questions?

  • Art Psychotherapy can also be called Art therapy. It is a three way process that focuses on the use of art materials and the relationship between the Art Psychotherapist and the client.

    It uses the art materials to help the client show themselves and other people how they are feeling when they find it hard to do so in words.

    The specially trained, qualified Art Therapist will facilitate understanding of these feelings and assist them in helping themselves.

  • Art Therapy is a universal service and our therapists are trained and able to offer support to all regardless of age, background or ability. However, we specialise in early intervention and systemic psychotherapy and work closely with:

    Children 0 - 11yrs

    Young people 12 - 18yrs

    Parents/Carers

    Families

  • The work of Chrysalis Art Psychotherapy supports the core principles of The Children Act 2004, The Child Poverty Act 2010 and Department for Education by offering individual and group Art Psychotherapy as a form of preventative and early intervention to meet the needs of the client.

    When emotional needs are met in this way, children and young people are better able to learn and develop and this, in turn, affects the wellbeing of the whole family. Art Psychotherapy, as a form of intervention, can assist with an individual’s psychological, emotional, educational, social and physical development.

  • Through the art materials, the art psychotherapist can help clients to explore and look at feelings previously not looked at before, in a less intimidating way than through verbal articulation. Art Psychotherapy attempts to address emotional concerns, potentially leading to improved educational functioning and healthier life choices.

  • Art Therapy is one of the few therapeutic interventions particularly suited to children and young people and, in many cases, results in a reduction of referrals to CAMHS and social care.

    Art therapy has proven to be successful in addressing a number of difficulties, such as:

    Family difficulties - (trauma, abuse, separation, illness, loss, bereavement)

    Pupils in danger of exclusion

    General anxieties

    Pupils/families struggling with learning difficulties or physical disabilities

    Adopted and Fostered children (identity, attachment, loss)

    Depression

    Low self esteem

    Pupils who have suffered bullying

    Eating disorders/self harm

    Pupils and families who are refugees or are seeking asylum

    Phobias

    Pupils with social and communication difficulties

    Cases of family breakdown

    Conflict resolution

    Anger management

  • Using the various art materials to facilitate symbolic expression and storytelling, the client will be given time to create a variety of different images and their sessions could potentially include activities such as working with clay, painting, making a mask, creating a visual journal, assembling a collage or primarily exploring sensory soothing stimuli such as magnetic sand. All of these can symbolically or metaphorically carry different meanings, in order to explore experiences, achieve greater self-awareness and work towards change.

  • Examples of our therapeutic activities include but are not limited to Visual Contracting to establish therapeutic safety and boundaries, Treasure Box/Worry Box to aid the identification and acknowledgement of positive emotions as well as difficult feelings or anxieties, Body Mapping to support the development of self-acceptance and self-awareness.

  • The service remains robust via a number of Quality Assurance measures such as external clinical supervision, the use of nationally recognised evaluation tools, a focus on continued professional development, and by keeping up with changes and improvements to regulations and guidelines set out by our industry regulators, British Association of Art Psychotherapists (BAAT), Health & Care Professionals Council (HCPC) & UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP).