Erich Montfort, LCAT, ATR-BC is a licensed and nationally board-certified art therapist with nearly 10 years of clinical experience working with children, adolescents, and adults across diverse and complex populations.

Erich joined the Halligan Creative Arts Therapy team in 2026 and has provided art therapy services through BOCES since 2024, supporting neurodivergent youth and young people with developmental disabilities, including Autism. His experience also includes working with at-risk youth, individuals navigating the criminal justice system, and incarcerated adults.

Originally from the Rochester area, Erich earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The College at Brockport in 2010, with a focus on fine arts and art history, followed by a Master of Science degree in Art Therapy from Nazareth University in 2017.

Erich spent six years in California, where he worked with incarcerated adults through the California Department of State Hospitals. His clinical experience has shaped an approach grounded in compassion, creativity, and respect for each person’s individual strengths and circumstances. He uses a person-centered, integrated, and trauma-informed approach, incorporating artmaking to support emotional expression, develop insight, process trauma, and navigate everyday stress.

An AmeriCorps alumnus, Erich served at-risk-of-dropping-out youth in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2011 and homeless youth in Rochester, New York, in 2013. Across these experiences, his work has centered on helping individuals build agency, self-worth, resilience, and empathy through meaningful therapeutic relationships and creative expression.

Erich is passionate about creating a therapeutic environment where people can explore their experiences through art, discover their strengths, and develop new ways of understanding and moving through life.