Our July
Staff Spotlight features Annie Chang. Annie Chang has been part of the Expressive Therapy
team at The Loretto Hospital since 2020. She uses art therapy to treat
various behavioral health conditions. Annie has been an artist her entire
life and has always had a keen interest in psychology. “Art therapy
was the perfect way to merge my creative practice with clinical work.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Annie moved to Chicago to obtain
her Master of Art in Art Therapy and Counseling at the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago. Her personal experience in overcoming hardship related
to mental health has informed her practice and allows her to meet her
patients in a non-judgmental and empathetic place. “The process
of recovery is one of my favorite things to witness and support, as it
symbolizes hope in transformation. I am motivated by the strength and
resilience I see in my patients, especially those who are struggling with
addictions or other maladaptive coping mechanisms. I am passionate about
sharing resources and scientifically backed research on substance use
disorders because I believe it is one of the most stigmatized and misunderstood
illnesses. I am an artist. I’ve always been an artist as long as
I can remember. I have a bachelor’s degree in art and painting,
I started teaching art in the community and in social services and in
recreation. I realized when I was teaching art, I loved sharing this process
that can be so empowering for people. ”
Annie likes working at The Loretto Hospital because of the trusting professional
relationships she has been able to form. "Working at Loretto really
did change my life a lot. The place I was working at before was a fine
organization and my coworkers were great and everything, but I feel a
lot more accepted here, especially as a person of color. Loretto is one
of the most diverse places that I’ve worked at. I’m not just
talking about employees, but also in management as well, and I do feel
more comfortable. I also like working at Loretto because you get that
community aspect. It’s a privilege to be a part of the team. Especially
in behavioral health, you can’t work unless you’re working
within a team. You have to be able to work not just with the other expressive
therapists, but with mental health specialists, nurses, nurse practitioners,
doctors; you have to work with anyone. Yeah it is about the individual
work you do with the patients, but it’s also about teamwork too.
Working here has been positive."
Her immediate supervisor is her mentor and she feels incredibly lucky to
be a part of a small but mighty team of expressive therapists. She also
loves the unique patients she has the privilege to serve in group and
individual therapy sessions as well as the amazing staff on the Behavioral
Health unit.