What is art therapy?

Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses the creative process of making something to help people express and understand how they think, feel and act. Clients are invited to use all kinds of art materials to express whatever is on their mind without having to use just words. For many people, the opportunity to express themselves through art allows difficult or less familiar thoughts and feelings to come out. Once thoughts and feelings are in the artwork, the client and the therapist can look at them together, and come up with creative ideas around what the client would like to do with the thoughts and feelings. Art as Therapy uses a strengths-based relational approach, meaning that we believe that our clients already have what it takes to face challenges. Our role is to be the assistant as clients recognize and tap into their strengths and powers.

Who can benefit from art therapy?

Art as Therapy works with clients of all ages, from children as young as 3 years to adults as old as 103 years! Art therapy is often a great fit for children because their most familiar and natural form of communication is play. They are still learning and figuring out what words mean, but they understand things visually and concretely. Art therapy is also great for anyone who may feel a bit nervous about the idea of going to therapy or hesitant to share about experiences, and may enjoy the opportunity to be active and do something during the session.

Does the client have to be an artist?

No artistic experience or talent is needed. What’s important is the experience of making something instead of how it looks when it’s finished. There are no rules for how to create art in art therapy and anyone can enjoy the benefits of the creative process.

Who interprets the client’s artwork?

It is up to clients to decide what their artwork means. Art therapists are specially trained to look at artwork with curiosity, and to ask questions that may help the client to reflect on what the artwork means to them. The artwork is a starting point for the art therapist and the client to explore together and make connections to the client’s experiences outside of the art therapy sessions.

Isn't it just like an art class?

Art therapy is very different to an art class in that I am not an art teacher and it is not the intention of an art therapy session to teach you anything about making art. You may learn about new materials or ways of being creative as a result of art therapy sessions but this is not the aim. The aim of an art therapy session is to learn more about yourself.

What kind of art will the client make?

Art materials and tasks will be different depending on the age and current experiences of the client, but you can expect to encounter all kinds of things like paper, pencil crayons, markers, pastels, paint, fabric, clay, recycled materials, watercolours, and of course glitter!

Will the art therapy sessions bring up big feelings?

It is possible that the therapeutic process can bring up big feelings, especially if the client has had some traumatic experiences. Art-making can sometimes tap into the subconscious and can bring memories or feelings to the surface that may have been inaccessible before.  This is very important for healthy emotional processing and for working through challenging experiences in an adaptive way. Art therapists are specially trained to know how art-making can evoke feelings, and to help contain big feelings within the frame of the session. That being said, sometimes feelings and sessions in themselves are very intense and can leave the client feeling tired or overwhelmed. It can be hard work to think and talk about feelings, especially difficult ones. It is important for parents, caregivers, and service providers to be aware of this. After a challenging session it may be helpful to offer the client a little bit of extra TLC, or to engage in an intentionally relaxing or soothing activity. If possible, we recommend scheduling some down time after art therapy sessions just in case the client experienced the session as emotionally challenging. The art therapists will do their best to give you a heads up if it has been a particularly challenging session, and they are always available via phone or email if parents or caregivers are noticing an impact at home and have questions or could use some support in supporting their child or loved one through this process.

How long is an art therapy session?

Each art therapy session is 60 minutes in long, so just less than an hour.

How much does an art therapy session cost?

The fee for the first initial consult and subsequent sessions is $175.00. Fees are subject to change.

 fter four sessions we provide feedback sessions to parents and or caregivers. The cost of our Parent consult meetings are $130. This meeting is typically an hour an length.

How many sessions will a client need to attend?

The number of sessions is determined by the individual needs of the client.

For parent(s) or caregiver(s) bringing their child(ren) we provide a parent feedback session after every four sessions the child has. This allows us to receive valuable information from the parent(s) and or caregiver(s) on how they feel the therapy is going. It is an opportunity for us to receive and provide suggestions and ideas on ways to best support the child or children. We believe that collaborating with caregiver(s) and parent(s), leveraging on their expertise, as well as using the knowledge and experience that we have, provides the highest level of therapy care for the child(ren). This is a way for us to provide support and pass on knowledge about the mind and child development to the parent(s) or caregiver(s).

