Several years ago, upon request, I designed an Art Therapy course around stress management for clients of a big community counselling center I was working for at the time. The success of this 4-week course was unexpected and, from it, I developed several others on various topics of personal growth and wellbeing. After running these courses for almost 5 years I left to open my own private practice and had to put group work on hold for lack of having a suitable venue. I wasn’t happy about it and I certainly let the Universe know – rather regularly – that I needed a space. And then … In 2020 with all its Covid-constraints and accompanying stress and as a means of personal self-care, I decided to book into an art mentoring class at Studio Yellow in Brisbane’s Bayside Area. The moment I met Natalie (the World’s Best Art Teacher) and saw her space I knew I’d found my answer. The Universe, in Its usual magical and synchronistic way delivered just beautifully. And the rest is history.

The Current ArtFelt Program

So, all that to say, as of October 2020, ArtFelt Conversations will be up and running once again and now available to anyone who has interest in artfully exploring aspects of them self, their life, their goals, mental health issues (anxiety & depression), spirituality, self-care and stress management. I’m also currently designing a course on living with chronic pain and/or auto-immune issues.

Each course (or Conversation) represents a stand-alone, themed exploration and is limited to a maximum of 8 participants. The program offers a safe, confidential space in which you can take time to engage with yourself in a new and novel (yet very powerful and self-revealing way) that offers increased self-awareness, development and personal growth. Each directive is uniquely designed to reconnect us to hope and the immense resources within each one of us. … All of which is very much needed right now, I think, in these unsettling covid times.

But what if I can’t draw?

Here’s the good news, you don’t need to be artistic or able to draw at all to benefit from art therapy because creating beautiful pieces of art is NOT what Art Psychotherapy is about. It’s about putting a basic representation on the page using lines, shapes and colours that speak to the exploration in question. (You can check out my page on Expressive Therapies for more information about what art therapy actually is).