Denise Padilla de Font (she/her) is an professional Art Therapist and healer specializing in issues facing women and healing arts practitioners. She has 20 years of experience in the field of therapy and has extensive experience working with trauma, PTSD, anxiety, maternal mental health, self-esteem, parenting, attachment issues, and depression. Denise is committed to providing safe, LGBTQIA inclusive, anti-racist, and culturally aware spaces for healing. 

Empaths, artists, healers, mothers, and caregivers are drawn to Denise’s unique guidance. Though she is accredited as a therapist, her style is more akin to an empath— a deep and active listener who guides her clients much like a paleontologist digs for bones, carefully “digging” through layers of life experience, personal narratives, and stories to reach the roots of issues causing distress. Clients can then use their information pieces to create emotionally intelligent maps of behaviors, beliefs, and stories that are supportive and affirming.

Denise supports other healers who want to maintain their empathic channels and energy levels, as well as artists wanting to dive deep into their processes for mindfully manifesting their creative visions. She uses a transpersonal form of Art Therapy to help women experience mindful, empowered pregnancies and birth experiences, helping them navigate through labor, postpartum, and parenthood with confidence. Denise also learned the art of Birth Story Medicine from her mentor and founder of “Birthing From Within”, Pam England, who’s profound, mother-focused philosophy has been life-changing for countless mothers.

Denise spent her college years as an interactive installation artist focused on women’s issues, body image, and self-esteem. Her artwork proved to be therapeutic for her collaborators, her audiences, and herself, and she earned a BFA from Florida International University in 2001. Denise then found herself drawn to the field of psychology, feeling a specific calling to support women. Denise went on to earn a Masters Degree in Art Therapy in 2004 from The George Washington University. She then practiced in clinical settings for almost a decade, most notably at Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health, Paul Robeson School, Cove Center for Recovery, and Mt. Sinai Comprehensive Cancer Center with the ArtCenter South Florida as part of the “Art By The Bedside” program. During the post-trauma of 9/11 Denise served as primary therapist to severely traumatized children in downtown Washington, DC.

Denise grew up in the rich Cuban culture of Miami, FL and has always been deeply drawn to her Andean and Spanish roots. Spiritual exploration into her ancestry led to the discovery of the Orisha tradition and in 2004 Denise became an initiated priestess of Oshún, the Afro-Cuban deity of femininity, matriarchal justice, and fertility. This spiritual path has enabled her to develop and deepen her unique abilities as an empath and healer.

These three “tributaries” of Denise’s work – as an artist, clinical Art Therapist, and initiated priestess – coalesced into her founding of River Water Healing in 2013.