Transpersonal Arts Counselling is a depth-oriented approach that weaves together talking therapy and creative exploration, working with the whole person; mind, body, and spirit. At its heart, it harnesses the creative process as a primary means of expression and exploration, not to make beautiful artwork, but to access feelings, memories, patterns, and insights that can be difficult to reach through words alone. Drawing on the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC), a framework backed by neuroscience, it recognises that different art media and creative processes engage different parts of the brain, offering a uniquely powerful route to self-awareness, emotional processing, and healing. Sessions are tailored entirely to each individual, with the creative and therapeutic processes always in service of the client’s own aims and journey.
Do I need to be artistic?
Not at all. In fact, many people who come to Creative Arts Counselling describe themselves as “not creative” or say they haven’t made anything since school. The creative process has a remarkable way of opening doors to our inner world, helping us to access a deeper knowing, see things from a different perspective, and unlocking abilities and insights we may not have known we had.
Equally, some people who attend sessions are established or practicing artists. Whatever your background, therapeutic creative engagement is an experience that often feels entirely different from making art recreationally or professionally. Here, the focus shifts to your inner landscape and the therapeutic process, and some people find this transition to be one of the most meaningful aspects of the work.
Art media and materials are tools in the therapeutic setting, a way of externalising what’s happening inside. As a Transpersonal Creative Arts Counsellor, I work closely with each client to discover what media they gravitate towards naturally, and what creative processes might best support them in working towards their therapeutic aims.
What happens in a 1:1 session?
1:1 sessions are 60 minutes long. Our first session will involve some initial contracting, giving us the opportunity to discuss your hopes and aims for the work, and to establish a confidential space together. From there, we might begin by talking, or you might go straight to making something, it depends entirely on how you are feeling and where you feel drawn. Some sessions are quite structured, others more fluid and exploratory, I take my lead from you, where you are at, what you need, and how you want to move forward.
I provide support according to each person’s needs, and over time most clients develop their own natural rhythm with the sessions, finding a pace and process that feels genuinely right for them.
In the privacy of our sessions, there is space to slow down, reflect, and hear yourself more clearly, something that can feel rare and precious in the busyness of everyday life. Through a combination of talking, counselling, and creative exploration, I’ll invite you to work with various materials and we’ll explore what emerges together. There’s no pressure to make anything in particular, yet the therapeutic processes and outcomes are often deeply insightful and cathartic.
The therapeutic relationship we build together creates the conditions for genuine dialogue, insight, and the possibility of real and lasting change.
Some people find that 10–12 sessions brings significant and lasting change, others prefer to work longer term. I’m happy to support both, and we can discuss what feels right for you as we go.
Who is it for?
Creative Arts Counselling can support people experiencing anxiety, depression, mental health challenges, grief, trauma, life transitions, relationship difficulties, neurodiversity (whether diagnosed or not), menopause, life limiting illness, frustration, loss, or simply a sense of feeling stuck or that something isn’t quite right. I work with adults of all backgrounds.
If you’d like to find out more, please do get in touch.