Laury Rappaport, PhD

Laury Rappaport, Ph.D., LMFT, ATR-BC, REAT, pioneered and developed the theory and practices of Focusing-Oriented Art Therapy (FOAT®) and Focusing-Oriented Expressive Arts (FOAT®)– based on 40 years of clinical, community, wellness, and organizational applications. She is a Certifying Coordinator, Focusing-Oriented Therapist, and Trainer with The International Focusing Institute in New York.

Since founding the Focusing and Expressive Arts (FOAT) Institute, Laury has helped establish FOAT® as a recognized approach in the fields of art therapy and expressive art therapy, including book chapters describing the approach in Judith Rubin’s Approaches to Art Therapy, 3rd edition and Cathy Malchiodi’s book, Handbook of Expressive Arts Therapy.

Dr. Laury Rappaport has helped to establish FOAT® as an approach that can be applied to clinical and non-clinical settings, such as education, community, healthcare, coaching, somatics and body-work, creativity, spirituality and meditation, business, organizational and personal growth. She has helped bring FOAT® trainings worldwide– through online and live trainings at universities, conferences, workshops, and in collaboration with others.

Laury has held various leadership and organizational positions including, Director of Mind-Body Studies at Interface (Massachusetts), Co-Executive Director of Spring Hill Institute, and Director of the Mind-Body Program at Five Branches University.