Nova Scotian Art Therapy

Founder

Gabriella Rizkallah, MEd, RCT-C, CAT

Gabriella is a Registered Counselling Therapist Candidate (RCT-C) and a member of the Canadian Art Therapy Association, with a deep commitment to supporting neurodivergent individuals, creative expression, and inclusive mental health care.

Art has always been her first language—a way to process emotion and make sense of the world when words didn’t quite fit. This relationship with art shaped her path from an early age, leading her to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies at NSCAD University, where she explored photography, metalwork, and design. She later earned a Bachelor of Education from St. Francis Xavier University and spent time in the classroom before choosing to pursue a deeper therapeutic connection through art therapy. That journey led her to Detroit, where she completed a Master of Education with a focus in Art Therapy.

Gabriella’s professional work is deeply informed by her lived experience. Growing up with learning differences—and later discovering her own neurodivergence—gave her firsthand insight into what it means to navigate systems that don’t always make space for difference. Now, as a neurodivergent mom of three, she brings both clinical knowledge and real-life understanding to the work she does with children, teens, adults, and families.

Her approach is grounded, compassionate, and creative—centered on building connection, fostering emotional expression, and helping clients rediscover their strengths. Whether supporting a child with emotional regulation, advocating for learning needs, or guiding someone through a life transition, Gabriella creates a space where people can feel safe, seen, and supported exactly as they are.

Philosophy

Scotian Art Therapy Counselling, healing is understood as a deeply personal, often nonlinear journey—one that begins with being seen and accepted without condition. This practice exists to honour the full complexity of each individual: their identity, culture, neurotype, history, and way of being in the world.

The space welcomes those who have often felt “othered”—neurodivergent individuals, LGBTQ+ folks, women, disabled people, people of colour, and members of First Nations and Mi’kmaq communities. The work here is not about changing who someone is, but about creating space for who they are to emerge, be witnessed, and be celebrated.

Rooted in a relational, trauma-informed approach, therapy is guided by curiosity, compassion, and respect for difference. There is no one-size-fits-all method. Instead, the process honours each person’s natural rhythms, communication styles, and emotional truths. There is room for messiness, resistance, silence, play, joy, and grief—all of it belongs.

Therapy is not about fixing—it’s about returning. Returning to self, to trust, to voice, to safety. The therapist does not lead, but walks alongside, holding space for the parts that have been silenced, masked, or pushed aside.

This is a space where vulnerability is met with care, where difference is not just accepted but deeply respected. Nova Scotian Art Therapy is not just a service—it’s a commitment to helping people come home to themselves, exactly as they are.