Art Therapy

What is art therapy?

Art Therapy is a fun and gentle approach to traditional talk therapy. We use art and art materials as an extra form of communication. The creative process and the imagery produced has a way of saying a lot more than words alone can express and does so in a way that is much easier on you, the client. It can be very difficult to talk about the past, fears, and anxieties and with art therapy you don’t necessarily have to. The art acts as a container for all of those difficult words and allows them to be expressed on a very deep physical and emotional level. As well as being a wonderful tool for expression art making is soothing, fun, and rewarding.

Now you may be wondering, “I have a colouring book and some pencil crayons, isn’t that good enough?” As a nice relaxing hobby, certainly! For those looking to get to the root of issues, heal from the past, explore themselves and their emotions the guidance of a professional art therapist is key. This is not an art class, art therapy is about doing important emotional work together that cannot be replicated without a trained professional.

What to expect

When you come to an art therapy session at Chosen Growth you can expect to do some talking too. A typical session will look like this: We both sign on to the video platform, we spend about 10 or 15 minutes catching up and going over what happened in between sessions. Next if we are both ready I will have an art activity for you to work on based on what you talked about at the beginning or something else we have been working on long-term. You can expect some silence in an art therapy session as you create, or we can chat during, completely up to you! After you finish up your art piece I will ask to see it (if you are comfortable sharing it) and we will discuss what you have created. Some sessions we will spend longer on art and some we will talk more, it depends on each person’s needs each session and we will always be flexible to make sure you get what you need at the time and to make progress on your goals.

Do you need to be an artist?

NO! Anyone of any art level is welcome! Art therapy is about expression, not the final product! I will always take what you say into account. If you draw something that looks a lot like a dog but you tell me that it is supposed to be a house then a house it is! There are no expectations on my end for what your art making needs to look like. The more genuine the creative process the more you will get out of it. If you are afraid to try art therapy because you “are terrible at art” I encourage you to try it out! It might be just what you need. If you are at the other end of this conversation and are a very talented artist in the traditional sense then art therapy is for you as well. We can work with your current art practice and incorporate a therapeutic view on it as well as do something completely different. There are no expectations here and no constraints to what we can do.

Materials

As this is a virtual practice you will need to have a few supplies on hand in your space. We can use pretty much anything you own to be creative with so if that is an issue just know we can be flexible about the materials as well. If you can get some or have some already then I suggest you have drawing paper, writing paper, pastels or crayons, pencil crayons, some markers, and if you can clay or playdough. You don’t need all of them but it is nice for you to have some options as the materials can make a difference in your emotional process with the art. We can also work with photography, digital drawing, paint, food, found objects, recycling, and so so much more. I do not want materials to be a barrier for anyone interested in art therapy at Chosen Growth.