Lisa Kay is an qualitative and arts-based researcher, art educator, and art therapist whose creative voice is manifested in and enhanced by the integration of these identities. She considers art, teaching, and therapy as an integral part of her practice.

A board-certified art therapist, Kay's research interests include the psychology of child art and the healing potentials of the arts with children, adolescents and adults. Her publications concern the intersections and collaborations between art education and art therapy; resilience and art making with those who have experienced trauma and adversity; narrative art making in healing, and the use of creative arts and visual imagery as both pedagogical and qualitative research methods. Kay's book Therapeutic Approaches in Art Education brings together ideas and resources from her art education research and art therapy practice.

Her recent co-edited book "Restorative Practices in Education through the Arts" that explores ways the arts address trauma-related issues with a particular focus on healing beyond adversity was published in 2025. This book provides beneficial and practical strategies from professionals in the fields of art, art education, art therapy, museum education, special education, social work, and school psychology.

Lisa Kay was the driving force behind in the development of two new degree programs at Tyler: the BA in Art Therapy that launched in 2017 and new MA in Art Therapy that will officially launch in 2016.

Kay is a National Art Education Association’s (NAEA) Distinguished Fellow, Class of 2021, a Fulbright Scholar, the recipient of the National Art Education Association 2014 Women’s Caucus Mary Rouse Award and the 2016 Council on Exceptional Children, Kennedy Center Very Special Arts Peter Geisser Special Needs Educator of the Year for her significant professional contributions.

Education

• EdD, Northern Illinois University, 2008
• MA, University of Memphis, 1980
• BFA, University of Memphis, 1975

Selected Awards

Distinguished Fellow
National Art Education Association 2021

Peter J. Geisser Special Needs Art Educator of the Year 
National Art Education Association (NAEA), The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), VSA (2016)

Outstanding Special Needs Art Educator (2015)
Pennsylvania Art Education Association  

Mary Rouse Award (2015)
Women’s Caucus, National Art Education Association

Fulbright Scholar (2011)
Bridging Borders: Art Therapy, Art Education and Qualitative Inquiry, Hungary 

Selected Work

Kay, L., Johns, B., Heise, D. (2025). Restorative Practices in Education through the Arts. Worcester, MA: Davis Publications.

Kay, L. (2020). Therapeutic Approaches to Art Education. Worcester, MA: Davis Publications.
 
Kay, L. (2018). Yellow Bricks: Transformative Art Pedagogy. In A. Hunter, D. Heise, & B. Johns (Eds.), Art
     for Children Experiencing Psychological Trauma: A Guide for Art Educators and School-Based
     Professionals (pp. 157-166). New York, NY: Routledge.

Kay, L., & Wolf, D. (2017). Artful Coalitions: Challenging Adverse Childhood Experiences. Art Education,
     70(5), 26-33.

Kaiser, D. H. & Kay, L. (2016). Arts-Based Research: Creating Knowledge in Art Therapy. In D. E. Gussak,
     & M. L. Rosal (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Art Therapy (pp. 663-672). Chichester, UK;
     Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons.

Kay, L. (2015). Research as Bricolage: Navigating in/between the creative arts disciplines. In A. Meadows
     & M. Viega (Eds.), Music Therapy Perspectives. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Kay, L. (2013, March). Bead Collage: An Arts-Based Research Method. International Journal of Education
     & the Arts, 14(3), 1-8. Retrieved from http://www.ijea.org/v14n3/