Biography
Biography~ Peggy ‘Alena Marie’ DeWitt
Alena Marie DeWitt is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist who has been a practicing Art Therapist in Far Northern California over the past 43 years. She is a 1982 graduate in Art Therapy from College of Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, CA and represented the Northern California Art Therapy Association providing information and workshops throughout California, Oregon and Washington. As the founding director of the Expressive Arts: Counseling, Coaching & Creativity Centre for Creative Integration since 1994, Alena Marie has provided classes, workshops, consultation and program development for various community agencies such as the Shasta County Arts Council, Women’s Refuge, Hospice, Probation and Juvenile Assessment Center, Mental Health-Day Treatment Programs, Shasta Community College, public schools and the Community Health Center. As a member of the International Labyrinth Society, Alena Marie has also been involved in the education, building and integration of the labyrinth as a therapeutic tool into existing community programs.
From August of 2009 - May of 2016, Alena Marie served as a Military, Family Life Counselor for families and children in the schools, having served in all four branches of the military throughout California, Japan and Okinawa, completing her last assignment at Ft. Irwin in the Mohave Desert. She has also had the opportunity, as a worship painter and teacher in the ‘prophetic arts’ to volunteer with several churches throughout her travels.
She resides in Redding, CA, continuing to work in her private practice plus providing an Expressive Arts training Program “Back in Touch” for professionals. In 2025 Alena was Certified as a Klemmer Personal Coach which opened another specialization teaching Creativity Workshops for all ages, individuals, couples and families. She recently married in 2025 having been the single parent of two adult daughters and 5 grandchildren.
Alena Marie and her husband Bob re-opened The Barnwood Gallery: Events Painting Studio in the Spring of 2023, which has been and is currently available as a venue for community events, fundraisers and art shows.
To contact Alena Marie, please email: expressivearts@att.net
Expressive Arts Studio: The Coaching and Creativity Connection
1127 Parkview Avenue
Redding, CA 96001
(530) 227-7083
“Connecting Community through Creativity”
