Creative and therapeutic processes can support us to tell our stories, especially if they encompass difficult experiences that are hard to articulate using words.

Art Psychotherapy (also known as Art Therapy) combines creative expression and the use of art materials alongside talking.  It can facilitate the processing of embodied emotion, such as deeply held trauma, which may be affecting your sense of self and your relationships with others.  Art Psychotherapy can be accessed by anyone of any age, at any stage in life, and from any background.  It can be an enriching, affirming, and authentic life-changing process.

Being in a therapeutic relationship can help people to make sense of their feelings, behaviours, and patterns, and work through difficult experiences.  Using art materials and embodied expressive processes can give form to them whilst being supported and witnessed by a qualified practitioner in a safe and compassionate environment.

Art Psychotherapy can be particularly useful when working with ongoing trauma or the legacy of trauma, and other difficult experiences that may be impacting someone’s quality of life.

Research shows that Art Psychotherapy can facilitate a greater sense of wellbeing and self-esteem, supports improvements in relationships with others, helps manage emotional dysregulation and anxiety, assists grieving processes, supports socialisation, alleviates symptoms of depression and stress, supports recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative disorders, and increases self-compassion and insight.  The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) suggests that the arts therapies can improve negative symptoms of psychosis and schizophrenia.