Meet Service Coordinator Danielle Verderame
August 8, 2025
Kelly Scherker, BA, Supervisor of Supported Employment and Integrative Therapies here at McCall, is happy to announce that Service Coordinator Danielle Verderame (pictured on the left) is offering weekly Art Therapy classes at Carnes Weeks Center and Hanson House.
Here’s some background on Danielle in her own words: “My life has led me in many directions throughout the years. A lot of ups, a few downs, and a few things in between. I was born and raised in Connecticut and will always consider Torrington to be my home. I graduated with my Bachelor of Art degree from CCSU in 2000 and started my art career as a freelance artist and as a graphic designer working in corporate America for almost a decade before transitioning to the realm of special education.
In 2009, I started my own family with the birth of my son and quickly began working more within the non-profit sector. My passion became working with individuals with special needs and with their families as both an advocate and as a liaison between families and the barriers they face in navigating the systems of care.
In 2017, I began working with Torrington Area Families for Autism (TAFA) and I currently teach art classes throughout the year to their participants. I also work with them on their yearly Art on the Spectrum Event. This event showcases all of the amazing work that those with different abilities in our community are capable of. The art classes are available to all participants of TAFA, of all ages and of all abilities.
I’m never really satisfied unless I am creating, so in 2021, I decided to start my own business—Litchfield County Naturals. Two years later, in 2023, began a company called “ARTism” with my son Ben. ARTism was designed with a very specific mission in mind: to create something different, a voice, and a viable means of employment for individuals on the autism spectrum. Working with Ben and being his mom gives me the unique opportunity to help him grow through this way of expression while being able to offer him opportunities that may not necessarily be available to him otherwise.
While doing all of this, I joined the McCall Behavioral Health Network in 2023 as one of the Residential Service Coordinators at Carnes Weeks Center. Shortly thereafter, I began teaching classes on crocheting to clients while also making and providing hats and mittens to any client who is in need of them during the winter months. In 2024, I began teaching additional art classes to our Carnes Weeks clients. At first, it was once a month, now it’s once a week. This year, I began teaching classes weekly at Hanson House, and I’m loving every minute of it.
Working closely with the population that McCall serves made me realize how much I wanted to be able to further help them to express themselves through art, so in 2024, I received my certificate in Trauma Informed Guided Drawing and I’m currently working toward my degree in Art Therapy. Some of my personal artwork is displayed at the Gallery at Intercommunity in East Hartford.
I am looking forward to offering more classes at more of McCall’s facilities as time goes on.”
Click here for more information about Hollistic Therapy at McCall.