Art Therapy

Art therapy creatively uses the process of making art in therapy.

The arts have been used to tell stories, build communities and express feelings for centuries. Creativity is recognised as an essential ingredient to our wellbeing and our expression of self. We tend to place a high value on rational thinking, which uses the left brain and can undervalue the right brain, which inspires creativity and processes emotions.

Making art, whether you are artistic or not actively engages the right side of the brain and stimulates the subconscious. Art can reveal things to you which you are unaware of and enable you to express sadness, anger, confusion, pain and suffering in a safe way. When you make art in therapy, both you and the therapist explore the emerging themes in the art, your unmet needs are given attention, your emotions are met with empathy and you can tell difficult stories. Often this can bring you moments of real discovery which are cathartic, but sometimes it feels very painful as deeply suppressed feelings begin to surface.

Psychotherapy works with the sub-conscious and conscious levels and is always evolving with new concepts and theories to help us understand why we are like we are and why we struggle with certain things.

The combination of psychotherapy and art means that I can meet your needs through a wide range of different approaches. I work with all the arts, which includes visual, music, drama, movement and puppets.

Art therapy works really well with anyone. It’s a choice you have.