Art Therapy/Art as Therapy

Art as Therapy combines psychotherapy, art making and creativity to help each person express and process difficult feelings, improving mental, physical and emotional well-being. Working with art materials in a therapeutic space has a calming effect, and the process has the ability to resolve inner conflict by externalizing what can often get in the way of experiencing life as desired.

Art therapy gives people a chance to engage in a visual/auditory/kinesthetic experience as an alternative means of processing issues. Art therapy not only uses the inherent healing power of the creative process but also focuses on the idea that art can be a means of symbolic communication.

Art as Therapy provides us with an external map of our internal selves. The combination of Therapy and Art provides a multisensory experience in which adults; adolescents and children can bond their emotional and logical sides of thinking. My experience of working with clients in my private practice is that through reflecting on the art product and processes, it becomes possible to increase awareness of self, and cope better with difficult and challenging experiences.

Art Therapy can be an invaluable tool for understanding and exploring crucial life transitions, difficult situations, and feelings, which can hard to verbalize. Art images that emerge can be surprising and unsettling, and as such, require care and curiosity, as well as a safe holding space to fully process their meaning. Hence the importance of being provided with a nurturing, clinically sound, safe space where feelings that may threaten to overwhelm and destabilize, are gently processed, so that they become more manageable and less threatening.

How I work with Children and Adolescents: 
I begin with an assessment, which lasts approximately 6 weeks, before suggesting the direction for further therapy, or whether or not it is necessary. The assessment phase is used to gather information and strengths that can be further enhanced. After this phase, I meet with the parents or guardians of the child or adolescent, and provide recommendations.
Typically, brief work with children and adolescents lasts an additional 6 -10 weeks, however, a longer duration is preferable and often necessary where trauma, loss, grief, anxiety, depression or any other clinical issues are present.