Leah Gipson
Leah Ra’Chel Gipson, LCPC, ATR-BC
Associate Professor
Department of Art Therapy and Counseling Department
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Leah Gipson is Associate Professor in the Department of Art Therapy and Counseling at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where she has also served as Department Chair and Program Director. An art therapist, educator, and community-engaged practitioner, her work explores the intersections of art, healing, culture, and social change, with particular interests in womanism, Black feminism, the Black church, and the role of cultural spaces in individual and collective transformation.
Gipson holds a Master of Arts in Art Therapy from SAIC and a Master of Theological Studies from McCormick Theological Seminary. Her scholarship and community practice challenge conventional understandings of art therapy by examining how culture, history, power, and social conditions shape both healing and therapeutic practice. Through teaching, writing, and community-based projects, she brings a deeply justice-centered approach to art-making as a space for reflection, connection, resistance, and transformation.