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Expressive Arts Therapy is a therapy/counselling approach that facilitates healing through the use of imagination and the arts (such as drawing, painting, collage, photography, movement, sound, storytelling, creative writing, visualization, etc.). Often, within a session, we move between these different art expressions to explore, express, process, discover, clarify, and heal. 

 

You don’t need any artistic background or training to attend a session. The focus of our work is not the product (what you create) but the process (the experience, feelings, thoughts, behaviours, and impulses that arise while creating).

 

Expressive arts therapy is also a way to move beyond words, especially when talking isn’t enough, when it’s too hard, or when we don’t have language for our experience and don’t know what the problem really is. Through the arts, we can express our stories and innermost feelings more honestly and safely, and with more room for surprise, play, and even fun. This is especially helpful when working with trauma. 

 

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Do expressive arts therapists talk with clients?

 

Yes, of course! We will often begin a session with a short check-in and discussion of the difficulty you are experiencing. We will then move toward the arts and the imagination. In the process, you will be invited to reflect; make choices; navigate challenges, limitations and frustrations; express and explore creative solutions and take action; and discover new ways of perceiving and responding to problems. Once the creative process is complete, we will reflect on the ways it relates to the difficulty that you came in with The experiences you have during sessions will naturally influence how you show up outside of sessions.