Underlying Philosophy

Art Therapy - the person-centred way
Bringing the person-centred counselling approach to the therapeutic use of art.

Art therapy is one of the creative modes to keep us away from cerebral, verbal, judgemental processes, and into the here - and - now world of imagination, intuition, inspiration. The paradox applies that by thinking less, it is possible to know more.

By making visible our images, we can tap into material from the subconscious denied to the forefront of our awareness, and gain valuable insights leading to growth, self-awareness and integration.

Some schools of thought believe in interpreting , telling the client the meaning of the image. Images are extensions of the self, made visible in art form. To dialogue with such an image in a person-centred way enables the client to discover the message of the image for him/herself. To reflect back aspects of the image - the size, the colour, the position of the shapes, the use of material, the process of the image-making, that which is missing - can help the client to connect, make a bridge, between the image and the self.

This process can be a safe, visible, keepable, accurate way towards self-awareness. Words, talking about, can have a once-removed flavour; images can offer more immediacy, can enable the client to be less self-conscious, more spontaneous, on every level of development. By bringing the person-centred counselling approach to such image-work, the client can discover the message of the image for her/himself, thus gaining more self-awareness as well as moving towards a more autonomous way of being.