How I can help

Your art therapy sessions are confidential. Developing a positive therapeutic relationship where you feel heard, safe, held and valued, allows you an opportunity to work through any emotional issues you may be experiencing at your pace. This can really help you to hold onto hope for the future.  

Heart Psychotherapy Services

  • Individual art therapy

    I offer individual art therapy sessions for children, young people and adults in need of emotional support.

  • Group art therapy

    Small art therapy groups of up to six people can provide a safe space for individuals to express their emotions via art making whilst fostering a sense of belonging.

  • Psychoeducational group sessions

    Pysychoeducation involves learning about and understanding mental health and wellbeing. I provide small psychoeducational groups for primary and secondary school children, as well as adults around grief and loss, stress and anxiety, gender identity etc.

  • Introduction to art therapy sessions

    Heard of art therapy but want to learn more? I provide introductory sessions about art therapy and how it works. These sessions can be either in person or online and have the option of experiential art making at the end.

  • Online art therapy

    If life makes it difficult for you to attend art therapy sessions in person, online sessions via Zoom might be more suitable for you. You will need a device suitable or video conferencing, a stable internet connection and a small selection of art materials.

  • Art making for wellbeing/mindful art making sessions

    If you or a loved one enjoy art making, an ‘art with heart’ session provides an opportunity for you to engage with a variety of materials to improve general wellbeing. These sessions are also available for groups of employees from various organisations.

Benefits of art therapy

Therapeutic relationship

Developing a positive therapeutic relationship with a therapist where confidentiality is assured can feel very empowering.

Joint art making

Making art alongside the therapist can help to make you feel much less anxious and self conscious regarding art making.

Doesn’t rely on words

In some cases, words can be too painful. There may be no words to explain how you feel. Art therapy is unique in that it can bypass words, expressing yourself and your emotions within the art making.

Explores emotions

The tactile use of art materials can help you to develop self-awareness in terms of how you are feeling, and help you to regulate your emotions.

Increases self esteem

Having a safe space to explore your feelings can prove really cathartic, reinforcing feelings of self-worth and competence.

Reduces anxiety

Clients who engage with heart psychotherapy often comment how the use of art materials whilst not feeling any pressure to make eye contact can feel very calming, helping to reduce stress, anxiety, low mood and depression.

Parent feedback

“Gentle, friendly, welcoming. It has been a great experience for my daughter and we are using many of the tactics taught to help her to regulate.”

Client feedback

“I liked how I could speak freely without feeling judged. I also like that art and writing things we did.”

How it all works

  • If you think art therapy might the right fit for you or a loved one, drop me an email at heartpsychotherapy@outlook.com. We will then arrange a suitable date and time to have a chat via the telephone or we can communicate via email - whatever you feel most comfortable with.

  • During our chat/correspondence, I will ask for some brief information regarding what the presenting issues are, and whether you have engaged in therapeutic support in the past. Our confidential chat will provide you with an opportunity to ask any questions that you might have. If you would like to proceed, I will then email you a referral form to complete.

  • I will email you the link to a short referral form which you submit online., This asks for a little more information about you/the person you are referring, such as address, date of birth, whether there are any medical needs for me to be aware of and a little more regarding any mental or emotional challenges you might be experiencing.

  • Once I have received your referral, we will decide on a suitable date and time for an assessment session. This is a taster session for you to get a feel for whether art therapy is the right fit for you. We will discuss the therapeutic agreement and I will introduce you to the art materials.

  • If, after the initial session you would like to proceed, we will try to see each other at the same time on a weekly basis. I will always take my lead from you. As the work progresses, we will review the work to see whether you are finding the sessions helpful. If you find it is not proving helpful, I can signpost you to other support services that may be more suited to your needs.

  • When you feel like you have achieved what you wanted to achieve as part of your engagement with heart psychotherapy, I will invite you to review the artwork you’ve made if this feels right for you when we have our final session. I invite you to complete a short evaluation via email afterwards, giving you an opportunity to provide feedback on your experience.