We believe that Art Therapy is for everyone, no matter what skill level or art making background. Our focus in making art together is on the process rather than the finished outcome, so it frees us up to make without worrying about what the final product might look like. You get to choose what medium you might like to work with and your therapist will support you during the process to help find meaning in what you are making.

Here is a link to a great video made by the University of Queensland, helping to explain what Art Therapy is, what to expect and how it benefits clients.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BZynyGzyow

The amazing Vicky Nicholls wrote the following introduction to art therapy which really resonates with our way of working.

What is art therapy?

The process of making art within a therapeutic relationship opens us to a new way of problem solving.

Words cannot always express what we are feeling. Our early experiences and traumatic memories are stored in a non-verbal part of our brain. So, although they influence how we think and behave – perhaps in destructive ways – we can’t explore them or explain them with words: we need another way.

Making art is a non-verbal activity, which accesses parts of our brain that we can’t reach with words. Art becomes the conduit through which we bring those emotions or memories or issues into our consciousness. It allows us to express them – and then to observe, reflect, and begin to make sense of what’s going on for us.

An art therapist is skilled at helping us to explore what comes up, in a safe space. It doesn’t matter what the artworks look like: art therapy is all about the process. Just like we don’t need to be a ‘writer’ to write a journal, we don’t need to be an ‘artist’ to make art.

The art therapy process also allows us to experiment with new ways of being: to try them on and see how they fit. The art room is a safe space to practise – where we can develop confidence that these new ways will work for us out in the world.