I am an Art Psychotherapist - HCPC Registered.
I have over 30 years experience as a practitioner with individuals and groups:
art psychotherapy, promoting mental health and creativity;
working with those experiencing a wide range of life issues. For example: stress, depression, mental health problems, loss / bereavement, relationship issues, attachment issues, identity issues, work-related problems, abuse, sexual issues, eating problems, trauma, vicarious stress / trauma, suicidality, self-harm, cancer care, palliative care etc.
I am a full member of the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT).
My approach and integrative framework is 'trauma-informed pluralistic art psychotherapy & psychotherapy'.
I adhere to the HCPC's (2016/2024) Standards of conduct, performance and ethics and work within the HCPC's (2023) Standards of Proficiency - Arts Therapists.
Related links:
"Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses art media as its primary mode of communication." (British Association of Art Therapists, BAAT)
For more details, see BAAT's summary: What is Art Therapy?
My art psychotherapy approach is pluralistic with a core which is person-centred, relational, collaborative and trauma-informed and informed by diverse theories, e.g. humanistic, systemic, environmental, psychodynamic / attachment, existential / transpersonal, & CBT.
Practice in art therapy / art psychotherapy requires "a coherent approach" (HCPC, 2023). My 'coherent approach' features a coherent whole which has:
a CORE FOUNDATION of good governance (the roots) - laws, ethics (HCPC, BAAT), and governance related HCPC standards and BAAT guidelines. Plus quality assurance and clinical governance processes. This foundation supports and nourishes:
an integrative framework (the trunk & branches) which, in my case, is 'trauma-informed pluralistic art psychotherapy & psychotherapy' (Sibbett, 2003, 2014, 2016, 2019), a synthesis of pluralistic counselling / psychotherapy (Cooper & McLeod, 2011, 2015; McLeod, 2015, 2018; McLeod & Sundet, 2016; Cooper & Dryden, 2016), trauma informed care principles (SAMHSA, 2014; Sweeney et al, 2016)., and Clarkson's (1995, 2003) five relationship integrative psychotherapeutic framework. This framework gives the guiding rationale for practice, i.e. for why, when and how I use and integrate the various:
diverse ELEMENTS (leaves / foliage) of evidence-based theories and their associated interventions and other practice related competences.
This is based on a relational integrative model of health, grounded in eco-biopsychosocial and systemic models, earth-caring values, and common factors research. It is a humanistic approach, informed by other evidence-based theories such as psychodynamic and attachment, systems, ecopsychology etc. It also encompasses eco practice: promoting eco-creativity and a reciprocal caring relationship with and for the rest of Nature.
I mainly use a metaphor or symbol of a tree to represent coherent approach featuring a coherent whole with its governance CORE supporting and nourishing an integrative framework guiding the diverse ELEMENTS of evidence-based theories and associated practices.
See Pluralistic Art Psychotherapy & Psychotherapy for more details.
Coherent approach
Tree metaphor:
a coherent whole
with a
GOVERNANCE CORE
supporting an
INTEGRATIVE FRAMEWORK guiding
diverse ELEMENTS
“I maintain that there is a desperate social need for the creative behaviour of creative individuals.”
(Rogers, 1996: 347)“The mainspring of creativity appears to be the same tendency which we discover so deeply as the curative force in psychotherapy - man’s tendency to actualise himself, to become his potentialities.”
(Rogers, 1996: 350-351)“Creativity is as important now in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status.”
(Sir Ken Robinson)