Who We Are
As a creativity coach and a mental health practitioner, our family practice brings together our skills and our belief in the value of using creativity to foster strength and resilience.
Athena Cooper
Athena is an artist, writer and creativity coach who uses art-making practices to help others explore, grow and heal.
Born with the rare genetic disorder, Osteogenesis Imperfecta (aka ‘brittle bone disease’), and a wheelchair-user since the age of six, she has seen how her own art practice has helped her process and navigate the world as a person living with a disability. She strongly believes that anyone can benefit from having a creative practice—regardless of whether they consider themselves to be “artistic“—and that through creativity we have the ability to better connect with ourselves and with each other.
Athena trained as a therapeutic arts practitioner at the Canadian International Institute of Art Therapy and as a life coach in the Martha Beck Wayfinder Training Program.
She is also a juried member of the Alberta Society of Artists and has recently completed the illustrations for a new picture book by Anne Laurel Carter that will be published in January 2027.
(To see more of Athena’s artwork, visit: www.athenacooper.ca)
Stefan de Villiers, MSW RSW
Stefan is a Registered Social Worker, Generative Coach and holds a Master’s degree in Social Work (clinical specialization) from the University of Calgary, Canada.
After spending the early part of his social service career as a youth worker supporting youth struggling with addictions, homelessness, poverty, and family breakdown, Stefan chose to further pursue a career as a psychotherapist, working primarily with adults in individual, couple’s, and group format since 2018.
His mission is to help people tap into their potential to work through internal barriers and live a life of purpose and meaning. His approach draws on both body-based and talk-based interventions, with an emphasis on generating a creative mindset as a resource for healing.
In addition to his clinical work, Stefan is a sought-after speaker who has presented nationally on men’s mental health, and issues related to the mental health of gender and sexual minorities.