Munay Karpay
Inspiring Creativity in Individuals and Communities.
Art Therapy Consultation
Munay Karpay
Inspiring Creativity in Individuals and Communities.
Art Therapy Consultation
Founder
Meliss Ulloa, MA, LCAT, ATR-BC
Welcome to Munay Karpay! I am a queer, mestiza, and indigenous bilingual (Spanish/English) Licensed Creative Arts Therapist, Board Certified Art Therapist, Child Parent Psychotherapist, and EMDR trained therapist. I am also an educator, social activist, artist, dancer, musician, and daughter of Peruvian immigrants.
Who understands the world is wise. Who understands oneself is enlightened.
Lao Tzu
Learn About Us
Our Mission
My love of art started in my childhood. I used to draw, paint, sculpt with play dough , clay, use paper mache, and create special places with natural materials to transport myself to imagined places or lands in which my family was from. This helped me navigate my identity and practice today as an Art Psychotherapist. Munay means love and beauty in the Quechua language. Karpay signifies the initiation, empowerment, and transmission of energy. The words, Munay Karpay, speak to the way in which we begin our collaborations and co-create together. We tailor services to promote creativity, culture, social justice, wellness, and emotional healing.
I studied at Northeastern University during my undergraduate studies. I obtained a Masters of Arts from New York University (NYU). I have over 7 years of clinical experience in foster care, article 31 OMH clinic, shelters, non-profit organizations, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) sites, and a trauma center. I am an Adjunct Faculty member of the NYU Graduate Art Therapy Program. I am the Advocacy Chair of the New York Art Therapy Association and active member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN). I participate in NCTN's Forcibly Displaced Families and Latin American Child and Families Collaborative groups. I am a co-chair and co-creator of the Embodied Holistic Healing Community of Practice. I am also participating in NCTSN's Being Anti-Racist Is Central to Trauma-Informed Care Implementation and Transformational Change Community. Lastly, I am trained in Global Mental Health: Trauma & Recovery through Harvard University. I aspire to build meaningful relationships to expand art therapy services on a global scale.
Our Offerings
Art has helped me process my own trauma.s and experiences. My hope is to share what worked within my journey, find what works for you and your team. We also provide research informed and evidence based knowledge about various creative methods to build awareness, insight, and problem solving. I enjoying utlizing dance, movement, music, writing, story telling, and cooking as a way to connect with others.
We offer mural making, coaching, trainings, supervision, and workshops on adverse childhood experiences, complex trauma, intimate partner violence, trauma-informed care, anti-oppressive principles of practice, and social advocacy through the creative arts. We also specialize in immigration trauma, acculturation, ambiguous loss, neurobiological framework of art therapy, and creative arts burn out prevention workshops for teams.
Our Approach
Our foundation is built on the values of equity, social justice, empowerment, strengths, indigenous traditions, and ancestral art practices. We also lean on traditions of story telling, call and response, sensory based experientials, and embodied spiritual art making. Our services are rooted in creativity, decolonization, anti-racist-oppressive principles, trauma-informed care, cultural attunement, attachment, connecting to your inner ninx, and non-verbal approaches.
We will schedule calls to get to know each other authentically and co-create a plan by understanding your community. Healing occurs within a collective and our foundation aims to bring communities together through creativity.