Art Therapy
Hello, my name is Tania. I'm the Art Therapist at Stepping Stones North Wales and have been with the organisation for two years. I am dedicated to my work here and passionate about bringing the healing power of creative psychotherapy to our Stepping Stones clients.
Since the charity welcomed me to their team, interest and trust in art therapy as grown to the point where we are offering the service as one-to-one, in-person therapy or online. As demand is growing we are also offering art therapy to small groups in various locations.
The art therapy provision has received wonderful feedback and I hope that it will continue to bring value to the people who we serve.
Art therapy has many similarities to counselling or talking therapies. The difference is that in art therapy we use a variety of creative ways to support communication and self-expression as well as talking. The different ways of communicating can be extremely beneficial often helping people to see things from a different point of view make sense of confusing feelings, soothe the nervous system, and externalise feelings. With art therapy we can sometimes find a different or less threatening way to describe our feelings or life events and this can really help when words fail.
What is art therapy?
Art therapy assures the same level of confidentiality, data protection, and safeguarding as counselling does at Stepping Stones. All therapists and counsellors at Stepping Stones work in a trauma-informed way with the needs of the client placed at the centre of what we do. I am a fully qualified, HCPC registered practitioner with 6 years' experience and I work by a strict ethical and professional code that protects our clients' interests and the interests of Stepping Stones at all times.
Is it safe? Is it confidential?
No, you do not have to be good at art.
Art therapy is not about making good art, it's about self-expression and self-exploration.
Art therapy is not an art class or an art and crafts activity session.
The creative approaches offered will vary depending on your needs.
As well as traditional art materials like paint, pastels and pencils, we might work with poems, sound, the sand tray, clay, fabrics, collage - it depends on what issues you feel that you need to work on and what works for you.
Some sessions might be spent just talking as we get to know each other - there is never an expectation for you to create art.
Do I have to be good at art?
In-person, one-to-one at Wrexham.
Online via Zoom - all that you need is a device such as a laptop or tablet with a good connection and a camera, some basic drawing materials, and a room that is private, undistrubed, and feels comfortable to work from.
Group art therapy - we offer this to small groups of between 4-6 people in the local area depending on demand and availability.
How is art therapy offered?
If you would like to contact Stepping Stones to find out more, feel free to contact me directly ([email protected]) or give Stepping Stones a call and they will forward your details to me. Once I receive your details, I will contact you and we will have a chat about how we might work together.