Elia Khalaf, MA, LMHC, ATR

Elia Khalaf, MA, LMHC, ATR is a Registered Art Therapist and Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Florida. He is currently a doctoral student in Counseling Education and Supervision at Oregon State University and received his MA from NYU in Art Therapy and Counseling. Currently he leads the Creative Arts Therapy program at University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Elia’s psychotherapy practice is positioned at the intersection of community wellbeing, integrative mental health, and creativity. He conducts individual and group sessions, and recently launched This Writing Well, a poet-in-residence program for patients, survivors, and caregivers in healthcare. His community-oriented projects include #BloomingNames, a therapeutic program and flower art installation honoring Black lives lost to gun violence. Elia’s #SidexSide project is a WaveMaker grantee and was awarded the Ellie’s Creator Award to connect kids across Miami through mail art.

His art practice is centered around artist books, print-making and zines as tangible art objects and experimental projects to activate public spaces and promote inclusive community participation and civic engagement through art.