ISABELLA LAUGHLIN
Isabella Laughlin received her master’s degree from Loyola Marymount University in Marital & Family Therapy with a specialization in Art Therapy. She is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Board-Certified Art Therapist, and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist.
Isabella has served in communities with at-risk youth, supported children in medical settings at bedside, and worked in higher levels of care such as PHP and IOP facilities. She currently runs her own group practice, supervising associates and offering specialties in the treatment of eating disorders, OCD, neurocognitive decline in older adults, suicidality, self-harm, and support for those with chronic or terminal illness.
Passionate about providing excellent care to her clients, Isabella also strives to connect with her community. She currently serves as the President of the South Bay Eating Disorder Coalition, the cornerstone organization in the South Bay for eating disorder awareness. The coalition provides education, outreach, and awareness in both the community and professional field, fosters interdisciplinary collaboration, and promotes body acceptance and esteem.
Isabella is dedicated to helping her clients feel understood—even when their protective coping skills are present—and guiding them through the darkness toward their individual healing process.
Bubbles of Resilience
(Acrylic on Canvas, 24” x 30”)
I started my art career as a graphite artist and stayed in my comfort zone, using graphite and colored pencils for most of the work I created, at least until I got to college.
I decided to take a leap and signed up for a painting class, even though painting was not a medium I usually worked with. I quickly realized that my understanding of color, shading, and gradients was based more on what I thought I saw rather than on what was actually in front of me. It was both an exciting and stressful experience, but I learned to sit with that tension and explore how to translate what I wanted to express into my art. This is where my current style began to emerge.
As I neared the end of my four years in college, I continued to immerse myself in color and painting, gradually leaving graphite behind. During that time, I was introduced to the artist Chuck Close, whose work fascinated me. His style felt like both an illusion and a realistic representation of everyday subjects, which deeply resonated with me. I also began to enjoy the contrast between structure and chaos in my own art. My main subjects were often depicted in structured color boxes, while the backgrounds remained organic and whimsical. This approach reflected my internal conflict between control and freedom, both of which became intertwined in each piece I created.
The creation of Bubbles of Resilience began in 2022. It was my first piece not based on a portrait of a specific person or pet, but rather a visual expression of a feeling, which was a new direction for me. As a therapist, I wanted to create a painting that represented healing, specifically the process of healing, since most of the time the effort behind it goes unseen.
In the painting, the act of blowing bubbles symbolizes someone’s ongoing effort, dedication, and determination to heal. You can see earlier attempts in the form of smaller bubbles, which show that progress is often slow in the beginning. Over time, we grow stronger and become capable of creating larger bubbles of healing. Eventually, the color of the bubbles begins to shift, reflecting how our healing energy and inner selves also change and evolve over time.