Toni Jackson
Counselling & Psychotherapy for the Misunderstood
Art Therapy: What Is It And How Can It Help?
Art therapy uses various creative means, such as drawing, painting, clay work, sculpture building, sand tray and sewing, within a therapeutic relationship. It is a means of expressing ourselves and exploring our emotions and issues, in a way that is not necessarily verbal.
This way of working can be extremely beneficial for:
• Young people
• Those who find it difficult to talk about emotions
• People who have experienced grief or trauma
• Creative people
• Those interested in working on a deep, intuitive level
• People who feel a bit stuck, or who have found that talking about their issue has not helped
Art therapy taps into our subconscious. It reveals parts of ourselves we may be unaware of; and has the ability to provide us with answers that our cognitive processes – our thoughts – could not.
How to Relax: Kids and Anxiety, Stress and Anger
Do you have a child who struggles with anxiety, stress or anger? It can be particularly difficult for some children (and some adults) to regulate their emotions.
I thought I’d share some of the activities I’ve found useful in my work with anxiety and anger. Most of the activities in this post are directed at young people, however, many of them can also be helpful to adults. In fact, I often suggest my clients get their whole family involved! The whole point of these exercises is to become relaxed, calm and have fun.
1. ‘Just Breathe’ is a beautiful, short video of kids describing their experiences of feeling angry and how they calm themselves through taking deep breaths.
By Julie Bayer Salzman and Josh Salzman – Wavecrest Films.
2. The Smiling Mind App
This is a free, Australian web and app mindfulness program, developed by psychologists specifically for young people. It’s very easy to use and only takes 10 minutes to do. I’ve introduced Smiling Mind to many young people who really love it and use it daily. Ten minutes to a more relaxed you! Read More
Art Therapy Workshops For Women
If you are a woman who is interested in moving forward with an issue you are struggling with, or in delving deeper into exploring what you want from life, this series of Art Therapy Workshops may be a great place to start.
The workshops will be held in a beautiful hall, located in the gardens of the Mundaring Wellness Centre. The evenings will be facilitated by myself and two colleagues – one of whom (Dianne Smith) is in the final stages of completing her studies in Transpersonal Art Therapy.
You do not need to consider yourself ‘arty’ to participate!
I have worked with many clients over the years who did not consider themselves creative and yet have had profoundly meaningful and transformative experiences through art therapy.
If you are interested in participating, please contact myself, or one of the other facilitators mentioned in the flyer above.
Toni 🙂
Toni Jackson 