expressive arts therapy (exat)

ExA is a broad, flexible, and intermodal creative therapy. Any art form can be used within ExA, making it accommodating to folks’ different aptitudes, preferences, or capacities. Often, themes and images that emerge in the art can travel through various modalities.

ExA draws heavily on the imagination. While “imagination” is a word we likely heard more often when we were younger, it remains with us, ready to be accessed. ExA is based on the principle that humans have the ability to resource ourselves if we can remain open to the creative, generative channel that is our creativity.

The role of the ExA therapist is not to analyze, diagnose, or interpret; rather, it is to sensitively facilitate these rendezvous with the imagination. In addition, ExA therapists are trained to establish resources and offer education.

What do sessions actually look like?

ExA sessions are all different, since their content depends on what feels accessible and supportive to you on the day. We can explore particular images and themes through writing, through visual art, through collage, or focus more on tactility, grounding, and breathwork by digging into some embroidery or mending.

My style of spaceholding is down-to-earth and colloquial. My goal is to use my training, life experience, and intuition to support you in feeling more yourself. Exactly how that manifests will depend on the client, but a few areas I frequently draw on are understandings of neurodiversity, nervous system regulation, lifestyle accessibility adjustments, and good ol’ compassion. ♥