Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses materials and making in a creative and exploratory way for self-reflection, self-regulation, communication and self-expression.

Art therapy can help individuals and groups who are struggling with a wide range of emotional, behavioural, and mental health issues, like anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, or stress. Art therapy can enhance subjective well-being and provide clarity and direction during different stages of life.

Engaging with materials and making provides an easy landing place and launching ground for connection and co-regulation.

It is a reflective, mindfulness practice that can interrupt excessive thinking or ruminating. This helps with self-regulation and relieves feelings of stress and anxiety.

Through the process of engaging with materials and making something (being creative), you are being generative. You bring something tangible from your unique, inner world into your sensory experience.

The process generates feelings of freedom, autonomy and agency. It is the opposite of feeling passive, powerless or depleted.

Feeling seen and heard is at the heart of any healing. The connection is what matters; your connection to yourself and to those around you. The relationship is a central element of any kind of therapy, including art therapy. This is a foundational principle in how I work, whether with individuals or with a group. 

You do not have to be artistic or creative to follow this process and benefit from it.

In an art therapy session, you use art materials to make something in an exploratory process to facilitate self-reflection and generate insights about yourself and your life.

This process is not about making something that looks a certain way or looks like “art”. You can do a bunch of scribbles on a page, squish pieces of play-dough, tear up or scrunch up wads of paper, stick things together or break things apart. You follow your curiosity by using materials to gain insights from within through the process of making.