
HEY SHAUNA ART THERAPY PRIVATE SESSIONS
I AM NOW OFFERING IN-STUDIO SESSIONS!
…in my new art therapy studio in Fernwood Square. See below/right (depending on the device you’re on) for more information about how I’m unfolding into this ….with collective care & awareness around us still very much living amid a pandemic.
ART THERAPY
PRIVATE 1:1 SESSIONS
PLEASE NOTE that I work with adults only. If you are looking for support for a child/youth I would be happy to make a recommendation.
Art therapy is a combination of talk therapy and art-making… mucking about with art materials, and words, and ideas, and emotions to see how they make you feel. To see how they can bend, and move, and intersect. We’ll dig in. We’ll pause, and express, and notice. We’ll make some space for all of it to unfold, and be. Some space (literal and metaphorical) to breathe – to make a mess, to see, to ask questions, to let yourself feel what you feel… and move through it towards a different sort of understanding. Space for a different kind of conversation, one that enlists creativity and curiosity in understanding YOUR lived experience – in the world, and in your body. A movement forward. Unstuck.
WHO IT’S FOR…
- Maybe you’re looking for a therapist for a regular/ongoing relationship…
- Maybe you’re not sure if you want to commit to ongoing therapy – or you know you don’t , but you’d like to be able to pop by for support when needed.
- Maybe you’re an artist who’s feeling stuck in your art practice …starting it, or getting back to it.
- Maybe you’ve never touched art materials, and want to give it a try, but don’t know where to start.
MAYBE…
- It would feel helpful to get some suggestions and tips for practicing art-making differently, or with more creative confidence, ease, curiosity… setting up a home studio, or creative corner/nook. Suggestions for things to make, art materials to buy, ways to muck with them.
- You’re feeling stuck, and you’d like to try something different …and maybe it’s this, but maybe it’s not, and you have questions.
- You want to define and understand self-care differently, but you don’t know where to start, or what the heck that might look like, or feel like.
- You’re bored, under-stimulated, over-stimulated, overwhelmed, underwhelmed …and you want to try something different, have a different kind of conversation. FEEL different.
- You’re wondering about the legitimacy of self-identifying as Neurodivergent, or you know you are but you don’t know what to do with that fact, where to start.
SOME THINGS YOU MAY WANT TO EXPLORE...
Neurodiversity/Neurodivergence: Support, chat, insights, resources.
Sensory Journaling: The theory, getting started, building/maintaining/using it as a practice and resource (for Neurodivergent or Neurotypical folks).
Artist: Wanting to expand and/or revive your art-making practice. Maybe you’re experiencing a creative block, or lull. Maybe you want to introduce new materials/processes into your practice.
Non-Artist: Wanting to explore art-making for the first time, or just MORE, or differently. Looking for ideas to get started, set-up your space, materials to explore.
You’re stuck: And you want to get unstuck. You’re curious about how you can use art-making as a tool/resource to FEEL BETTER. To feel more creative, more flexible, curious, inspired, connected…
Alignment with personal values: You’re curious about using art to explore liberating yourself from old narratives (and habits) that don’t fit you, your values, your life.
Childfree living: Exploring ways to embrace your choice (or not-choice) to live childfree.
Burnout: Prevention, recovery …moving forward with better boundaries, and creative self-care practices.
Setting up a creative studio/space: At home, at work, in a corner…
Nervous System health/regulation: Ideas for grounding, moving through overwhelm, panic, meltdowns, dysregulation.
Aging, Peri/Menopause: Reframing of old/tired conversations and narratives. Building different ones.
Space to be angry: Explore ways to make (creative) space for anger, frustration, irritation …rather than just trying to send it away.
Movement: You’re looking for ideas/suggestions for SIMPLE movement practices that aren’t exercise classes, and that don’t even LOOK like exercise classes.
Slow-Stitch: You want to work with textiles, and slow-stitching …but you don’t want to learn any formal technique. I’ve GOT you.
Art parties/sessions: You want some tips for hosting online or in-person art parties/sessions with your friends.
Bilateral Drawing: You want to know more about this process, maybe you want to join Bilateral Drawing Club but you’re not feeling quite ready to jump in.
Art in Nature / Eco Art: You want to explore making art outside …with nature objects, maybe a mix of nature/found objects with some more traditional materials. Maybe just art-making IN nature. Wind in your hair, sea water in your paints…
MY APPROACH
My approach to art therapy is very much rooted in the conversation of Neurodiversity …we’re all different. There’s no “normal” way to be, or think …or process & make sense of hard life stuff. What is YOUR experience in the world, in your life, in your relationships, in your body …in any given moment. I will support you in learning how to practice noticing what that is, understanding it differently, and building creative care practices to support yourself in all of it.
We’ll chat, we’ll work with different art materials and processes/ways of using them …creating, mucking about, pausing, noticing, regenerating, integrating. Some sessions will be spent working on a particular project, and others will be spent (literally) mucking about and making a mess.
WHAT TO EXPECT
- This work is collaborative, and it is a practice.
- Sessions are a combination of talk therapy, art-making (with a focus on creative process over product), and sometimes movement.
- No experience with art or art materials is required, and you needn’t consider yourself “artistic” or “creative” to participate and benefit.
- This is time that’s dedicated to just you, to intentionally & collaboratively explore different materials and processes – and to notice how they make you FEEL, in your body, right now. To help you get a clearer sense of where you’re at, what you want, and to enlist your imagination in creating the changes that you’re looking for.
