About
Jessica Royals is the founder of Wisdom Artworks, where she provides art facilitation and creativity coaching for therapists and mental health professionals.
With over a decade of experience in Human-Centered Design research, Jessica has facilitated hundreds of hours of interviews with people from all walks of life, developing and synthesizing observational insights of human behavior and psychology to solve problems for individuals and companies. She brings this ability to deeply see and listen into her experience with creative work.
As a teacher and coach rather than a clinician, Jessica offers therapists personal and professional learning and growth experiences outside mental illness models. Her natural strengths in seeing each person's uniqueness, synthesizing complex information, and building bridges between different perspectives inform her approach of being with clients as they explore what it means to be fully human through artistic expression. In the Wisdom Artworks approach, artmaking is a dynamic and ongoing activity fundamental to the human imperative—as essential as language or social connection. Through meaning making in art processes and integration, she co-creates conscious relationships with her clients rooted in authentic presence and curiosity to support therapists' capacity for creative healing.
I help my clients transform from energy-depleted, creatively disconnected professionals into vital therapists who embody creative healing. It is my honor and joy to equip mental healthcare practitioners with artmaking tools enhance their personal well being and the lives of the those they serve.
Her diverse background includes serving as a facilitator for spiritual/religious small groups for over three years; yearlong intensive coursework in theological education through Sewanee School of Theology; RYT-50 Yin Yoga Teacher Training certification. Jessica currently volunteers at The Smithsonian's National Museum of Air and Space as an Astronomy Educator where she shares the awe and wonder of the cosmos with visitors from around the world. She has worked as a design researcher and creative strategist for both Fortune 500 and public sector organizations in healthcare, wellness, education, public safety and technology. She is is the author of This Is About Books: Visualizing a Lifetime of Reading.
Jessica lives in Washington, D.C., with her spouse and cat, where she can often be found reading murder mystery novels and hunting for the perfect yeast-raised donut.
Education
M.A. Graphic Design
George Mason University
B.A. Journalism & Mass Communication
Minor studies in Art History
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A safe space
for all therapists
Wisdom Artworks is committed to creating a safe, affirming space for all therapists to explore their creativity and reconnect with their authentic selves.
I welcome therapists of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. This includes therapists who are Black, Indigenous, People of Color, LGBTQIA+, neurodiverse, living with disabilities, from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, and holding various spiritual or secular worldviews.
Wisdom Artworks serves all practitioners who want to honor the creativity of their calling, both in and outside of work. I understand the unique challenges that therapists from marginalized communities face in professional spaces. I believe that when these therapists are supported in their own creative development, it strengthens their capacity to serve their communities with authenticity and presence.
If you have specific accessibility needs or concerns about whether this space will be welcoming for you, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'm committed to cultural responsiveness and creative problem-solving to ensure all participants can fully engage in this work.