Empowering growth and wellness through
expressive arts, sound, and animal wisdom
INTEGRATED ARTS THERAPY
Empowering growth and wellness through
expressive arts, sound, and animal wisdom
are you going round and round the therapy circle?
Stuck and can't seem to move?
Have you been talking and talking about the same issues and feel like you're getting nowhere? At Integrated Arts Therapy, we can help you transition from your head space to your heart space, facilitating real and sustainable change. Whether it’s gaining insight into your behaviors and relationships, digging deeper to heal wounds from your past, or simply releasing the negative energy that holds you back, Integrated Arts Therapy employs a range of techniques, including music therapy, sound healing, animal-assisted therapy, and therapeutic art to customize a wellness plan just for you.
Is alternative therapy for you?
If you are struggling with any of the challenges below, Integrated Arts Therapy offers a range of therapeutic modalities for adolescents, teens, and adults of all ages, making us the alternative you need for wellness.
- 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, presenting unique options that help individuals tap into their creativity while learning to regulate and manifest. It's time to add a little fun to your therapy! We emphasize self-exploration and self-expression through a variety of modalities, including:
- Music therapy
- Sound healing with Himalayan and crystal singing bowls
- Guided meditation
- Animal-assisted therapy
- Therapeutic art
- Therapeutic recreation
- Creative movement
- Writing
- Games
- Nature experiences
These evidence-based practices support functioning across all domains, fostering positive change psychosocially, cognitively, physiologically, developmentally, existentially, and spiritually. Integrated Arts Therapy employs an eclectic and psychodynamic approach to address specific goals from a holistic perspective, covering areas such 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
- Health and wellness
music therapy
Music therapy is an ancillary healthcare profession that utilizes music as the foundation for therapeutic interaction, similar to animal-assisted therapy and therapeutic art. The American Music Therapy Association 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 create individualized music therapy treatment plans tailored to the specific needs and strengths of each client, whether they are seen individually or in groups. These treatment plans focus on the goals, objectives, and potential strategies that are suitable for the client's setting (AMTA 2025).
When applied by a qualified practitioner, music therapy serves as a systematic approach to achieve non-musical goals for a diverse array of clients and their families across various settings. These include hospitals, physical and neurological rehabilitation facilities, medical clinics, centers for developmental disabilities, day treatment centers, group homes, mental and 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, as well as prevention and wellness programs.
A music therapist employs music within a therapeutic relationship to promote positive changes in individuals developmentally, physically, intellectually, socially, emotionally, existentially, and spiritually. Music therapy, alongside practices like sound healing, addresses all domains of human functioning to help clients realize their full potential. Treatment involves the strategic use of music for healing, learning, and change. Examples of music interventions include singing, playing instruments, creative movement, receptive listening, music-based discussions, songwriting, drawing to music, musical games and stories, improvisation, sensory integration, and sound exploration.
sound healing
Sound healing is an alternative therapy that harnesses vibration to enhance health and well-being. Often referred to as sound baths or sound meditation, this practice has ancient roots in various cultures and traditions. Just like music therapy and animal-assisted therapy, sound healing can address a wide range of conditions, both physical and mental, including chronic pain, high blood pressure, cholesterol issues, heart disease, stress, anxiety, and depression. Common instruments used in sound healing include Himalayan singing bowls (metal), crystal singing bowls (quartz), tuning forks, gongs, and chimes.
Sound impacts us on a cellular level, influencing the function of our brain, nerves, muscles, and organs. The responses generated involve neural, physiological, and biochemical reactions within the body, as our minds and bodies resonate with the vibrations of sound. The aim of sound healing is to channel the power of these sound vibrations for relaxation, release, and healing.
This type of energy work can affect brainwaves and neurotransmitters by utilizing vibrations from instruments to connect with the nervous system and influence the chakras, which are the body’s energy centers. These vibrations can help calm distressed emotions and regulate mood, contributing to overall wellness.
Sound frequencies may synchronize neural activity by shifting brainwaves into different states. For instance, low-frequency sounds can enhance alpha waves, promoting relaxation and creativity, as well as theta waves, which are linked to meditation. On the other hand, high-frequency sounds can boost beta waves, enhancing focus and alertness. Sound healing also facilitates the transition of the brain from active beta states to more relaxed alpha and theta states, reducing stress and fostering healing. Furthermore, sound frequencies stimulate the brain to produce neurotransmitters such as endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, which can increase pleasure, alleviate pain, minimize stress, and promote both mental and physical well-being, similar to the benefits derived from therapeutic art.
animal-assisted therapy
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a goal-directed intervention where an animal meets specific criteria and plays a crucial role in the treatment process. Delivered by a health and human services professional with specialized expertise, AAT is a triadic therapy that fosters rapport building, connection, communication, competence, acceptance, and comfort. This form of therapy can complement other wellness practices like music therapy, sound healing, and therapeutic art.
The benefits of AAT include a decreased risk for cardiovascular disease, reduced heart rate and blood pressure, enhanced fitness and motivation for exercise, lowered anxiety, diminished loneliness, increased trust and feelings of safety, improved insight, heightened oxytocin levels (the happy hormone), decreased cortisol (the stress hormone), better outward focus, developed empathic and nurturing skills, increased mental stimulation, more opportunities for physical contact, and an elevated sense of hope and control over life. Common populations that benefit from AAT include those with general mental health issues, chemical dependency, trauma, crisis, grief and loss, autism, developmental disabilities, and medical settings.
AAT interventions may involve animal-themed verbal processing, the therapeutic use of metaphors, storytelling, walking or gait therapy, animal-assisted play therapy, bibliotherapy, and therapeutically-focused dog training. The treatment goals aim to build positive social relationships, provide corrective attachment experiences, explore emotions, cultivate empathy, enhance self-esteem, improve emotional regulation, decrease anxiety, alleviate depression, boost attention and concentration, enhance memory recall, improve reality orientation, and facilitate insight.
ASK JULIE ABOUT EQUINE THERAPY!
(AAT may not be suitable for clients with allergies to animals, fears or phobias about 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, complementing other approaches like animal-assisted therapy and music therapy. Therapeutic art offers a range of benefits for both mental and physical wellness, including increased cognitive functioning, emotional release and resilience, behavioral regulation, self-awareness and self-confidence, stress reduction, and improved sensorimotor functioning, similar to the effects of sound healing.
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 that enhance overall wellness.
(Julie is certified as a Therapeutic Art Practitioner, 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 specializes in music therapy and 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 and wellness. With diverse, multicultural clinical experience across various populations and settings—including behavioral health, medical/hospital, hospice, geriatrics, brain injury, developmental disabilities, and wellness—Julie brings a unique perspective to her practice. She served as a clinical professor of music therapy at Arizona State University for nine years, coordinating student placements for fieldwork and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in areas such as 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 the same institution, along with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Northern Arizona University. Additionally, she is a certified REMO drum circle facilitator with 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, and she dreams of retiring as a singing gondolier in Venice, Italy.