How does the first session look like?
- A warm welcome and an introduction to explain the practice of mindfulness-based therapeutic art making
- A conversation about your specific needs and expectations (safe space, confidentiality, desired outcome)
- A chance to ask questions or express concerns
- The composition of a plan tailored to your needs (for example, you may want to work on expressing the emotions related to a job change or the anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic)
How does a regular session look like?
- Each session is paid in advance and lasts 75 minutes. We first start with a check-in to get up-to-date with your evolution: How did your feelings about the particular situation you are working on evolve after the last session? What are your emotions at the moment? Is there a particular feeling or thought pattern you would like to explore during the current session?
- We then take a few minutes to engage in a mindfulness-based mediation.
- I will suggest a theme or structure to help you start your art making process (for example, drawing the sensations you feel in your body on a human body template, drawing using your nondominant hand only). You then create art in whatever way you feel, using the materials at hand (colored pencils, oil pastels, soft pastels, gouache, watercolor, clay, magazine cutouts).
- At the end, we look together and discuss about the art piece and the process of making it, ending with a positive intention.
- You are encouraged to be self-compassionate and non-judgmental towards your creations.