Drawing and Talking Therapy is a 12 session Programme aimed at Children, Teens and Adults. 

 

This is a gentle non-intrusive method of working with traumatic experiences and memories. This approach has been found very useful as drawing enables us to express our worries and feelings when we cannot find the courage to bring ourselves to express our emotions and experiences in words. Over time with the help of these drawings and emphatic attention, support and the use of metaphors it will help you or your child reach the stage that you will find that you are able to heal, come to terms with the event/s and move on. 

​

​

How will Drawing and Talking be beneficial?

​

Children can get impacted emotionally by events that happen in their life. These can be events outside the family like friendship problems, bullying or traumatic family events such as divorce/ separation, death in the family, death of a pet or moving to a new school, to name a few. These can impact a child emotionally on many levels. They may start displaying unhealthy behaviours, at school or at home. Sometimes children may not have the necessary language or words to express what they are feeling. At other times they may not want to talk to their parents about it for a number of reasons, so it comes out in other ways, usually negatively, such as anger, violence, sadness, anxiety or withdrawal.

​

The Drawing and Talking Therapy Programme is designed to help the child to draw and express. This in turn helps them to process their worries and anxieties.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Drawing and Talking Therapy will help with 

 

• Traumas experienced through

 

       - Neglect due to drug, alcohol and financial problems

       - Emotional Neglect 

       - Accidents

       - Taken into care

       - Adverse birth conditions

       - Divorce and Separation

       - New partners coming into the family 

       - New Baby (The feeling of not being wanted)

       - Illness

       - Physical/Mental Abuse

       - The burden of being a young carer

• Loss and Bereavement  

• Bullying 

• School Transition

• Selective Mutism

​

What Happens During Drawing and Talking Sessions?

​

The child will work with me on a one to one basis for 30 mins, once a week, over a 12 week period. The sessions will be held at the same time and at the same place each week for continuity. The child will be given a blank sheet of paper and they can draw whatever they like. In online sessions the child may use the white board in Zoom to draw. This will help them to free the right part of the brain (where emotions and worries are stored). This opens them to express their feelings and worries safely, often allowing them to feel better as the sessions progress.

​

The child may or may not, talk during, or after the drawing, but if a conversation takes place, I will only talk about the drawing, without any interpretations or leading questions.

​

Often, as sessions progress the drawings may become progressively ‘healthier’, and by the last session the child will often feel at a much better place than when we started. This is a simple but very effective tool.

​

The drawings will be kept in their folder, and will be held by me for safe keeping, until the end of the 12th session, at which point the child will be handed over the folder for them to keep safe.

​

Other relevant information?

​

The purpose of Drawing and Talking is not to be used as a tool to ‘find out’ what is wrong or why the child behaves the way they do. Drawing and Talking works with the child’s inner world rather than with their conscious, cognitive mind. It is not a behaviour modification technique but can gradually help the brain rework old events and detoxify the memories so your child can start to react to the situations in a different way.

​

This technique should not be used to replace other specialist services, (such as CAMHS, Psychotherapy, Art or Play therapy) but can be used as an interim tool whilst waiting to be seen by CAMHS or other professionals and can also be used after referral has been completed to complement external agencies.

​

​

​

​

​

​