Parents
Welcome, my name is Karen and I work with children and young people located in North and North West London.
I offer individual art therapy sessions for children in conjunction with parent support sessions, these can be prior to, or alongside your child’s therapy.
I also offer stand-alone parent support sessions where we can think about supporting your child together without your child needing to be in therapy with me.
Why do I work with parents first?
It can be distressing as parents to see our children experience difficulties and to watch them suffer. We may feel a whole host of emotions and feelings from fear, guilt, anger, frustration, confusion, and helplessness – prompting us to seek help.
It makes perfect sense to seek support for our child directly from a therapist, but in my experience the best outcome for a child is when parents and therapist work in collaboration. When we become a team. You know your child better than anyone, you are the expert in helping any therapist get to know and understand your child.
Building a foundation
As I learn more about your child and your family, I aim to empower you through knowledge, skills, ideas and support that is tailored to your family life.
I will help you understand your child’s behaviour from a developmental perspective and with a physiological lens. Developing even a basic understanding of the nervous system can be a game-changer not only for our children but for ourselves too.
A plan for therapy
As we build a picture throughout the sessions you will get to know me, how I work and my love of working with children and young people.
Our sessions together will help me formulate a plan for therapy whether this is joint work with you and your child, individual sessions with your child only or further parent support.
Throughout our work together it is my mission to help embed lasting change for you, your child and your family beyond therapy.
Somatic Art Therapy benefits
While Somatic Art Therapy has many benefits for people of all ages, it has particular advantages for working with children:
Art provides a wonderful interest and helps the child feel more relaxed as we focus on the art being made.
As trust is established during on-going weekly sessions the child begins to use the materials in more expressive ways.
Many children might not have access to the words, or even the conscious memory, to describe their past experiences and they can use metaphor to communicate their inner feelings. For example, an angry feeling may be shown in a scribbled, messy picture or expressed more physically with banging fists while using clay within the reassuring, supporting presence of the therapist.
The art materials can ‘contain’ the child’s feelings and then be used to deepen understanding through reflection. The main focus being on the art and what it represents rather then requiring the child to hold eye-contact or rely solely on verbal communication.
Overtime this may build their language for emotions, increase confidence in communication and the opportunity to begin to make links with behaviour past, present and future.
The process of making art can help children develop patience, tolerate mistakes and experience success and joy.
The principles of Somatic Experiencing® work gently and effectively to help children process their stress, overwhelm and trauma by observing their Nervous System responses. I can guide them to use the art materials which may help them to process and renegotiate their past experiences. You can find further information on Somatic Experiencing here.
