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Photo by Nicola POWYS  on Unsplash Art therapy can offer people living with schizophrenia a meaningful, stabilising and expressive space. The aim is not to interpret or challenge their internal experiences directly, but to gently support grounding, emotional regulation, identity, and connection. Schizophrenia can involve disruptions in thinking, perception, sense of self, and relating to others. Art therapy provides a non-verbal , process-based  way to access creativity and i

Photo by Robert Harkness  on Unsplash Creativity. Dignity. Voice. Inclusion. Art therapy is a therapeutic practice that uses art-making to support emotional wellbeing, communication, self-expression, and personal growth. For people living with disability, art therapy can be a powerful way to be seen and heard — especially when words are not always enough. In Australia, art therapy can be accessed privately or through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)  when it al

Photo by Sharice Miller  on Unsplash Purpose: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS)  is a self-report questionnaire commonly used in medical, psychological, and therapeutic settings to measure a person’s levels of anxiety  and depression . It’s often used before starting a therapy program , including art therapy, to: Assess baseline emotional state. Identify individuals who may need additional support. Track changes in mood over time as therapy progresses. Structur

Photo Source: ​:  Michael Vallejo, LCSW  ​from  https://mentalhealthcenterkids.com/blogs/articles/window-of-tolerance     The Window of Tolerance  is a concept described by Dr. Dan Siegel , a psychiatrist and researcher in interpersonal neurobiology. It explains how our nervous system  responds to stress and emotion, and how much we can handle while still feeling regulated, present, and able to think clearly . The idea in simple words We all have a “window”  where we feel oka

Photo by Jennie Razumnaya  on Unsplash The Duckett Review is a series of policy papers that look at how to make the NDIS sustainable, fair, and focused on people with permanent and significant disability , while strengthening support outside the NDIS for others who need help. The review does not suggest shutting down the NDIS .Instead, it argues that the NDIS should continue, but change how support is managed and provided  to ensure it remains strong in the future. 1. Clarify

Photo by Marty O’Neill  on Unsplash The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)  provides support to Australians living with a permanent and significant disability. The NDIS offers funding for supports and services that help people build independence, participate in the community, and improve their quality of life. There are around 4.3 million Australians  who have a disability, and over the next few years, the NDIS will support approximately 500,000 people  with disabili

Photo by Andrey Che  on Unsplash Children do not always have the words to describe what they feel, especially when they have experienced stress, change, or trauma. Play and creative arts therapies provide children with alternative languages — the languages of image, movement, sound, and imagination — to express and process their inner world safely. Below are several reasons why creative approaches are particularly helpful and effective when working with children who find verb

Photo by Ana Klipper  on Unsplash Play therapy  is a psychotherapeutic approach  primarily used with children, though it can also be effective with adolescents and adults. It uses play as a medium of communication , allowing clients to express thoughts, feelings, and experiences that they may not be able to articulate verbally. Play is seen as a child’s natural language, and through it, therapists can observe, understand, and guide emotional and social development. 🌱 Core Pr

Photo by Javad Vatanparast  on Unsplash 🌱 Idea and Concept The role  in art therapy refers to the various parts of the self  that a person can explore, express, and transform through artistic creation.It originates from psychodrama  (J. L. Moreno, 1940s), where people act out roles to understand emotions and relationships. In art therapy, this principle is applied visually — through drawing, painting, collage, or sculpture. Art-making becomes a stage , and the client can sa

Photo by Sigmund  on Unsplash As art therapists, we work with people who bring not only their personal stories but also the cultural values and collective memories that shape their worldview. Understanding the cultural context of a client can help us create a more attuned, safe, and respectful space for self-expression. Social and cultural researchers describe three main cultural frameworks related to how societies understand honour, dignity,  and victimhood.  These cultural

