Integrative Art Psychotherapy Services

Humanistic Psychotherapy

​For Adults and Adolescents over 18 yrs

Art Therapy

For Adults and Adolescents & Children aged 8 -17 yrs

Clay Field Therapy

For Adults and Adolescents & Children aged over 8 yrs

Humanistic Psychotherapy

I am a Humanistic Psychotherapist which essentially means I believe in the ability of every human to find their ‘true self’ through acceptance and growth of their personal understanding and self-compassion. My core belief takes the humanistic perspective that people have the innate ability to heal themselves and to self-actualise.
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People can feel lost to their ‘true self’ and feel lacking in personal meaning, connection and direction. Psychotherapy offers a safe space to bring these concerns and talk through difficult feelings to find resolution. It is often through facing the parts of ourselves which we often find uncomfortable, too painful or fearful, that we find ways to develop a sense of wholeness. This can be achieved within the confidential alliance with an attuned therapist.
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Art Therapy
Art Therapy is a specialist form of psychotherapy and involves art making as part of the process of therapy.
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The participant creates their own artistic expressions through the use of a variety of art materials and is supported by a trained mental health professional to explore their creativity within a contained therapeutic setting.
It can often be difficult to communicate feelings through words alone so the engagement with art can assist in externalising inner conflicts and problems.  Art therapy can provide an outlet for self-expression, reduce stress, increase self-esteem, develop interpersonal skills, and offer insight to resolve personal issues.  

In Art Therapy the emphasis is on the creative process rather than focused on the end result of an art image or product. The therapeutic aim is in integrating self-expression and finding personal meaning into your individual journey of healing. Sessions are guided by your individual needs and No previous art experience is necessary.
​​Being ‘good’ at art is not important, as simple marks are as significant as a detailed image.
Creative art psychotherapy offers your child or adolescent a safe boundaried space to explore creatively. They may experience positive changes in social & interpersonal relationships, build self-esteem & confidence, emotional regulation, and develop resilience and coping skills for adverse experiences.​

Children & Adolescents
I have experience of working with children and adolescents with a diverse range of emotional, behavioural and developmental issues, and who have been affected by bereavement, loss, abuse, trauma, or illness. 
I have an interest in working with adverse childhood trauma (ACE’s) and attachment issues and I have worked within primary and secondary schools, children in foster care, and children with intellectual disabilities and special needs. I use an integrative therapy approach that encompasses creative arts therapy and trauma-focused interventions in a client-led process.
​The adverse effects of trauma and difficult situations in their life can lead adolescents to feeling a range of challenging emotions, and they may exhibit behaviours that restrict their development and inclusion in school, and/or with their peers and family relationships. Art Psychotherapy is an evidence-based mental health intervention that can support adolescents to process their emotions in a safe therapeutic environment, and gives them the opportunity to develop self-identity and self-confidence. 
Art Therapy fosters the development of healthy adaptive measures to increase the individual’s adversity, resilience and self-confidence, whilst providing supports for positive change in their psychological, emotional, social, and relational development.

​​Clay Field Therapy

A body-focused and trauma-informed art therapy approach. 
The use of Clay in Therapy offers great potential for improving personal & physiological well-being, healing trauma and somatic symptoms, and transforming issues of self-esteem and self-identity for a wide range of client groups.
My extensive studio work with Clay over a 25 year period has afforded me the wisdom of its versatility as a creative material that offers endless possibilities for self-expression, whilst giving the maker the potential to become fully absorbed in the creative process. Clay is a highly malleable and tactile material that responds well to manipulation, it gives shape to thoughts and feelings, and provides a tangible dimension to the experience of free expression. I am passionate about Clay and its versatility as a primal mode of expression, and of its ability to facilitate transformation and growth. Clay is a resourceful, valuable creative medium that can be used as a therapeutic tool in art therapy as well as in other psychological or psychodynamic clinical and recreational interventions. ​

"Clay provides a bridge to the mind and body through the tactile engagement with the felt sense, thus enabling an immediate connection with the unconscious, and provoking a release of previously hidden thoughts and emotions that can be used for self-exploration within the therapeutic relationship."

Helen Griffin MIACAT

Work at the
​Clay Field®

A Sensorimotor Art Therapy approach
​Work at the Clay Field® is a sensory based therapy that was developed by Prof Heinz Deuser in Germany over a 40yr period and is used across Europe in a number of mental health settings, schools and Women’s shelters to facilitate trauma healing. It is suitable for children, adolescents & adults who have experienced trauma & attachment issues. Clay Field Therapy is a body-focused, trauma-informed art therapy approach and powerful tactile modality which supports the individual's active response to their life's story and body memories through the felt-sense. The hands are encouraged through the haptic sense to explore the symbolic world of the Clay Field, where the development of new neurological pathways leads to the transformation of previously incomplete life cycles, and a restoration of life's balance and wholeness.
Clay Field Therapy may be useful for any of the following:
  • Relationship Issues
  • Grief & Loss
  • Attachment & Separation Issues
  • Addiction Behaviour
  • Learning & Developmental Challenges
  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE's)
  • Early Childhood Trauma & Abuse
  • ADHD & ASD Behaviours
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder & Adult Trauma

I am currently in training as a Clay Field Therapist with Cornelia Elbrecht of the Institute for Sensorimotor Art Therapy, Australia, having achieved my Certificate in 'Work at the Clay Field with Children' and studying towards a Diploma in Sensorimotor Art Therapy.

"The impulse is to create...to become ourselves. We find ourselves new from the encounter that comes out of the movement in the Clay Field.”

- Heinz Deuser

Integrative Art Psychotherapy

© 2020 Helen Griffin Therapy