What is your Confidentiality policy

Confidentiality is very important to us and an ethical obligation. So we take great steps to ensure we keep all information that you or your child provide confidential. There are limits to confidentiality, please see below. There are four conditions under which the law requires therapists to break confidentiality:

*If we discover that a child is being sexually abused, physically abused or neglected, we are required to report to the Children’s Aid Society. *

If we discover that another registered health care professional (e.g. psychologist, physician, dentist, etc.) has sexually abused a patient or made sexually inappropriate remarks in front of a patient, we are mandated to report that individual to his or her governing body. However, we will not provide your name without your permission in writing.

If we judge you or your child to be at imminent risk of harming yourself or another person (e.g. if you report to us that you are acutely suicidal or that you are going to take another person’s life), we are required to take action to protect you or the other person (e.g. by warning the police, your family, or the other individual).

If I bring my child or teen to art therapy how does confidentiality work?

For parent(s) and caregiver(s) who are bringing their child or teen to art therapy, we keep what they share with us confidential, as it helps the child or teen to build trust in the therapist. That said, as a parent you will be curious about what your child is feeling, thinking and sharing, and so if there is something you need to know we will share the information with you. Our aim is always improve or enhance communication with the child and their parent(s) or caregiver(s). Obviously if your child is in any danger we will share this immediately.

We really appreciate collaborating with parent(s) or caregiver(s), so while we may not be able to tell you word for word what your child or teen said in a session, we are happy to provide general feedback, so you will know how things are progressing. This general feedback can be provided with a short phone call after the session as well as parents have the opportunity to book a detailed feedback session after every four sessions a child or teen has had. These feedback sessions will give you valuable information on how to best support your child in all their environments, be that at home, school or other spaces that they spend time in.

What does end of therapy (termination) look like at Art as Therapy?

Termination is a natural part of the therapy process. Client's often decide to reduce frequency, take a break or end their therapy with their current therapist for a variety of different reasons. At Art as Therapy we consider the client to be the expert and are always ready to listen and support our clients with what they need. We believe that having the appropriate amount of time to prepare for a proper termination is as important as building trust at the beginning of therapy. The time it takes to bring therapy to a proper closure will be different for each individual. We will never be personally offended if you choose to end your working relationship with us, that said, if you feel comfortable, we appreciate knowing, so we can support your decision in the most intentional way possible. This conversation, while difficult will allow us the opportunity to address any concerns in the service provided and provide after therapy care, which may include linking you with resources or referrals to other professionals if required.

A note for parents and allied professionals on termination:

A major part of the work in therapy is embedded in the relationship between the client and the therapist. Bringing that relationship to an end can bring a lot of feelings for the client. It is very crucial for them to be able to work through these vulnerable emotions in a safe space with the therapist. Termination may be especially difficult for children who have experienced disruption in their attachment relationships. Parent / caregiver feedback sessions are a great place to talk to your child's therapist about frequency of sessions, termination and the best way to support them through the process. A mindful termination provides opportunity to build skills around saying goodbye, celebrate and highlight their successes, review all their artworks and contribute to their self esteem.

New Clients

 Interested in learning more about art therapy or setting up an appointment? Here’s what the process will look like and what to expect along the way.

When you call or email us, you will have the opportunity to briefly share what brings you to art therapy and to learn more about what we have to offer. If you are interested in moving forward, we will arrange an initial consult. This is a one-hour meeting where the therapist, the client, or the caregiver of a child or teen client will have a chance to talk. This meeting is when you can share in more detail about what is bringing you to art therapy. The therapist may ask some questions about the clients’ experiences growing up in order to understand more about their current experiences. This is also a chance for the client to ask questions and learn more about who we are and what we do. The therapist and the client or caregiver then work together to come up with some goals and to make a plan for how Art as Therapy can best support the client. After the initial consult, the first art therapy session can be arranged. Frequency, scheduling, and number of sessions can all be discussed at the initial consult.