Every session is different, shaped by your needs, and what's alive in you on the day. The following is an example of how a session might unfold:

Arriving

We begin by coming back to the breath. A simple grounding exercise to settle into your body. Sometimes, if it feels right, I'll introduce music and invite you to move with it as a way to feel what's present before we put words to anything.

Making

From there we might move into making. I'll offer a few options — materials, prompts, a direction — and follow your lead from there.

The making phase isn't about technical skill or producing something finished. It's about what happens in the process. Together we inquire into what surfaces. This can be as light or as deep as you are ready to go and often there is a natural flow from making to inquiry to insight, to further making, and deeper insight. I will always bring curiosity and avoid interpretation of your expressions. You will know better what holds meaning for you.

Closing

We close by forming a sentence or image of what you now know. We might photograph what we’ve made, including details, notes, words and phrases that feel important to you. Over time, these images become a visual record of your journey and insights across sessions.

After the session

Within a day or two I'll send you personalised reflections and resources connected to what arose in our session — something to carry with you as you move through your week.

Building a body of work

As we gather work across sessions, we begin to cluster — grouping images, themes, and patterns that emerge across your creative process. From there we move toward a creative synthesis: working together to distill what you've come to know. It is inspiring and often a profound experience to look back on all you have arrived at through your own creative intelligence.

Even if you don't know it yet, you are creative — because you're human. If you don't have a creative practice, you may actually find it easier because there's less to unlearn. Expressive Arts Therapy invites us to set aside what we think we know about creative expression, freeing us to engage with the arts exactly as we are.

In talk therapy, words are the primary medium. You describe your experience, and together you and your therapist make meaning of it through conversation.

Expressive Arts Therapy opens up more ways in. Rather than describing what you feel, you might also draw it, move it, sound it, or shape it in clay. This can be particularly powerful for experiences that are hard to articulate — or that live in the body rather than the mind.

That said, talking is still part of the work. We reflect together on what emerges, and conversation is woven throughout. So Expressive Arts Therapy doesn't replace talking, it gives us more colours in our palatte to work with.

This is different for everyone and depends on what you're bringing to therapy and what you're hoping to explore. Some people come for a handful of sessions around a specific life moment; others find ongoing therapy becomes a meaningful part of their lives. We'll talk about this together and review as we go — there's no pressure to commit to a set number upfront.

Just yourself. I bring all materials. If we're working online, I might suggest having some simple things around you — paper, pens, objects that feel meaningful — but nothing needs to be purchased or prepared in advance.

You're welcome to. Emotion is often a sign that something important is present. I'll be with you in it to help you be with and process any difficult emotions. There's no expectation to go anywhere you're not ready to go.

Yes. What you share in sessions stays between us. There are a small number of legal and ethical exceptions to confidentiality, such as if I have serious concerns about your safety or the safety of someone else.

Yes — expressive arts therapy can be particularly well suited to young people. The arts offer a way to express what's hard to say directly, which is often exactly what teenagers need. I work with teens from 13 years old. For under 18s, I'll have a brief conversation with a parent or guardian before we begin, and we'll discuss confidentiality boundaries together so your young person feels safe.

Yes, I offer sessions via Zoom for those outside Hobart or who prefer to work from home. Online sessions work well and we can still draw, write, move and work with objects around you. Some clients find the safety of their own space works best for them. I’ve found the digital space has its own creative possibilities too.