sounds may increase alpha waves, for relaxation and creativity, as well as theta waves, which are associated with meditation. High-frequency sounds may increase beta waves, for focus and alertness. Sound healing can also help the brain transition from active beta states to more relaxed alpha and theta states, reducing stress and promoting healing. Sound frequencies stimulate the brain to produce neurotransmitters, such as endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, which can increase pleasure, reduce pain, reduce stress, and promote both mental and physical well-being.
animal-assisted therapy
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a goal-directed intervention in which an animal meets specific criteria and is an integral part of the treatment process. AAT is directed and delivered by a health and human services professional with specialized expertise within the scope of practice of the profession. AAT is actually triadic therapy, where the animal assists with rapport building, connection, communication, competence, acceptance, and comfort.
Benefits of AAT include decreased risk for cardiovascular disease, decreased heart rate and blood pressure, improved fitness/stimulus for exercise, decreased anxiety, decreased loneliness, enhanced trust and feelings of safety, increased insight, increased oxytocin (the happy hormone), decreased cortisol (the stress hormone), improved outward focus, acquired empathic and nurturing skills, increased mental stimulation, increased opportunities for physical contact, and a heightened sense of hope and control over life. Common populations for AAT are general mental health, chemical dependency, trauma, crisis, grief and loss, autism, developmental disabilities, and medical settings.
AAT interventions may include animal-themed verbal processing, the therapeutic use of metaphors, storytelling, walking/gait therapy, animal-assisted play therapy, bibliotherapy, and therapeutically-focused dog training. Treatment goals aim to build positive social relationships, provide corrective attachment experiences, explore emotions, build empathy, develop self-esteem, improve emotional regulation, decrease anxiety, alleviate depression, improve attention and concentration, improve memory/recall, improve reality orientation, and facilitate insight.
ASK JULIE ABOUT EQUINE THERAPY!
(AAT may not be appropriate for clients who have allergies to animals, fears or phobias of animals, negative experiences with animals, or a history of animal abuse.)
therapeutic art
As a therapeutic recreation intervention, art is a powerful way to explore, evoke, and emote. Therapeutic art offers a range of benefits for both mental and physical well-being, including increased cognitive functioning, emotional release and resilience, behavioral regulation, self-awareness and self-confidence, stress reduction, and improved sensorimotor functioning.
Visual art provides a non-verbal means of expression, which is particularly helpful for individuals who find it challenging to articulate their feelings and thoughts.
Visual art endeavors may include mandala techniques, creating beauty from wreckage/recycled art, manifestation art (vision boards), guided meditation art, visual reframing by challenging and changing limited beliefs, drawing, painting, sculpting, and other forms of creative self-expression.
(Julie has a Therapeutic Art Practitioner certification and is not a Registered Art Therapist.)
meet the founder
Julie Hoffer
Julie Hoffer, MM, MT-BC, AAT-I, is the owner and primary therapist of Integrated Arts Therapy and has been a Board-Certified Music Therapist since 2005. She is also an Animal-Assisted Therapy Interventionist, educator, trainer/coach, author (There’s a Song for That, 2022), and presenter, guiding individuals to attain and maintain maximum levels of functioning. Julie has diverse, multicultural clinical experience with nearly all populations and settings including behavioral health, medical/hospital, hospice, geriatrics, brain injury, developmental disabilities, and wellness. Julie was a clinical professor of music therapy at Arizona State University for nine years, where she coordinated student placements for fieldwork and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of practicum, instrument competencies, music therapy repertoire, children’s music, psychology/neurology of music, basic counseling skills, improvisation, professional writing, and music therapy marketing. Julie holds a Master of Music degree in Music Therapy from Arizona State University and a Post-Graduate Bachelor of Music degree in Music Therapy from Arizona State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Northern Arizona University. She is a certified REMO drum circle facilitator and has advanced training and certification in sound healing practices, animal-assisted therapy, therapeutic art, trauma-informed care, polyvagal theory, and culturally-competent practice. Julie resides in Tempe, AZ with a couple of humans and a menagerie of animals. She hopes to retire as a singing gondolier in Venice, Italy.