TRAUMA-INFORMED APPROACH
IN ART THERAPY
Able Art Therapy offers a guided, supportive relationship designed to reduce the risk of overwhelm.
The therapist helps create:
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clear boundaries
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predictable structure
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emotional containment
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opportunities for grounding and regulation
This support allows creativity to be used as a resource rather than something that feels destabilising.
A COLLABORATIVE, THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP
Trauma-informed art therapy is based on partnership. Rather than a hierarchy, the relationship is collaborative and transparent.
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Your knowledge of your own experiences is valued. The therapist brings professional training and care, while remaining open, responsive, and willing to adjust the approach as needed.
SAFETY, CHOICE & CONTROL
Trauma-informed art therapy places safety first — emotional, physical, and relational.
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​You choose:
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what materials you use
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how you engage with art-making
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whether you talk about your artwork or not
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the pace and direction of sessions
The therapist’s role is to support and gently guide, not to interpret your artwork for you or push for insight before you are ready.
ART AS A FORM OF COMMUNICATION
Art can offer a way to express experiences that may feel confusing, fragmented, or hard to put into words.
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This process may support:
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grounding and emotional regulation
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increased self-awareness
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reconnection with your body and senses
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strengthening a sense of agency and voice
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building resilience over time
UNDERSTANDING HEALING IN CONTEXT
Healing is not defined as “fixing” or returning to who you were before. In trauma-informed practice, healing may look like:
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feeling safer in your body
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having more choice in how you respond to emotions
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developing ways to soothe or support yourself
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making sense of experiences in your own time
Art therapy also recognises that trauma does not occur in isolation. Culture, community, history, and systems all shape lived experience.​​