Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Chapman.
Hi Lauren, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I actually started out as an artist. I chose to study what I loved in college, art, and decided I would figure out the rest later. Art was the one thing that always felt like home to me. People had a lot of opinions about that choice, and some of it was pretty hard to hear, but I stayed true to myself despite the criticism. I’m really proud of that, and honestly, going through that experience shaped a lot about how I make decisions. To this day, my best advice for college students is to choose a major that you’re passionate about. You will thrive surrounded by like-minds, you’ll actually look forward to getting up for class, and your GPA will thank you for it which sets you up for success in whatever your next step happens to be. For me, I ended up graduating in 2008 when the economy had crashed and jobs were almost impossible to find, so I did what a lot of people did at the time. I kept going with school and looked for something that felt a little more practical.
I chose architecture, but pretty quickly realized it didn’t really fit who I was. I could feel that about a year in to the master’s program, but since I had already committed and come this far, I decided to see it through. It was a painful 3.5 years. After graduating, I applied for a few architecture jobs, without much enthusiasm I’ll admit, but that’s what you’re supposed to do, right? Ironically, I ended up back where I started, in my undergraduate art program working in academic advising, and thinking “what in the world am I doing?” None of this made any sense at all.
But just as soon as I had that thought, that’s when things started falling into place. I fell in love with working with students. I loved the conversations, the connections, and getting to see people figure out who they were becoming. It also opened a lot of unexpected doors for me. Thanks to that architecture degree, I was able to teach at the university level, everything from University 101 to Intro to Drawing and Intro to Painting. I loved being in the classroom, and I loved meeting with students one on one even more. Eventually I started wondering what else was out there for me and whether there was a way to combine all these things that I was doing into one.
That’s when I discovered art therapy for the first time and a tiny seed was planted. Little did I know then what life had in store.
A few years later, after moving across the state and starting a new job, that seed finally started to grow. I met an art therapist at MUSC where I worked, and I was immediately drawn to the field. It seemed like everything I’d been looking for all this time. So I started shadowing her, volunteering with her, and learning everything I could from her. She became my mentor and my experience with her is the reason I eventually changed careers. This meant that I had to go back to school to get another master’s degree, this time in counseling and art therapy, and this time while working full time. It was definitely intense, but looking back, worth every second. And then in 2021 I graduated…again.
I was hired on full-time as an art therapist and counselor under my mentor, right where everything began at MUSC. Medical art therapy is incredibly meaningful work, but also incredibly difficult. You see so much grief and loss, and you walk alongside people during some of the hardest moments of their lives. It is truly an honor to be invited into those intimate moments, but it’s not for faint of heart.
That job meant the world to me, but at the same time, I knew it was time to return to the upstate to be closer to family. I can’t really explain it, like when you know, you know. I trusted those insticts, not knowing exactly what the future was going to hold and ended up in school-based mental health working in a high school in Anderson. In my free time I started dreaming again. This time I was dreaming about building something of my very own. Slowly, Creative Renewal started to take shape.
Creative Renewal Counseling and Art Therapy officially launched in May 2025 and sometimes I still can’t believe it’s real. It feels like the truest combination of all the twists and turns in my path, from the art degree I chose out of passion, to the architecture program that pushed me to my breaking point, to the years of advising and teaching, to the sacred work of sitting with people in their hardest moments and witnessing their strength up close. It all led to this. I’m proof that trusting your path, even when it doesn’t seem to make any sense at all, can eventually lead you to exactly where you belong.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been smooth sailing the entire time, but I think that’s true for most people. There were a lot of plot twists I never could have predicted. I’ve been pushed outside my comfort zone, like way outside. There were times when I felt exhausted and overwhelmed, and I wondered if I had taken a wrong turn somewhere, but I kept coming back to the feeling that it mattered too much to me to be a wrong turn.
The medical setting was incredibly meaningful, but it was also emotionally really heavy. You witness grief, loss, and big life transitions every single day. It taught me so much about resilience and compassion, but it also asked a whole lot of me. Leaving that job to move back home was another transition that was both necessary and also extremely difficult.
And honestly, starting a private practice comes with its own fair share of challenges. There’s a lot of excitement and freedom, but there’s also a lot of behind-the-scenes work that I’m still figuring out as I go. There’s no instruction manual for this part. They definitely don’t teach you how to run a business in grad school. Suddenly you’re the therapist, the business owner, the marketing person, the billing department, and the person making every decision. It’s overwhelming, but even on the hardest days, it still feels worth it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Creative Renewal Counseling & Art Therapy?
Creative Renewal Counseling and Art Therapy is my private practice in Anderson. At its core it is a space where creativity and healing come together. I specialize in art therapy and integrative counseling for teens and young adults. A lot of my clients are navigating stress, major life transitions, anxiety and depression, or low self-esteem, and many of them come to me because traditional talk therapy hasn’t always felt like the right fit on its own. Art therapy offers another way in. It gives people permission to express themselves without having to immediately find the right words.
What truly sets my practice apart is art therapy itself. It’s still not very common in South Carolina, and it’s especially rare to find in Anderson. A lot of people here have never experienced art therapy or even heard much about it, so I love being able to offer something that feels both accessible and different from traditional talk therapy.
Art therapy uses creative expression as a way to explore emotions, process stress, and understand yourself on a deeper level. But don’t worry, you don’t have to be an artist at all. Art therapy isn’t about artistic skill. It’s about expression, insight, and connection. Sometimes it helps people discover parts of themselves they had forgotten or never knew how to express. It can be as simple as drawing, painting, collage, or working in an art journal. The art becomes a bridge to thoughts and feelings that can be hard to put into words. Sometimes clients uncover insights through the imagery itself, and sometimes the creative process helps them slow down enough to notice what is coming up inside. It is gentle and grounding, but also incredibly powerful. Creative Renewal is a place where those discoveries can happen in a safe, compassionate, and creative way
I’m really proud that Creative Renewal truly reflects its name. The tone, the atmosphere, the space, everything is designed to feel hopeful and reflective. I wanted to create a practice where healing is gentle and creative rather than harsh or clinical, and a safe space where people can show up as they are, explore who they’re becoming, and find renewal through the process of making and reflecting.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I think the quality that has helped me the most is my ability to stay true to who I am, even when the path hasn’t been straightforward. I have taken some unusual routes to get here, and it would have been easy to ignore my gut or choose the “safer” option at so many points. But trusting my instincts, even when it was really hard and uncomfortable, has shaped everything about my career.
I would also say compassion plays a huge role. I genuinely care about people, and I think clients feel that. Whether I’m sitting with someone through grief, supporting someone as they learn to understand themselves better, or guiding someone through expressing big emotions that they’ve been holding inside, I try to meet them with warmth, curiosity, and zero judgment.
And finally, I think creativity is at the heart of my success. Not just in the artistic sense, but in the way I approach problems, adapt to challenges, and build a practice that reflects my values. Creativity helps me stay flexible, find new solutions, and create a space that feels different from a traditional therapy setting. It keeps my work alive and meaningful. All of those pieces together have allowed me to build something that feels both authentic and deeply aligned with what I was created to do.
Pricing:
- In-network with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and more
- Superbills provided for out-of-network insurance providers
- Self-pay options
- Reduced rates available based on financial hardship
Contact Info:
- Website: https://creativerenewaltherapy.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/creativerenewaltherapy
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/creativerenewaltherapy
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@215SoicetyStreet
