Adults and children may find it difficult to talk about how they feel or know how to express the feelings that are causing them distress. They may find it easier to use a nonverbal method of communication such as the use of art materials this, may allow a connection between the client, the art object, and the art psychotherapist and whilst reflecting on the image and engaging in dialogue with the therapist, the client may discover and make sense of an experience that has previously been causing them sorrow and emotional distress.
Art materials and the process of making art is a tactile, sensory way of helping someone to communicate difficult thoughts and feelings into becoming a tangible object that may then be reflected upon by art maker and the art psychotherapist. Art made by the client is not judged on aesthetic capability, the ability to make a mark on a peice of paper is the first step toward emotional healing.
There is a complex but innate relationship between art materials, the process of making art and the inherent healing properties that are central to art psychotherapy practice. As a Master of Arts with a degree in Art Psychotherapy, I am a member of the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT) . Each of these organisations have a code of ethics of professional practice which each art psychotherapist adheres too.I also have an Enhanced DBS certificate.
At the University of Derby, the undirected psychodynamic approach to art therapy is taught, thereby allowing an open, unbiased approach to art making conversation and cognition. This includes all the theories in psychology that see human functioning based upon the interaction of drives and forces within the person, particularly the unconscious and between the different structures of the personality. Sigmund Freud's psychoanalysis was the original psychodynamic theory, but the psychodynamic approach encompasses all theories that were based on his ideas. e.g. Carl Jung (1912), Melenie Klein (1921), Alfred Adler (1927), Anna Freud (1936) and Erik Erikson ( 1950).
My experience is working with adults and children who suffer from psychological disorders such as behavioural and emotional difficulties, mental health conditions and people who have suffered trauma or complex trauma
