Art Therapy, or Art Psychotherapy, is a creative form of psychotherapy that uses art-making as a method of communication. Some sessions may be entirely non-verbal engaging with the art materials, and some may be entirely verbal. It can be helpful for any ages and for a variety of issues. Personal change and growth is the overall aim of the sessions through engaging in the creative process and a therapeutic relationship with the Art Therapist.
No skill or previous experience of making art is necessary.
No skill or previous experience of making art is necessary.
- As an Art Therapist, I provide a space where a person can express themselves using art materials in the presence of a mindful other.
- Art Therapy is a relational therapy, which means I believe that relationships are necessary for emotional wellbeing, and I am interested and gather information from how a person relates to myself and those around them.
- I am more interested in the process of how the art work is made and what feelings it evokes in a person than the finished product.
- Art Therapy is an evidence-based practice with a wide research base, which I am happy to discuss with anybody interested.
- I take a psychodynamic approach – this means I work with the theory of the unconscious informed by psychoanalytic theory. I believe that our behaviour and feelings as adults are rooted in our childhood experiences, and that all behaviour is a form of communication and presents a need.
- The sessions can be as a group or 1:1, based on the client's needs.
- Art Therapy can be useful for a wide range of client groups, from children with Autism Spectrum Condition, to adults in a forensic setting, to teenagers struggling with their mental health.
What Art Therapy is not:
- Art Therapy is not an art lesson, I am not a teacher.
- I cannot promise to fix problems, but I aim to help a person to think and feel more clearly about them.
- A person attending Art Therapy does not have to be good at art to benefit, it is not about producing a work of art.
- As an Art Therapist, I do not diagnose conditions, nor do I interpret what an art work means; it is all about a person using art materials to process and think more clearly about difficult issues.
More information is available at: www.baat.org
For professional advice, please visit: www.hcpc-uk.org/
