What is Art Therapy?

A creative, gentle, and research-supported path to emotional healing and self-understanding.

Art therapy is a specialized form of psychotherapy that uses creative expression to support reflection, emotional processing, healing, and personal growth.
It blends the fields of psychology and the arts to help people improve their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.

Art therapists are trained clinicians who guide clients through creative processes using materials such as drawing, painting, clay, collage, movement, writing, and music.

These creative methods become tools for communication, regulation, insight, and transformation — especially when words are not enough.

“Art therapy is a broad term with deep roots. When properly facilitated, it can draw on our innate creativity to help us heal, grow, and transform.”

- Canadian Art Therapy Association

Why Art Therapy Works

Creativity is a language — and it often speaks more clearly than words.

Through colour, shape, rhythm, and movement, clients can express inner experiences that feel difficult to articulate verbally. Research shows that art therapy fosters:

feelings of participation and connection
dignity and independence
emotional safety
self-fulfillment
insight and integration

Art therapy is not about artistic skill. It’s about using creativity as a doorway into clarity, emotional balance, and self-expression.

What Art Therapy Really Looks Like

When people hear “art therapy,” they often think of arts & crafts.
But the work is much deeper than that.

In art therapy, art means creativity of all kinds:

Draw • paint • sculpt • stitch
Dance • sing • write • bead
Build • engineer • DJ • deconstruct • explore

Here, creativity becomes a bridge between your inner world and your outer experience — a way to explore feelings, fears, dreams, and insights safely and playfully.

Benefits of Combining Art + Psychotherapy

Art therapy supports clients by helping them:

Make the invisible visible

Give form to emotions, thoughts, and experiences that feel hard to express.

Build emotional literacy

Use colour, shape, and symbolism to understand and regulate feelings.

Self-regulate through the creative process

Art-making supports nervous system regulation and reduces overwhelm.

Co-regulate in relationship

Non-verbal expression helps build trust and emotional safety.

Experience fuller self-expression

Creativity allows space for authenticity, confidence, and clarity.

Access deeper insights

Symbolism and imagery help surface subconscious knowledge.

Engage in hands-on meaning-making

Art becomes a tool for exploring challenges and rehearsing solutions.

Create art as an exercise in creating life

What you practice in art — grounding, experimenting, expressing — becomes what you practice in everyday life.

Who Is Art Therapy For?

Everyone is creative — and everyone can benefit from art therapy.
No art experience is required.

Art therapy is available in-studio, online, or at home, making it accessible to a wide range of clients.

Children (5+) & teens

Adults & seniors

People of all abilities, backgrounds, and identities

Anyone curious about self-expression, emotional regulation, or personal growth

Clients navigating stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, trauma, grief, life transitions

People with or without psychotherapy insurance coverage

Basic art materials (pencils, markers, paper) are all you need. Additional supplies can be provided or mailed at cost.

What to Expect in a Session

Each session is personalized and integrates both creative and therapeutic processes.

The focus is not creating a perfect (or imperfect!) product.
It’s about connection, process, reflection, and insight.

Art therapy encourages presence, grounding, and curiosity—helping shift attention from past or future worries into the “OKness” of the present moment.