How Creative Counselling Works

How counselling works

I work from a Person-Centred approach, drawing on various therapeutic schools of thought depending on you, on our therapeutic relationship, and on the issues you bring.

My training starts with the Person-Centred, which means you are the expert. I'm not there to give instruction or advice, but to stand alongside you. My training (at the Heartwood Centre for Counselling and Psychotherapy) also includes Gestalt — helpful for staying in the here and now, and for working in ways other than simply talking — and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, which is good for training your brain towards new thoughts, habits and behaviours, and for re-framing perspectives.

We'll meet regularly, for an hour, and talk about whatever brings you to counselling. Often the conversation meanders, or you find yourself surprised at where the focus goes. This is normal.

What Creative Counselling looks like in a session

You're not required to do anything creative in our sessions. I am, first and foremost, your counsellor. Creative techniques are always optional and client-led — nothing is ever required, and you don't need any skill or ability in creative work.

Depending on what feels useful, creative therapeutic techniques might include collage and art materials, imagery, sand, pebbles, buttons, or other creative approaches alongside talking, as a way of exploring things that are hard to put into words.

Working with trauma

I'm always undertaking extra training to work safely in a trauma-informed way. Working safely with trauma means establishing a shared sense of trust first, before going anywhere else. We'll work at a careful pace. You'll never be required to move towards areas that feel unsafe or uncomfortable before you're ready — and that may mean we never work with traumatic material at all.