- You might begin a session knowing exactly what you’d like to work with and/or talk about, or you might not. You might have an idea or issue that you’d like to explore – or maybe you don’t, and maybe it’s taken all that you have to just show up. Any which way – I’m here, with you – to guide & collaborate & keep & hold this space for you.
- There is no formula, no typical session …each day, each session will be different.
- Things will absolutely come up for you through the different processes that we will explore together, but I will not be making any diagnoses or interpretations based on the art that you make, or how you make it.
- This is a space and opportunity for you to explore, pause, reflect, be curious, and to make your own interpretations of what might come up (and out) for you.
- Our time together is confidential, respectful, and collaborative.
COVID-19 UPDATE
Updated June 23, 2023: I'm currently offering Online (on Zoom) , Outdoor (in Victoria), and In-Studio (in-person, Victoria) sessions!!
If you have any questions – please ask.
RATES
Visit my RATES page for details.
ONLINE
- Online sessions are held on Zoom.
- Once I’ve received your booking I will reach out by email with the information you’ll need to prepare for the session, including Zoom details.
- With these sessions taking place online you will need to provide your own art materials. This is something that we can talk about in more detail via email or phone prior to your first session. See my Art Materials page for suggestions.
IN-STUDIO
- My studio is in Fernwood Square, in Victoria BC.
- It will always be an option to meet with masks on (also off, if we’re both comfortable with that), my studio is quite spacious and we can have door/window open for fresh air.
- For full transparency, I’m fully vaccinated and continue to mask in most indoor public spaces (grocery stores, pharmacies, medical offices, public transit, theatres, shops).
- Working in the healthcare field I do have regular reminders (from my own experience and those of my peers) that COVID is still very much with us, and I want to move into our collective “what comes next” with awareness and collective care around that.
- If you feel that you may have been exposed to COVID (or anything) before one of our sessions …please consider doing an at-home COVID test, though I will not be asking you when we meet if you’ve done one.
- It will also ALWAYS be an option to cancel (or shift to online) if you do feel sick (with anything)…. or just feel there’s a chance you might be. I will not charge for short cancellations for in-person sessions that are due to illness (COVID, cold, flu…). No questions asked, we can always cancel/postpone.
OUTDOOR
- Once I receive your booking, I’ll be in touch to arrange a meeting spot (and send a map/directions).
- I will provide all art materials, and a thermos of tea!
- With sessions taking place outdoors, in public spaces – I cannot absolutely ensure confidentiality and privacy. And so, please note that booking an outdoor session will entail consenting to an understanding of this. (Though I have found that it feels surprisingly private).
PLEASE NOTE: That I am super flexible with outdoor session cancellations around weather conditions AND illness:
- If it’s raining or otherwise miserable out, you are NOT obligated to keep the appointment. We will chat as the date approaches and decide together!
- If you’re feeling ill at all, let me know and we’ll reschedule your session (with NO cancellation fee).
LOCATIONS: (I’m also open to other suggestions)
- Government House (gardens/trails)
- Moss Rock
- Beacon Hill Park
- Dallas Road/seaside
BOOKING & PAYMENT
- Sessions can be booked online: heyshauna.janeapp.com (or by emailing me, heyshauna@gmail.com)
- I accept payment by e-transfer, credit card, and Paypal.
CANCELLATIONS
I have a 24 hr cancellation policy. Missed appointments and appointments that are cancelled with less than 24 hrs notice are charged the full session fee (with the exception of illness/emergency).
FREE CONSULTATION
I offer a free 20 min consultation for those exploring their options and feeling curious about art therapy. It’s important to feel that both a therapy modality and therapist are a good fit! Consultations are by phone or Zoom.
SLIDING SCALE
I have a limited number of spaces available for sliding scale rate options, please reach out if this is of interest to you.
If you have any questions – please ask.
SOME OF MY AREAS OF FOCUS
- Neurodiversity/Neurodivergence (including, but not limited to: ADHD, Autism, Dyslexia, Sensory Processing Divergence, HSP...)
- Building Creative Care Practices
- Getting unstuck (overwhelm, underwhelm, complacency)
- Nervous system health & regulation
- Living in alignment with personal values
- Social activism, self & collective care, liberatory practices
- Women's support (empowerment, decisions around/considering childfree living, the aging body, peri/menopause)
- Burnout & compassion fatigue for caregivers (prevention & recovery)
- Creative blocks (artists, writers, creatives)
- Anxiety, depression, fatigue, shutdown
- Trauma-informed grounding & processing
- Anger, irritability, frustration, stress management
- Developing (or re-igniting) a creative practice
- Brainspotting
CREATING SPACE TO...
- Learn how to notice how you're ACTUALLY feeling in any given moment, how the world (and it's sensory information) is affecting you - not how you should feel, but how you DO feel. Without judgement, without fixing... learning how to understand your experience differently.
- Explore different ways to be present and aware in your body, in discomfort, in transition - with creativity and curiosity.
- Learn and integrate small practices to help you to show up for yourself, and build self-trust.
- Build capacity to imagine, initiate, and create change in your life.
- Explore a collaborative approach to the work of personal healing - through a combination of talk, art-making, creative process, movement, and somatic awareness.
Author Ursula Le Guin describes our imaginations as the single most useful tool that we possess – a tool that we have to learn how to use, “to invent our lives, make them up, imagine them” – that the learning, teaching, and exercising of our imaginations is something foundational to our basic life skills “for growth, for health, for competence, for joy”.
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