Creative learning

grows a culture of empathy & resiliency

Gillian's purpose & vision is to help people creatively integrate the

wisdom of the body, mind, spirit, & soul through Art psychotherapy &

Massage therapy.  These 2 modalities strengthen constructive

creative change through building empathy and resiliency.

Creativity is fundamentally heart-centered!  It is about loving what you do!  I am witness to children living in a techno culture that are devoid of touch.  Children need more than ever to learn how to feel sensations and connect with their body in a loving, self-caring, empathic, and gentle way.  I believe vitality, creativity, affectivity, empathy, and spirituality are the building blocks for emotional intelligence, literacy, resilience, and purpose.  These human and spiritual qualities re-humanize the creative learning process. 

When you feel grounded in your body and connected with your own emotional waters you are in the flow of your river, and fluidly move towards your purpose with flexibility, ease, and grace.  This is the place of your creator source-your inner magical playful child - the place of your worth and value.   Learning to live from your creator source deeply touches the heart and soul of what matters in your life, relationships, and friendships.

When a person restores their capacity to play, the exploration of creativity begins to flow naturally.  Some people feel safer using art to connect with sensations and express their feelings, as opposed to verbalizing with words.   Creativity enables silence and a deeper communication with your creator source. Verbal dialogue with your image or object only happens as a result of your investment in your creation.   There is no previous art training required for a child, adolescent, or adult to access art psychotherapy. The  only prerequisite is curiosity and the desire to play, explore, laugh, cry, and grow!

What is the distinction between Art therapy & Art psychotherapy?

Art therapy or 'art as therapy' supports creative expression and image making through the use of diverse materials.  Whereas Art psychotherapy is an in-depth exploration of the meaning within images and object relationships.  This is a creative and integrated body-mind approach to psychotherapy, healing, and transformation. Your image represents unconscious blind-spots or hidden areas, which may be sabotaging your life or relationships.  Your image helps you clearly see and creatively problem solve any area in your life.  As a result, you learn to trust your heart and align it with your mind which speaks the wisdom of your body sensations, feelings, and emotions.

The art psychotherapist does not interpret your images but rather encourages you to explore, play, and share meaning without criticism or judgment.  This builds empathy, respect, trust, and emotional safety in a relationship.  Then you strengthen the real experience of being connected, listened to, and understood. You experience a oneness-a sense of belonging in the world which is a shared reality.  Art psychotherapy therefore supports emotional literacy, human diversity, creative potential, and development of empathy through creative learning processes, which fundamentally integrate both visual and verbal right-brain and left-brain functioning.

Gillian has 15 years of Art psychotherapy & 6 years of Massage therapy

experience working with children, adolescents, adults, parents, couples,

& aged.  

The holistic approach of Art psychotherapy combined with Massage

therapy in separate sessions is highly effective in the treatment of 

depression, anxiety, post-traumatic-stress disorder, panic attacks, grief, 

hypersensitivity, emotional eating disorders, sexual abuse, &

psychosomatic pain.  

Art psychotherapy Benefits & Outcomes

• Releases blocked creativity, tension, and stress in the body
• Strengthens identity, resiliency, self-love, self-esteem, and confidence
• Actualizes potential and capacity for creative learning
• Improves ability to differentiate assertion from aggression
• Fosters acceptance, tolerance, and trust in diversity
• Increases respect for boundaries of safety
• Nurtures a sense of belonging to a communiity of care
• Develops affective bonds between people which support empathy
• Grounds creative expression of emotions, feelings, and thoughts

 

Are You Ready to Invest in Creative change?

Wortley Wellness Centre

119 Wortley Rd., London, ON, N6C 3P3

 2 hrs Adult/parent:  $127.50 + $16.57 (HST) = $144.07