Our Creative Collective
April Sozanski
Founder & Clinical Director
MA-ATC, LCMHC/LPC/LCPC/LMHC, ATR-BC®, C-AAIS, CLATLicensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (NC) / Licensed Professional Counselor (CT) / Licensed Mental Health Counselor (MA) / Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (ME) + Licensed Art Therapist (CT) / National Board Certified Art Therapist / Certified Animal-Assisted Intervention Specialist
(she/her, they/them)
April is a heart-centered counselor, board-certified art therapist, and animal-assisted intervention specialist dedicated to fostering exploration, personal agency, and deep self-discovery. Holding multi-state licensure across Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and North Carolina, she founded Heart in Hand Healing Arts as the living realization of a lifelong vision: an intentional, one-of-a-kind sanctuary where creative expression, nature attunement, and animal-assisted work converge under one roof.
Recognizing that words alone cannot always hold the weight of our lived experiences, April poured years of dedicated clinical practice into building a space that bridges what few other practices provide, uniting the tactile externalization of art therapy with the grounding, nervous-system regulation of living animals and the natural world. This work is the organic merging of her deepest loves, brought to life through rigorous clinical standards and an unwavering reverence for the therapeutic relationship.
Her practice approaches each client’s story through visual, somatic, and living metaphor, offering safe, non-verbal pathways to process trauma, navigate life transitions, and restore balance. Whether you are shaping raw materials with your hands, grounding into the calm rhythm of an animal, or finding stillness in a living habitat, April meets you with genuine presence, clinical depth, and mutual respect. Within this thoughtfully cultivated space, you are invited to untangle what feels heavy, reclaim your resilience, and practice the art of healing, heart in hand.
Brit Klepac
Counselor & Creative Arts Therapist
LCMHC, LPC, REATLicensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (NC) / Licensed Professional Counselor (CT) + Registered Expressive Arts Therapist
(they/them)
Brit is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in North Carolina and Licensed Professional Counselor in Connecticut, a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist, and a parent of two littles. Bringing lived experience as a neurodivergent and highly sensitive person, Brit offers a gentle, deeply creative approach to therapy. They have supported neurodivergent individuals of all ages across school, community, and hospital settings, with a focus on queer and gender-creative youth and parents. Recognizing that verbal communication can be difficult for describing the complexities of human emotions, Brit utilizes drawing, painting, collaging, sculpting, and other mediums to help clients experience, express, and understand their emotions through nonverbal creative exploration.
Katrina Casey
Group Program Coordinator & Therapist
MA-ATC, LPC-A, ATR-P, CLATLicensed Professional Counselor Associate + Provisional Art Therapist / Connecticut Licensed Art Therapist
(she/her)
Katrina is a licensed clinician and art therapist with an extensive background in facilitating individual and group therapy. She brings grounded clinical care to clients navigating grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, chronic illness, and neurodegenerative conditions, utilizing expressive arts as a vehicle for mindfulness, psychoeducation, symptom management, and trauma processing.
As a practicing ceramic artist, Katrina frequently incorporates clay and tactile sculpting into her clinical work, offering clients a grounding medium for emotional release and regulation. Deeply connected to the outdoors, she also integrates eco-art therapy and natural elements into sessions to foster healing through environmental attunement. Katrina meets you wherever you are on your path, offering an encouraging, empowering space to discover your strengths and advocate for your growth.
