Art therapy is a therapeutic method that contains the visual arts and other tools such as clay, theatre and music as a means to express complex emotions. It is also a method to unleash creativity and learn more about yourself.
The aim is to bring out a ‘well-being’ and stimulate people’s capacity for autonomy and joy. The creative and therapeutic processes are combined to help a person, for exemple, to deal with stress, overcome a phobia, to recreate your inner world after a break-up, a shock, a depression, problems in your relation or professional failure and others. It allows people to get to know themselves in a better way and to improve their potential by becoming aware of who they are through art.
The aim of art therapy is to use a creative setting to enable a person to express themselves more easily.
An art therapy session can take place in a group or individually.
During the session, the therapist will let the persons express themselves through an artistic work and will help them to give meaning to their work.
Art therapy workshops allow the persons to immerse themselves in what drives them on, to understand their habits and behavior, it makes them laugh and cry, in a relaxed, safe and authentic setting. The desired result has not to be aesthetic. The creative experience is more important than the final outcome. Colored pencils, dry and oil pastels, acrylic paint, watercolors, clay, musical instruments, magazines for collages, etc. are available.
Art therapy sessions last, on average, between two and three hours. It is important to note that the time of a session varies depending on the topics and the situation of the person.
The sessions may include a very gentle supporting work with animals, either outdoors or indoors.
Early Trauma
Art therapy allows traumatic memories to be accessed, unlocked and integrated in a gentle and creative way. Our work is mainly focused on children, teenagers and their parents, and adults. Generally, families come to understand their children’s behavior and then work through art therapy within the family dynamic. We thus address early trauma experienced by children and/or their parents (chaotic environments, chronic stress, neglect, tiredness, atypical behavior, depression etc.).
The Sessions
An initial meeting with you is essential. To begin the counselling process, it is necessary to establish some therapeutic goals together.
This allows us to understand and listen to your expectations, needs and fears, and also to discover your talents and capacities. The frequency of our sessions depends on your circumstances.
Each session (between 2 and 3 hours) includes 3 phases, a certain time to connect with the body, then for the creative process and finally the verbal expression, all in a relaxed, calm and safe surrounding.
Depending on the subjects to be worked on, the techniques may vary, including visual expression, theatre, voice, etc.
Each art therapy workshop is creative, different and unique. The inner world and symbolism of each creator is unpredictable and therefore surprising, which means that also each creation is unique. Images from everyday life, dreams or childhood memories often emerge, everything that is waiting to be expressed.
We live with: Pura (therapy dog) and Nala (guard dog), Mucho and Phoenix (black and white Paint Horses), cats Shy (shy and fearful) and Tigi (agile and cuddly), cat Mimo (who brings still living mice as a gift), chickens (Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La and Nudi) and the rabbits Caramel and Café, who roam freely with the chickens on the property, protected by our dogs.
Visitors often feel naturally drawn to a particular animal. You have the choixe to choose and to follow your instincts and your intuition towards an animal. Then we join you to ensure that the approach is successful and safe.
What happens next depends on each individual, each animal and each person, and the relation they create together. Each encounter is therefore different. Interacting with the animals, respecting them, feeding them and touching them calms the visitors and may take them to another dimension of life.
The animals make you smile or even run with them!
Most of our little helpers arrived here after experiencing difficult events themselves. Each of our animals is a survivor of some traumatic events. The horses have a different background as they were part of an therapy center for people with disabilities.