art therapy is a psychotherapeutic practice that uses creative inquiry and expression —such as drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, and other art forms—as a way to explore emotions, process experiences, and support healing. It is based on the idea that making art can help people to explore and communicate thoughts or feelings that might be difficult to express in words.

in a therapeutic context art-making becomes a portal: a space to explore, grieve, and imagine beyond what is. Rather than focusing on artistic skill or finished products, art therapy values the process of making as a way of accessing deeper knowledge, self-understanding, and transformation. For many, it is also a tool for resistance and empowerment, offering a space to challenge dominant narratives, reclaim stories, and imagine new possibilities.

art therapy is a practice of creative liberation from normative restrictive constructs — working to disrupt how white supremacist ideologies, the gender binary, heteronormative-patriarchy, ableism, ageism, diet culture/anti-fatness, and all systems of colonialism seek to disconnect, isolate and diminish us in order to extract and generate profit.

art is a way of remembering otherways. remembering relationships with our bodies, our stories, one another, the land and the more-than-human world. it is a way of resisting the forces that tell us we are made to work, accumulate, and spend and work some more. i believe we are magic! everyday we are figuring out how to live in systems that were never designed for our flourishing.

we are all existing under and, in our own ways, often inadvertently upholding systems of oppression. Art is (now and historically) been an avenue for resistance, remembering, reimagining and recovery. My work is divergent affirming – meaning I do not believe there is only one right way to be, to live, to act. My practice is rooted in supporting people to find their way back to themselves not only as an act of individual healing but also as a necessary contribution to collective healing (rejecting individualism and culture of toxic wellness industry).

the folks I imagine working with are those who may not yet found or have had access to what they need in mainstream psycho-therapy settings or other therapeutic practice spaces. People who feel or have felt excluded, gaslight, invisibilized or pathologized within their experiences with health systems / counselling / therapeutic services. People experiencing anxiety, depression, hopelessness, grief, overwhelm, anger/rage, self-loathing, self harm, suicidal thinking, intrusive thoughts, exhaustion… for very good reasons (read: persistent violence / polycrisis / fascism / oligarchy) who are looking for a way to keep going.

• identity including neuro, gender, relational expansiveness and divergence

• chronic pain/chronic health challenges, disability / changing abilities

• call-in/call-out culture, conflict, accountability in relationships / teams

• relationship dynamics and transitions (including separation and divorce, polyamory/ethical non monogamy/relational anarchy)

• pregnancy (including planning/decision making, loss, abortion)

• parenting (including co-parenting, parenting complex/divergent kids/kids experiencing multiple barriers,school anxiety / refusal, homeschooling/unschooling)

• being in a fat body

• aging, perimenopause, menopause

• overwhelm, burnout, exhaustion, freeze (in general as well as specifically connected to employment, family roles or organizing)

• the unresolvable tensions of being in relationship with a world in crisis.

 I invite imperfection, unlearning and messy transformations – art is not just a reflective process but an active portal to imagining and enacting more just and liberated ways of being.

this is a very hard queqstion for me to answer becasue it has so much to do with you! Some things we often work with (and have the supplies to get started!) are felt, painting, weaving, scribbling, bilateral drawing, photography, nature art, collage, sculpture, mark making, print making, creative writing, poetry, zine making and so much more!

Materials are included in the price of the session, and you are also welcome to bring in or use materials of your own! I personally try and source/use natural fibers as often as possible. We can sort out a materials plan at our first session together.

Here is a list of some materials we could use:

• Recycled papers, newspaper, magazines, packaging, books

• Pens, pencils, chaulk, pastels

• Water colour paints, inks

• Natural and plant dyes, dried fibres

• Fabric, thread, leather, wool, string

• Glue, clay, paster, wooddescription

Art has always been personal and political!

Cultures around the world have evidence of ancient mark making as ritual, celebration, communication, time-tracking, record keeping, wayfinding, storytelling. Art transcends time and language and opens the possibility of other ways of being and knowing.

Here are a few examples of how participating in community based Art Therapy is a contribution towards collective care:

• Relational Healing – Art therapy fosters shared meaning-making, strengthening connection and co-regulation in community settings

• Decentralizing Expertise – Creative expression values lived experience, dismantling hierarchical models of healing and making therapy more accessible

• Liberatory & Political Action – Art can be used for activism, protest, and cultural resilience, supporting mutual aid and decolonial healing practices

• Cultural & Intergenerational Connection – Shared artistic practices can honor ancestry, storytelling, and community wisdom, resisting individualistic and Western clinical frameworks

Creating art requires the use of our bodies and so naturally engages our soma.

Here are a few ways that can be somatically therapeutic:

• Body-Based Expression – Engages sensorimotor pathways through hands-on creation, allowing emotions and trauma to be processed non-verbally

• Nervous System Regulation – Activates rhythmic, repetitive movements (e.g., drawing, sculpting) that support self-soothing and co-regulation

• Embodied Awareness – Encourages tuning into bodily sensations while creating, fostering interoception and emotional connection

• Trauma Integration – Provides a safe container for fragmented experiences, allowing for meaning-making and reconnection between mind and body