Hello and Welcome.
I’m Emma, founder of the Lojong Center and creator of Contemplative Creative Therapy (CCT). With a professional background in integrative psychotherapy and art therapy, I am also a bilingual French-English author, teacher, and facilitator. After living and working in Canada for many years, I am now based in the South of France, where I develop the programs, courses, and workshops offered through the Lojong Center.
My professional path has evolved at the intersection of psychotherapy, art therapy, and Tibetan Buddhist and Zen contemplative traditions. Over the years, these disciplines have led me to develop Contemplative Creative Therapy (CCT), a secular approach to embodied mind training that integrates Buddhist psychology, internal and external meditation practices, contemplative arts, and contemporary Western psychotherapeutic approaches.
About the Lojong Center
The Lojong Center for Contemplative Creative Science is an educational platform dedicated to the study, practice, and development of contemplative approaches to mind, creativity, and well-being. It is the home of Contemplative Creative Therapy (CCT), offering professional training, courses, workshops, and contemplative practices for mental health professionals, contemplative practitioners, and those interested in exploring these approaches more deeply.
The Center brings together two complementary ways of understanding, healing, and transforming the embodied mind: Buddhist psychology and contemplative practices from Tibetan Buddhist and Zen traditions, and contemporary Western psychology and psychotherapy. Rather than reducing one tradition to the language of the other, its programs explore their meeting points and differences through the study and practice of meditation, embodied awareness, contemplative arts, and contemporary therapeutic approaches.
A central mission of the Lojong Center is to preserve and acknowledge the contemplative foundations and lineages from which these practices emerge while exploring how they can be meaningfully applied within contemporary secular contexts. For mental health professionals, CCT training provides a structured framework for exploring how contemplative, embodied, and creative practices can complement and be integrated into therapeutic work. CCT works with both internal meditation and external contemplative practices, offering multiple ways to observe, understand, and transform our relationship with lived experience.
Meditation, Artistic Practice, and Contemplative Training
My clinical practice is deeply informed by more than twenty years of meditation and contemplative engagement. My personal artistic practice is also an essential part of my journey and supports my exploration of creativity, presence, and processes of transformation.
I took refuge in the Tibetan Mahayana tradition in France in 1999 and have continued to study and practise Buddhism in Canada and France, notably with Gaden Choling for the West and the Paramita Centre in Toronto. Now I continue with the Centre Paramita du Var and Petit Nalanda France.
Since 2022, I have deepened my engagement with Dharma Art and Zen-based creative practices through ongoing study and practice with Jody Hojin Kimmel Sensei of Zen Mountain Monastery.
My background also includes extensive training in contemplative arts. I am a Level 1 Instructor in Nalanda Miksang Contemplative Photography, trained with John McQuade. My practice has also been enriched by Shambhala Art, Zen brushwork, sumi-e, ikebana, and other embodied creative disciplines. These practices continue to inform my clinical presence, teaching, writing, and personal creative practice.
My exploration of embodied and movement-based practices began with Qigong and Tai Chi in China, and later continued in Canada through the study of Medical Qigong. I subsequently trained in the Sivananda Yoga tradition of Swami Vishnudevananda, exploring its traditional and holistic approach through asana, pranayama, meditation, and bhakti practices. In Toronto, I later encountered Kundalini Yoga at the Lotus Yoga Centre, and I continue to deepen this exploration through the teachings of Jai Dev Singh and the Life-Force Academy, particularly in Kundalini Yoga, tantric and Dhama philosophy and practice.
International Clinical Background
Emma J.M. Ates is a bilingual Psychopractitioner and Art Therapist trained in Canada, an Accredited Professional Member of the FF2P (French Federation for Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis), and a Member of SFAT (PRO251079) – French Union of Art Therapists. Initially trained in France, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts from Aix-Marseille University. For almost ten years, she was a Registered Psychotherapist (CRPO) and a Registered Canadian Art Therapist (RCAT, CATA). She has practiced for over ten years across diverse clinical settings, in English and French, in person or online, with young adults (+18).
She supports individuals experiencing anxiety, trauma, emotional regulation difficulties, and relationship challenges within a structured and integrative therapeutic framework. Her approach bridges Western psychology and Buddhist-informed contemplative psychotherapy, integrating evidence-based modalities such as Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).
She is also specialized in supporting the emotional challenges associated with expatriation, repatriation, and reverse culture shock. Whether you are preparing for a move, adapting to life in a new country, navigating an intercultural relationship, or returning home after living abroad, you do not have to go through this transition alone.
If you are interested in learning more about therapy services:
Clinical and Teaching Background
Emma has taught in professional and academic contexts, including the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies (Applied Mindfulness Meditation Certificate Program), the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. She has taught at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies in the Applied Mindfulness Meditation Certificate Program (Mindfulness & Art Therapy course), and at the Toronto Art Therapy Institute (TATI). She has also led workshops and trainings with Glendon York University, the Mindful Society Global Institute, and SickKids Hospital in Toronto.
Originally trained and registered in Canada, she now offers bilingual therapeutic services internationally while maintaining active professional affiliations in both Canada and France.