FIONA DEVENNEY
I am an Art Therapist with more than 22 years clinical experience. I have worked with a variety of clients with a wide range of mental health difficulties such as depression, trauma, self-harm, anxiety and loss. I have worked with children, young people and adults on a one to one and group capacity, developed and delivered psychotherapeutic and art therapy groups as well as emotional wellbeing support groups for a wide range of people in differing settings across my career.
Mental health issues can affect us all at any time in our lives and I am passionate about delivering a safe, creative, therapeutic and enabling experience for young and old to help make sense of emotions and manage distress.
Currently managing a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy Service I also work in a cancer support setting and I am a supervisor on the Art Psychotherapy Northern Training Programme.
I am registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and a member of the British Association of Art Therapy (BAAT)
ABOUT ART PSYCHOTHERAPY
Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy aimed at exploring, through image making, the underlying thought processes and conflicts causing emotional distress. It is suitable for all ages across the lifespan. With a focus on attachment, relational and narrative the relationship between the therapist and the client is of central importance. Art therapy differs from other psychological therapies in that it is a three way process between the client, the therapist and the image or artefact. Thus it offers the opportunity for expression and communication and can be particularly helpful to people who find it hard to express their thoughts and feelings verbally.
The overall aim of its practitioners is to enable a client to effect change and growth on a personal level through the use of art materials in a safe and facilitating environment. Through using art to explore formative experiences and link them to present difficulties you may arrive at a better understanding of yourself, your relationships with others and the nature of your distress. This can lead to positive and enduring changes in your mental health.
How can art therapy help?
There are a number of reasons why art therapy may be particularly helpful for people experiencing emotional difficulties:
- Firstly, making images offers a means of enabling a person to give form and expression to troubling thoughts and feelings they are unable to express in words.
- Secondly, in the context of a supportive relationship, making images can facilitate emotional growth, increase self-esteem, psychological and social integration.
- Thirdly, as with dreams, aspects of the self are often expressed through images in a symbolic form. These personal symbols are not always easily understood, but their expression through art may have significance for, and provide the basis for further self-understanding by, the individual who made them.
- Finally, the permanence of artworks may be especially useful in enabling the art therapist and the individuals with whom they work to follow and reflect upon changes occurring during the course of therapy. This helps establish a sense of focus and continuity that might otherwise be lost or prove difficult to maintain.
- Clients who are referred to an art therapist need not have previous experience or skill in art, the art therapist is not primarily concerned with making an aesthetic or diagnostic assessment of the client's image.
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