What is Drawing & Talking?

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Drawing and Talking is an attachment based, person centred, therapeutic intervention that can be less confronting than traditional CBT and talking based therapies. It allows individuals to discover and communicate emotions, and process trauma, in a safe, non-confronting, way. It can help people of all ages, from young children to older teens, and has even been successful for older adults with dementia. It can be particularly helpful for children and young people waiting to access more intensive therapy, including through CAMHS.

Drawing and Talking is carried out either on a 1:1 basis, with sessions taking place at the same time every week, for 12 weeks, or as a small group session, over 6 - 8 weeks. 1:1 sand play can also be used, particularly for very young children.

1:1 Drawing and Talking sessions are led by the child, and they can draw anything they like, and for as long as they want to (within the time constraints of the session). They are then given the opportunity to talk about their picture, but there is no pressure to talk at all. The conversation will always remain 'in' the drawing, keeping it safe and non-intrusive.

Small group sessions are led by me, and we work together as a group, talking about specific emotions, such as happiness, fear, confusion, anger, remorse etc. The sessions start with a group discussion about what the emotion means to them, then move on to drawing the emotion, before sharing pictures at the end (only if children are comfortable with this).

Small group work sessions can help children (and adults) develop an awareness of how they are feeling internally, and recognise that others hold similar feelings to them. They can express how they might be feeling internally through symbolic drawing.

After completion of Drawing and Talking therapy, children in particular are more able to control their behaviour and, most importantly, have higher self-esteem, allowing them to thrive in the world around them.