Art psychotherapy

I am an HCPC and ICO registered Art Psychotherapist and a member of BAAT. I offer neuro- and LGBTQIA+ affirming, warm, non-judgemental, trauma informed art psychotherapy to neurodivergent clients (with and without “official” diagnosis), from age 12 upwards.

Art psychotherapy is a form of psychodynamic psychotherapy, which utilises (visual) art in its many forms, in addition to speech. It is particularly effective on deeper issues and trauma. Making art in sessions is never compulsory, however, it can open a “window to the unconscious”, which words alone might struggle to do. This is particularly true for many autistic people, who (due to alexithymia: A common difficulty in recognising and naming emotions) often find it difficult to articulate exactly how they feel. It is also a good way to engage young people in more abstract thinking.

In essence, art psychotherapy teaches (or reinforces) the use of art as an additional emotional language. Making art in sessions might feel strange and/or scary to begin with, but, in my experience, clients end up very quickly appreciating having learned to use art as an outlet for all kinds of thoughts and emotions.

There is no need for you to be an artist (although some of my clients are) or be “good at art”- absolutely anyone can participate. You need just a few basic materials, such as paper and pencils/pens, or any kind of paint. We can also use materials such as plasticine or even basic office type equipment, such as blue tack or paper clips. Alternatively, we can use technology, such as making art on tablets (for example using the shared whiteboard on Zoom), if the client owns one and would like to use it.

For more information about art psychotherapy, please refer to the BAAT (British Association of Art Therapists) website:

https://baat.org/art-therapy/what-is-art-therapy/

and

https://baat.org/publications/insight/autumn-2024/neurodiversity-and-art-therapy/

You can also contact me directly to ask any further questions you might have, such as how it all works in practice when doing art psychotherapy on Zoom. Please see the “Counselling” section for more information on my approach (counselling and art psychotherapy are very similar).

In order to be most effective, art psychotherapy should, ideally, take place weekly (although we can also consider other intervals - I have a limited amount of bi-weekly slots available) and is only offered online (Zoom).

If you would like to book a free 15 min (no obligation) introductory appointment, please click here.