What Is Art Psychotherapy?

A distinct, HCPC-regulated form of psychotherapy that integrates image-making and reflection within a therapeutic relationship.

When emotions feel hard to express or words seem to fall short, Art Psychotherapy offers a space to slow down, reflect, and connect with your inner life in new ways. Combining relational psychotherapeutic practice with creative exploration, it allows you to work with both images and words to understand yourself more deeply.

I offer sessions in Abergavenny, and online, for those seeking a thoughtful, imaginative, and professionally grounded approach to emotional healing.

Sometimes it’s difficult to explain or think about what we’re going through. Whilst our sessions can still include verbal conversation in the same way as other 'talking' therapies, Art Psychotherapy offers the benefits of image-making and creative process as an additional way to explore what might otherwise remain unspoken. You don’t have to be ‘good at art’. The focus is on meaning, experience, and relationship.

Art Psychotherapists in the UK are registered with the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council), and have undergone master’s-level clinical training. This ensures your therapy is held within ethical, safe, and professionally accountable standards.

During sessions, you may work with drawing, painting, collage or other materials, in addition to talking. The process is client-led, and the use of art materials will be more of a focus for some, and less central for others. Any artwork created is not judged but explored with openness. Together we reflect on what the image evokes, what it may symbolise, and how it relates to your wider life experience.

It’s completely normal to feel hesitant about using art materials in therapy. These feelings can be explored as part of the work, and may mirror similar patterns in other areas of life.

It is not unusual for clients who initially feel unsure about using art materials, to find that it becomes a valuable and transformative element of the therapy as the process develops.

You are not expected to be artistic

There is no pressure to use materials

Feeling stuck or unsure is welcome in the space

Expression unfolds at your own pace

Art Psychotherapy provides a relational and reflective space for emotional processing. It can support those navigating grief, trauma, anxiety, spiritual crisis, or creative block, or those simply seeking a deeper connection with themselves.

This work values imagination, subtlety, and the symbolic nature of experience. It honours the complexity of being human.

I work with Depth Psychology perspective, and my approach draws on Jungian, Psychoanalytic, Pschodynamic, Transpersonal, and Ecopsychology schools of theory and practice. I offer a gentle, non-directive presence, allowing you to discover meaning in your own way, while being supported by careful, reflective attention to the therapeutic relationship.

If you’re curious to find out more, the next step is to arrange an initial consultation, or a brief introductory phone call (free of charge). Please use the contact details which can be found below, and at the foot of each page.

I always respond to enquiries within 48 hours (unless on leave). Please check your 'spam' folder if you do not see a reply, and contact me again if necessary.

Links to further information on this website: