Katie | Art Psychotherapist

Introduction

Art psychotherapy uses creativity as a way to access the therapeutic process instead of relying solely on verbal communication. I believe that most people can benefit from art therapy, but as with therapies, it's not necessarily for everyone. Art therapy could be something for you to consider trying if...

Words are hard - You have the feelings and the thoughts but they're too complex to put into words.

Other talking therapies haven't felt right for any reason - art therapy is led by creativity and curiosity, not any one specific modality. I use therapeutic models, such as internal family systems to support my work with you but it isn't the main focus of how I support you. It can sometimes feel a lot less structured in this way, since there's not a set number of steps and achievments to meet, however this is the process. The mantra of most art therapists is "Trust the Process", meaning trust in the artistic process of creation, trust in the process of healing and then build trust in yourself.

You struggle to feel or identify your emotions - traumatic experiences can close off our awareness of our nervous system and it's ways of telling us how we feel. Art therapy can support the somatic aspect of healing, somatic meaning the bodily experience of our lives.

You don't know who you are or why - identity is a huge factor in our formation of our core beliefs. Traumatic experiences can put blocks in the way of us finding who we are, instead building our idea of ourselves based on what other people told us that we are, or what other people decided was useful about us. In the art work, our true self has an opportunity to break through to meet us. The process needs time and patience, but you'd be surprised at some of the asapects of self that come through in a session. 

You have curiosity about creativity - notice how being good at art isn't anywhere on this list? Or how prior experience with art isn't on this list? That's because art therapy is not about creating gallery worthy (whatever that actually means) pieces of art work. It's about self expression and building creativity in thought processes as you progress through the therapeutic process. Traumatic experiences push the brain into thinking very narrowly in order to stay safe. Creative thinking and problem solving is harder because of that, and creative thinking is what allows you to adapt, for example, to a situation without it triggering an anxiety attack. At the beginning of being creative is being curious. If you feel curious about what you could create and what materials you could use, that's half the battle of starting art therapy won.

About me as a person and therapist:

I am late diagnosed ADHD and recognise myself in some aspects of the autism diagnostic criteria, however I am not pursuing further diagnosis. I see every client as an individual person and will do my best to support you holistically. This means that I will ask questions about your life that may seem like they're digging around in places tha don't seem relevant, but if you aren't able to sleep because you have a nightmare neighbour, then I shouldn't be pushing you to deal with your deepest darkest memories. I want to make sure that you are safe, not just in your hour with me, but outside that therapy space as well.

I deeply value my creativity and all of the things I am able to do because of it and I'm passionate about supporting other people to be creative. I knit, crochet, sew, paint, make small diorama models, draw, DIY and decorating projects, dance, live music, driving with my music too loud; I love bubbble tea, South Asian, Chinese and Japanese food but can't handle spice yet. I'm trying! My comfort is knitting on the sofa with my cats or at the pub quiz with my friends being absolutely humbled by how little we all know.