Lorna Giézot

How does art therapy work?

Art therapy can help explore and process feelings. We all have feelings that are sometimes difficult to put into words. Making art can help express emotions. The artworks made in art therapy can also safely hold these emotions until we feel ready and able to talk about them, or think about them. Art therapy can sometimes be difficult, but it can also be fun, and help people to feel more confident and relaxed.

The first few sessions are about getting to know each other and establishing if art therapy feels suitable. We explore and agree on what will make the sessions feel safe. This includes keeping to the times and days of the sessions, confidentiality, and who is and isn’t allowed in the art therapy sessions.

The art therapy sessions are led by your child. I will make sure they feel safe and comfortable, and will let them know that their privacy is supported and respected. Art therapy sessions and my clinical supervision are confidential. I will always explain to your child if I am worried about something where I need to let another trusted person know, and check that they understand this.

When it is time for art therapy, I will greet you at reception and walk to the art therapy room with your child. Each session starts with a check-in to understand how they are. At the end of the session I will bring your child back to reception and say goodbye and confirm when we will next see each other.

Sometimes in art therapy sessions people don’t want to talk and prefer to be creative straight away. Some people may prefer to begin with talking and be creative later, or continue to focus on talking. We may have a conversation and ask each other questions. I may ask questions during the creative process about what is being made, and sometimes ask what the process of creating feels like. This helps me gain a deeper level of understanding of how that relates to what’s happening within the emotional world of your child. 

Over time, art therapy can help your child and I understand together how personal situations and experiences can be represented in creative responses made in art therapy, and how making changes in one can support meaningful changes in the other. 

All the artwork made in art therapy is safely looked after and kept very securely in between sessions. At the end of art therapy, some people choose to take their artwork with them, or leave it with the art therapist to look after for a period of time which I will discuss with you. Some people choose to leave it with their art therapist to carefully dispose of. If art therapy could be helpful again at another point in life it can be returned to.