Brücke und Schneeberg (Bridge and Snowy Mountain), around 1917-1918 Hermann Hesse, the Nobel Prize–winning author of Siddhartha  and Steppenwolf , turned to painting later in life as a form of personal healing. Around 1916, while struggling with deep depression and personal crises, Hesse began therapy with Dr. Joseph Bernhard Lang, a student and colleague of Carl Jung. Under Lang’s guidance, Hesse explored his dreams and inner imagery — an experience that later influenced his

Comics are a unique hybrid between literature and visual art , offering a bridge between words and images. This medium has its own expressive power, possibilities, and even limitations — and precisely because of this, it can be a deeply therapeutic form of art-making. In comics, sequencing of pictures  and juxtaposition of words and images  create rhythm, movement, and narrative flow. These visual stories can express thoughts and emotions that are often too complex or overwhe

Photo by Happy Face Emoji  on Unsplash Trauma-informed behaviour  for an art therapist means understanding how trauma affects people’s emotions, bodies, and behaviours , and creating a safe, supportive, and empowering environment  for clients who may have experienced trauma — even if they don’t explicitly talk about it. Here’s a breakdown of what that looks like in practice 👇 🌱 1. Safety Create a physically and emotionally safe space  — calm, predictable, and non-threatenin

Photo by Dan Cook  on Unsplash Recently, in a conversation with a colleague about how to select the right therapeutic approach for each individual client, I suddenly said: “Of course, art therapy practices can’t be tested on laboratory mice. We have to rely on the accumulated experience of other art therapists and case studies from real human encounters.” We both laughed, but that moment opened a deeper discussion — about how complex and subjective the process of assessment i

Photo by Ashley Batz  on Unsplash Today I’d like to share a metaphor that came up during a conversation with one of my clients.It beautifully captures how I experience the process of art therapy. For me, an art therapy session is like a surgery room  where a surgeon enters in sterile clothing, gloves, and mask, taking clean instruments and starting a delicate, precise operation. An art therapist  works in a similar way — in a metaphorical sense.They must remain “sterile” tow

Photo by Ashley Batz  on Unsplash In art therapy, every creative choice tells a story — not only through colors and symbols, but also through the space  the artwork occupies. The size of the paper, the openness of composition, and the way clients use the surface can reveal much about how they perceive themselves and their relationship with the external world. 1. The Symbolism of Scale The scale of an artwork often mirrors a client’s inner sense of presence and boundaries.When

Photo by Taylor Heery  on Unsplash The genogram  was first developed in the late 1970s by family therapist Murray Bowen  within the framework of Systemic Family Therapy . Originally, it served as a visual map of family relationships — showing connections through births, deaths, marriages, divorces, cultural backgrounds, health patterns, and life events. Bowen’s approach highlighted how families transmit beliefs, emotional patterns, and ways of relating across generations, sug

Lidia, thank you! I’ve been thinking about what you said yesterday about the occasional sense of detachment. I realized that, especially in the beginning, I had a strong fear of being judged — that I would draw badly, or “wrong,” and so on. That fear wasn’t conscious, probably something ingrained in many Soviet children — “What creativity? Just do it the right way!” Then, gradually, that fear faded because I started to feel safe — no one was judging or “scolding” me. And with

Photo by Sydney Moore  on Unsplash Source: Gilroy, A., Tipple, R., & Brown, C. (Eds.). (2011). Assessment in Art Therapy. Routledge. At Art Therapy Insights, we often refer to established guidelines for assessing which art therapy approach may best suit a client. Gilroy et al. (2011) outline general suitability criteria: Individual Art Therapy – Indicated for: Internalized problems, difficulty articulating feelings, speech/language difficulties, depression, confusion, withdra

Photo by Jason Briscoe  on Unsplash How do art therapists decide what kind of art therapy is best for each person? The process of assessment plays a vital role in helping clients begin their therapeutic journey. Art therapists carefully consider whether an individual might benefit more from one-to-one sessions, a group setting, or an open studio environment. In exploring these questions, we look at how art therapists describe their assessment practices and how they determine