I am not currently accepting new clients.
Art therapy can help people to get an entirely new perspective and shift out of an emotional rut.
We all have a tendency to get stuck in how we think and feel about things. This is actually very useful, because it would take far too much energy to continually reevaluate our understanding of everything in life—imagine trying to make breakfast if you had to start from scratch every morning trying to figure out the meaning of your coffee maker…
Unfortunately, when we repeatedly experience the same emotions and thoughts we can also lose the flexibility to experience things differently. Tapping into our creative selves activates different parts of our thinking and feeling systems, opening up new possibilities and helping us to expand our understanding of ourselves and our lives.
You don’t need an artistic background to find art therapy useful because it’s not about creating something to put on your wall (although sometimes clients choose to do that!) Clients often tell me that they find the process very calming, and that it has helped them to understand themselves or a situation better.
What happens in an art therapy session?
During art therapy sessions I invite clients to explore their experiences, feelings, and beliefs through a variety of artistic methods such as:
- drawing
- painting
- sculpture
- collage
For example, I might ask:
- Can you show me what it feels like when that happens?
- Can you draw what independence means to you?
- What does your curiosity look like?
- What was the color and shape of the argument?
- If your life was a board game, what would it look like?
After the client has responded with a drawing, painting, or sculpture, we discuss what it means. Sometimes I invite a client to create many pieces of art during a session, and other times a client works on a single piece of art throughout the whole session. Alternatively, clients may choose to create art work in between appointments, and then spend the whole session discussing what they have created.