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Art therapy is a separate consultation from naturopathy, and of course is optional. The sessions last an hour, but please allow 1 ½ hours.
Some clients come just for naturopathy; others come just for art therapy. Sometimes people will see me for both naturopathy and art therapy, which is a rather special combination of therapy. However, you would book these as separate sessions, in different timeslots.
Please phone in advance to ensure a booking time that suits you.
Health insurance rebates are available for some funds. If your fund does not offer rebates, why not lobby them and request that they include this increasingly recognised form of therapy.
What is art therapy?
“But I can’t draw!”
Rest assured, art therapy is different from art classes, and no art experience is necessary. Art therapy is for everyone; adults, adolescents and children.
For the wide range of issues and conditions helped by art therapy, please read on below.
Art therapy is generally considered to be a marriage of simple art making with talking therapy, although art making itself is therapeutic and healing.
Art therapy offers you the opportunity to look at things in a new way. It helps you to see yourself more clearly, gain different perspectives, and unblock feelings and issues that may otherwise be difficult to express.
Art therapy is an action oriented therapeutic process, giving you a way to respond to difficult life experiences. Creating simple images is a safe and natural way of communicating feelings and experiences.
Images can be considered to be the language of the unconscious. Your images are an extension of yourself, and exploring them through artwork allows you to get to know yourself in a deeper way. Art making and art therapy provide healing and growth experiences, and help stimulate your creativity, generating a positive sense of well being.
Studies in the fields of sport psychology, medicine, trauma studies and others attest to the power of mental imagery, visualisation and telling your story. Research has shown that immune system neuropeptides transform thoughts into matter, storing emotions and memories in body tissues. These stored negative experiences, relationship issues and belief systems generate negativity that affects our health. The rational and censoring left brain can keep us from being in touch with this information.
Through meditative aspects inherent in the art therapy process, you tap into the right brain, connecting to symbols, images and perceptions that speak to you from the unconscious. These images may both surprise and inform you. The act of externalising images releases repressed feelings stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system to calm you, and the images become your teacher.
By connecting your conscious with your unconscious you gain a more congruent sense of self, improving and integrating your mind, body and spirit.
Although the art making is a magical and organic experience, it is in the processing and discussion of the images that awareness and problem solving take place. Art making lets you face your fears in a relatively safe way, transforming them into power and freedom.
Apart from it being a rich and powerful form of therapy, the best thing that people say about art therapy, compared to other therapies, is that it is fun, even though they are often anxious and hesitant before they begin.
Do I need artistic skills?
People generally stop drawing/painting around the age of 10, often because they had been told or believed their art making inferior. In art therapy no artistic skills are required. The important thing is to stop thinking and let your body and intuition pick out art materials that appeal to you, and to just start playing or doodling. Do not think! Thinking engages your left brain, your censor. There are no rules about art making and anything you do is fine.
You will be surprised how images bring elements of self-awareness and discovery, improving your relationship with yourself. The creative process itself is healing. It has a way of energising, nurturing, teaching, and mirroring our true selves. It is soothing and facilitates expression of thoughts and feelings not expressible in words. It goes beyond pain and anguish and taps into your inner spirit.
What happens in an art therapy session?
The session may begin with relaxation techniques or guided imagery, or I may suggest a few general starting themes, or warm up doodles. However, generally you are invited to make images with the topic and materials of your own choosing. As you become attuned to your inner process you will quickly become comfortable, and images will emerge spontaneously, possibly to your surprise and enjoyment.
Unlike other art making experiences you may have had in your past, your art work is never judged or critiqued in art therapy. A supportive, respectful, honouring environment is necessary to nurture your creative and healing processes.
Part of the session involves the processing of art images; i.e. talking about them. People are often surprised at "what comes up" through their art making. As a trained art therapist, I do not impose interpretation upon your art; rather, it is my role to help you make your own meaning as you reflect upon your image and the process of its creation. Sometimes meanings unfold later in the session, or at times after the session. Often, you will find different meanings again when you review your images after several sessions, and can see themes and interesting aspects about yourself that might not have occurred to you previously.
It is wonderful when you can experience the spark of awareness, after your subconscious mind has had an opportunity to “bubble away” during the process of exploring your images in art therapy.
Life transitions are explored as well as various issues such as grief and loss, relationships, body image, identity, creativity blocks, and past abuse and trauma. Body reactions can occur as emotions are experienced and released. You begin to see the connection between your mind, body, emotions and illness. Many people come to art therapy as an adjunct to physical healing, especially from illness resulting from chronic stress.
Why is art therapy useful?
There are many reasons why art therapy may be more suitable than talk therapy alone.
- Children are less able to articulate feelings and experiences, whereas art is a natural language for children
- Teenagers may be resistant or self-conscious about verbalising thoughts, feelings and experiences, yet they are often at a very creative phase of life and engage well with art as a form of expression
- Art images come from the unconscious and provide information that we have been unaware of. Talk therapy alone may be less effective in uncovering unconscious or traumatic material.
- Couples and families may be blocked or resistant to verbal communication, but they can talk to each other through art images and pictures. Art therapy is a natural, safe and fun process for families to engage in.
- Disabilities may prevent people from verbal expression e.g. strokes, brain damage, developmental delays, learning disorders, loss of hearing and speech, etc. Art therapy provides an alternate form of communication and increases cognitive and developmental learning.
- Language barriers may prevent communication and expression at a certain level. However, images are a more universal language, enabling thoughts, feelings and concerns to be expressed.
Art therapy is helpful for a wide range of personal growth and mental health concerns:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Trauma
- Abuse
- Eating disorders
- Refugees and dislocation
- Anger management
- Drug and alcohol concerns
- Relationship challenges
- Grief and loss
- Searching for meaning and authenticity
- Self esteem and identity issues
- Life stage transitions
- Career decisions
- New mothers
- Behavioural problems
- Coping with illness
- And so on….
I am a qualified art therapist, trained to Masters Level, and a professional member of the Australian and New Zealand Art Therapy Association (ANZATA) which is a member of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA).
As such I adhere to the ethical guidelines of professional art therapy practice, which includes maintaining the strictest confidentiality regarding your personal information and anything that you may disclose during art therapy.
I have worked with a wide range of people of different ages, including art therapy at Banksia House, a specialist Mother-Baby and Mood Disorder centre at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre in Heidelberg, Melbourne.
Art therapy is not only an effective therapy for emotional difficulties but it is also something people are turning to for personal and creative development. Some people are attracted to it simply to have a pleasurable and insightful experience. You don’t have to have psychological problems to benefit from art therapy. It is life enhancing for people of all ages.
“Art is a way of knowing” (P. Allen).
Links:
http://www.wellbeing.com.au
http://www.anzata.org
http://www.arttherapy.org
http://www.baat.org | 
