MARTA SWIERAD
WEST CORK ART THERAPIST
SESSIONS
ART THERAPY
INDIVIDUAL
SESSIONS
No prior experience in art making is required to attend creative arts therapy. The sessions are confidential and client-led, meaning that the client is in control of what and how it is expressed. The therapist is there to listen, hold space and at times help to interpret the client’s creative communication to help make sense of their inner thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The appointments are 1 hour long and are tailored to the individual needs and abilities of the client.
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ONLINE SESSIONS
Online sessions via zoom are available.
GROUP
ARTS THERAPY
An art therapy groups aim to create a place to share thoughts and feelings with peers and/or co-workers in safe and non-judgmental environment. Group sessions support individuals in exploring their emotions, fostering self-awareness, managing behaviours and self-expression. They aid in developing social skills, reducing anxiety, and building self-esteem. Group art therapy can be structured around specific issues such as team building, boundaries, or mindfulness. It has the potential to increase communication skills in the participants and assist them in becoming more social and comfortable explaining their thoughts to others. As individuals work in group therapy, they can freely interact with each other as much as their comfort levels allow. The session usually takes an hour and a half to two hours.
Group creative arts therapy and eco therapy sessions are available for schools and/or teacher teams.
OPEN STUDIO
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Open Studio groups are 2 hour long drop in sessions that are open to anyone over 16 years old. They aim to facilitate safe, welcoming, and confidential environment in which the participant can engage in artmaking as a therapeutic exercise. The sessions are not structured by the facilitator and the participants are encouraged to choose their materials and create at their own pace.
These sessions are suitable for adults who are interested in practicing mindfulness via creative process. By incorporating OSP’s established studio methodologies and philosophies with clinical psychological perspectives, the therapist can address specific therapeutic goals and treatment tactics with the individual participants.
ECOTHERAPY
Ecotherapy, is a type of mental health therapy that involves experiencing nature to remediate mental health symptoms and boost overall well-being. Ecotherapy involves intentional therapeutic interventions and activities in nature. It’s about connecting people with the outdoors, often incorporating mindfulness, in order to promote healing and mental health. The difference between nature therapy and simply being outdoors is akin to the difference between working with a mental health therapist and talking to a friend. Like any type of therapy, ecotherapy is more formal than just being outdoors. It’s structured and involves targeted interventions done to achieve a specific goal.
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Eco therapy nurtures mind, body, and spirit, soothing the nervous system and reducing levels of stress hormones circulating through the body. Rather than focusing on problems and symptoms, ecotherapy actively connects people with nature. This has been shown to facilitate brain waves similar to those seen in meditative states and boost the production of serotonin and other feel-good neurochemicals. Nature therapy done in groups also fosters social connection and reduces loneliness and isolation, as well as connect people back to nature if they’re experiencing anxiety.
Ecotherapy has been demonstrated in studies to help with mental health conditions and experiences such as:
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Anger
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Fatigue
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Memory
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Mood (general)
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Mood disorders
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Self-esteem
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Stress
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Substance use and addiction
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Climate anxiety or other existential related anxieties