Therapy in Farmington Hills, Michigan - Mala Child & Family Institute - Angela Doran

Angela Doran MA, LPC, NCC, ATR

Professional Counselor

Farmington Hills, & Online

Thank you for visiting my page! I enjoy providing a safe and healing space for children, teens, young adults, and parents who are seeking support for neurodivergency in a neurotypical world. Providing art therapy and creative interventions are central to my clinical mental health counseling approach.

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If you or your child is looking for support managing autism, sensory issues, anxiety, ADHD, or self-esteem, I would be honored to provide tools that help build skills to improve the quality or your life or your child’s life. I am privileged to provide a safe, healing space for children, teens, young adults, and parents seeking support for and acceptance of neurodivergency in a neurotypical world. Providing art therapy and creative interventions are central to my clinical mental health counseling approach.

Individuals possess a unique history and have different approaches to living; some people may be more cognitively-minded while others are more interested in what their intuition and emotions have to say. Being a clinical mental health counselor and art therapist permits me to work with a spectrum of clients by using evidence-based and creative approaches. 

Art therapy eliminates the pressure to rely on verbal communication to express complex thoughts and emotions. Through the use of an integrated theoretical approach, I customize my therapeutic response to best fit the needs of clients. I utilize characteristics from cognitive behavior therapy, family systems, humanistic therapy, solution-focused brief therapy, person-centered therapy, and mindfulness. 

I graduated from Wayne State University in 2021 with a dual Masters of Arts degree in clinical mental health counseling and art therapy. My experience as a therapist has been an amalgamation of working in settings including oncology groups, hospitals, day programs for adults with special needs, and an early-intervention center for children with autism spectrum disorder. I have worked with survivors of breast and ovarian cancer, adults with traumatic brain injuries, and children with anxiety, depression, adjustment disorders, trauma, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder. I am a Nationally Certified Counselor and Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist.

Working within the family system is an integral part to creating healthier coping strategies, boundaries, and symptom management. In my practice, the therapeutic alliance is paramount to the success of mental health counseling interventions and techniques. Collaborating with clients to discover the root of their presenting concerns is not possible without a strong foundation of rapport and trust. I believe that clients are the experts on their lives, and that counseling strategies and art therapy experientials assist individuals to harness their strengths and improve presenting concerns. As a professional counselor and art therapist, it is my responsibility to present clients with a relevant and ethical therapeutic approach that is best suited to each of their distinctive needs. 

    • Dual Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health and Art Therapy - Wayne State University - 2021

    • Double Bachelor of Arts Degree in Studio Art & Psychology - Oakland University 2018

    • Certified Autism Spectrum Disorder Clinical Specialist

    • Nationally Certified Counselor

    • Art Therapy, Attachment-based, Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Compassion Focused, Culturally Sensitive, Eclectic, Emotionally Focused, Existential, Experiential Therapy, Expressive Arts, Family Systems, Humanistic, Integrative, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Jungian, Mindfulness-Based (MBCT), Multicultural, Narrative, Neurodiversity-Affirming, Person-Centered, Play Therapy, Psychoanalytic, Solution Focused Brief (SFBT), Strength-Based, Structural Family Therapy, Trauma Focused

    • ADHD, Anxiety, Autism, Behavioral Issues, Child, Chronic Illness, Coping Skills, Depression, Developmental Disorders, Education and Learning Disabilities, Intellectual Disability, Life Transitions, LGBTQ+, Neurodiversity-affirming, Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD), Pathological demand avoidance (PDA), Parenting, Peer Relationships, School Issues, Self Esteem, Stress, Trauma and PTSD

    • Impulse control disorders, Anxiety disorders, Neurodevelopmental disorders, Neurocognitive disorders

    • Individuals, Family

    • Toddler, Children (6 to 10), Preteen, Teen

    • Offers special insights for clients of any ethnicity

    • Allied and experience supporting clients in: Body Positivity, Cancer, Deaf Allied, Gay Allied, Immuno-disorders, Little Person Allied, Non-Binary Allied, Queer Allied, Racial Justice Allied, Single Mother, Transgender Allied

    • Farmington Hills office & remote

Therapy in Farmington Hills, Michigan - Angela Doran

Get to know Angela

  • Connecting with clients by getting to know and share in their interests

  • My wish for every client is to feel confident, secure, and to be able to affirm themselves.

  • I became a mental health professional because providing support to your mental and emotional well being permeates into every aspect of life. I want to help others achieve a well-balanced life.

  • Art therapy is not about creating a masterpiece; it's about creating a space for healing -Brene Brown

  • Duke Kahanamoku

  • Art is a Way of Knowing by Pat B. Allen

  • I love therapy because it means something different to each person depending on their goals. The therapeutic alliance is paramount to the success of mental health counseling interventions and techniques, and it can be so much fun to build the therapeutic alliance through verbal and nonverbal approaches.

  • Each session is unique, so the way therapy will look depends on each individual client. Sessions can range from talking, creating art together, working independently, or playing. I want clients to feel safe enough to express their needs and wants for our sessions, and we can always change our interventions from session-to-session.

  • I want you to know that I see you, I hear you, and you are valid. It is important that young clients are treated with the same regard and respect that adults experience more often. Amazing progress can happen when children are given the opportunity to be authentically themselves.

  • I care very deeply about meeting people where they are at, whether they are children or adults. Doing so conveys a sense of respect and validation that can be a great way to build rapport and trust, leading to a successful therapeutic alliance where we can begin to reach our goals.