Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Art therapy does not only rest on the visual arts, but also any form of creative expression. Some clients don't respond well to drawing and or painting, often giving the reason that they are not 'good' at drawing. Art therapy, or Creative Arts therapy is not about creating a wonderful piece of art work that you can be proud to show your friends and family. It is about the exploratory process of allowing the body to move the limbs, inviting creative expression... Arts therapy - the arts therapy I am interested in, is more concerned with the process, the process the client moved into and through as the creative expression formed...

Client "B" Female
I have been working with this client for 2 and a 1/2 years. She is a bright and (now) willing participant in the therapy process. 'B' is able to articulate how she feels after an art therapy session... " I know what art therapy does for me, I feel soothed, calm and peaceful at the end of the session". During the 2 and a 1/2 years with 'B' we have explored a range of creative interventions - clay, paint, crayon, pastel, glass, textiles, collage, screen printing, sewing, tie dying, and felting (just to name a few). 'B' particularly enjoyed the glass mandala making, tie dying, collage and felting. 'B' now reports that she "looks forward" to her weekly art therapy sessions.
As an art therapist I am grateful to 'B' for allowing me to companion her on her journey from 'old me - to new me'. I have observed her confidence, self understanding, ability to articulate her feelings and thoughts increase.
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About Me

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Drysdale and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Nyrelle Bade currently works as a creative arts counsellor and has a private practice in Melbourne, Australia. She has been developing and facilitating packaged art therapy programs for individuals and groups since 2004. Nyrelle specialises in working with individuals who don't respond to traditional forms of 'talking therapy' or those individuals who feel 'stuck' in their lives. I approach the counselling process in a dynamic, interactive, and collaborative way. Through using a combination of creative arts and flexible communication styles, the counselling process is deepened allowing a release of energy to invigorate professional and personal lives. Nyrelle has experienced in her own life the transformative quality of art making as well as being witness to the healing and restorative qualities of image making with her clients.

Creative Arts Counselling

Art has a long history as a means of expressing the inexpressible through the use of images, symbols, movement and sound which convey a deeper, a broader and more complex message that mere words can describe.

We store memories in images and in the body and so it is through the expression of these images that enables the release of 'stuck' or blocked tension and trauma.

Through the release of this blocked energy, inner resources emerge, insights are revealed, dreams and aspirations become tangible and increased vitality and energy is available to create a more meaningful and rewarding life.

Creative arts counselling cuts through the encrusted outer layer of the problem or issue - bypasses cognitive processes - and connects us directly with the heart of the matter. This process instigates and excites movement towards healing, transformation and change.