She also had an established psychiatric practice, and she worked in a mental institution providing biological treatment as well as various kinds of therapies and forensic expertise. While there she conducted research and published 58 articles on Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology topics, she became one of the three leading art therapists in the former Soviet Union, which led to her interest in the relationship between mental health and creativity.

 

It was during this work that she began to understand that tapping into creativity is not only good therapy for people who are out of balance, but extremely good maintenance for healthy people.

 

She presented her research in psychology and creativity at the World Congress of the World Federation for Mental Health in Lahty, Finland, at the 12th International Conference on Creativity in Colleges and Universities, Michigan, and the 5th Annual Conference of American Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences, the 13th, 17th, and 19th International Conferences on Teaching and Learning, Florida, where she received an award for outstanding achievements in creativity.

 

She is a co-author of the following textbooks: Psychology of Creativity, Creativity Step by Step, Therapy through Creativity, as well as Psychology of Conflict and Violence.

 

In 2002 UAT students selected her as the most influential instructor and she became a member of Alpha Beta Kappa National Honor Society. Her course Psychology of Creativity became one of the most popular at UAT.