Art Therapy

Hello! My name is Lucy. I am the Art Therapist at Brantridge School.

Art therapy is a psychotherapy that uses art materials to express and manage thoughts, feelings and experiences, supported by a qualified art therapist. This is quite different from art lessons and you don’t need to be good at art. The benefits of art therapy may be seen quickly or take time to emerge; processing feelings and learning life skills often takes time and everyone is different. The therapy will be regularly reviewed and adapted to meet individual needs.

Sessions are either group or 1-to-1 and are held on site at the school; each session lasts between 30 to 50 minutes, at the same time once a week. The therapist and student work together and with art materials to help the student express and understand themselves, their feelings and behaviours and to develop emotional resilience. Artworks are stored at the school; at the very end of art therapy, the student decides what to take home and what to dispose of (the school is unable to store work made once the student has finished art therapy).

Art therapists in the UK must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). This ensures a high professional standard and safe working practice. UK law requires that we have written parent/guardian consent before we begin art therapy with a child. This consent may be withdrawn at any time. A student may themselves decline art therapy or decide to withdraw after they have started. If you have any further questions please contact the school and ask to speak to the art therapist.