Deborah John

Deborah John, PhD, serves as an art therapy instructor at Southwestern College in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She holds a B.S. in Art Education from the University of Vermont, an M.A. in Art Therapy from Vermont College, and a Ph.D. in Expressive Therapies from Lesley University, with board certification as an Art Therapist (ATR-BC) and Licensed Professional Art Therapist (LPAT).

Her research centers on the therapeutic application of doodling and small-scale art-making for overcoming self-critical inhibitions and trauma recovery. Drawing from historical practices of art as healing—from cave paintings to modern doodling—she develops interventions for psychiatric patients, trauma victims, and grieving children. Her doctoral work specifically examined adult experiences with doodle-like drawings, revealing art-making's capacity to free individuals from self-critical constraints.

Through the New Earth Institute, Dr. John integrates mind-body-spirit approaches in consciousness education. Student testimonials highlight transformative outcomes, with graduates crediting her methods for enabling clinical art therapy practice and mindfulness facilitation. She advocates using non-precious materials (e.g., junk mail envelopes with ballpoint pens) to bypass artistic inhibitions and reconnect with childhood's expressive joy through crayons and paint.