Expressive Arts Therapy
for Adults
You don't need to be an artist. You don't need to make something beautiful. Expressive arts therapy is for anyone who has ever found that words alone don't quite reach what's there — and who is curious about what other languages might.
This work can stand on its own, or sit alongside somatic therapy. What matters is that it meets you where you are.
The philosophy behind this work
This approach is rooted in person-centred expressive arts therapy, developed by Natalie Rogers. At its heart is a simple idea: that creativity is not a talent — it is a fundamental human capacity, and one that can move us towards wholeness when given the right conditions.
Rogers described what she called the creative connection — the way that moving between different art forms (movement, image, sound, writing) allows something deeper to emerge than any single form alone can reach. Each modality opens a door; together, they create a path.
You bring yourself. The art forms do the rest.
What we might use
Visual art
Drawing, painting, collage, mark-making. Not to produce something finished, but to externalise what's internal — giving form to feelings that don't yet have words.
Movement and the body
Gentle, non-choreographed movement as a way of listening to what the body is holding. This isn't dance class — it's an invitation to notice.
Writing and voice
Expressive writing, poetry, journalling, or simply finding words for something that has lived without them. Sound and voice can be included when they feel useful.
Moving between forms
The creative connection happens when we move from one modality to another — drawing what a feeling looks like, then moving it, then writing what changed. This is where something often shifts.
This work may be helpful if
- You find words limiting, exhausting, or not quite enough on their own
- You're carrying something that feels hard to articulate — grief, loss, confusion, a sense of being lost
- You want to explore who you are, or who you're becoming
- You're neurodivergent and find non-verbal or creative approaches easier to access
- You've been in talking therapy and feel something is still out of reach
- You're drawn to creativity but have never thought of it as therapeutic
- You simply want a different kind of space — one that isn't only about analysing
What sessions are like
Sessions are unstructured by design. There's no curriculum, no artwork to finish, no right way to use the materials. We begin where you are — with whatever is most present — and follow what emerges.
I work from a person-centred stance, which means your process leads. My role is to create the conditions for something to happen, and to stay alongside you as it does.
No artistic ability required. No performance. No product.
Over time, you may notice
- Feelings that felt stuck begin to move — not because you pushed them, but because they found a way out
- You develop a different relationship with your own inner life — more curious, less afraid
- Things that were hard to say become easier to know, even if the words come later
- A sense of your own creativity returning — or being discovered for the first time
- More access to what you actually want, need, and value
- Something that felt formless beginning to have shape
Practical details
Book a consultation
If you're curious about expressive arts therapy — whether as a standalone approach or alongside somatic work — you're welcome to book a free 15-minute consultation. We can talk through what you're looking for and whether this feels like a fit.
If you don't see a time that works, send a message and I'll try to accommodate where I can.