But isn’t art therapy just for kids?

When people think about therapy, they usually picture sitting on a sofa talking to a therapist or counsellor about their feelings. It conjures up images of salt lamps, Freudian questions about parents, incense, and small succulent plants. Or maybe, it’s terrifying – being interviewed by a therapist looking directly across at you to pick apart and unpack each and every thought.

And while traditional counselling absolutely helps a lot of people, it’s not the only option out there.

What many adults don’t realize is that art therapy can be an incredibly powerful way to work through trauma, stress, anxiety, burnout, and emotional overwhelm, especially if talking about things feels difficult, frustrating, intimidating, or just… not enough.

The funny thing is, a lot of people still assume art therapy is “for kids.” But honestly? That idea is, nowadays, outdated. This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions around creative therapy and something I get asked a lot of questions about. Because art materials are associated with schools, childhood, or crafts, many adults instantly think:

·         “I’m not artistic enough for that.”

·         “That sounds more like something for children.”

·         “I can’t even draw.”

But art therapy has very little to do with being “good at art.” You do not need to be an artist. You don’t need talent. You don’t need experience. And nobody is grading your drawings. Art therapy is about expression, not performance.

In fact, most of my clients who come to art therapy haven’t made anything creative in years. Sometimes decades. Sometimes ever! And often, that’s exactly why it can feel so impactful.

Why Art Therapy Can Feel Different from Traditional Counselling

Sometimes emotions are hard to explain out loud. You might know you’re stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, burnt out, or carrying trauma; but finding the words for it can feel impossible. Or maybe the action of preparing for therapy is exactly what’s keeping you stuck - getting all your thoughts in a row to bring them into your counselling session can keep you in the same loop you’ve always been in. That’s where creative therapy can help.

Using art, imagery, colour, or even poetry can help people explore feelings in a way that feels less pressured than sitting face-to-face trying to “come up with the right thing to say.” The very essence of art therapy is about not preparing, not figuring it all out, not having a nice neat sentence that summarizes everything. It’s about letting the artwork do some of the heavy lifting - to allow curiosity and intuition to be the guide. This can really take a lot of responsibility off of you and your brain, and allow a more organic evolution to appear.

For some people, making something while talking actually helps them open up more naturally. For others, the artwork says things words can’t. That’s one of the reasons art therapy is becoming more widely recognised alongside traditional talking therapies, especially for adults.

And yes, this means for men, too.

Art therapy can be especially valuable for adult men who may have grown up feeling pressure to “just get on with it” or avoid talking openly about emotions. For many men, traditional counselling can feel intense, awkward, or difficult at first, particularly if putting feelings into words doesn’t come naturally. Creative therapy offers a different kind of space. Emotions can be explored without the pressure of having to explain everything perfectly. Art therapy can help men process loneliness, trauma, burnout, anxiety, anger, grief, and identity in a way that feels more natural and less confrontational than sitting face-to-face in conversation alone.

Art Therapy Isn’t “Alternative” Anymore

A lot of adults are surprised to hear just how widely art therapy is used now. Art therapists are actively working in adult services across the UK and the world, including:

• Mental health services

• Hospitals

• Trauma recovery settings

• Addiction services

• Offender programs and prisons

• Hospice and palliative care

• Neurodivergent support services

It’s being used all over the world because people are recognising that healing doesn’t always happen through conversation alone. The body, emotions, memories, and nervous system need another way to communicate.

Art Therapy for Adult Life

Honestly, modern adult life is exhausting. Money is tighter than ever, we are experiencing huge climate and political change, community spaces are being eroded. But what do you do with all that? It’s too big to talk about, too expansive to explain…

There’s something powerful about slowing down and making something with your hands. Drawing, painting, writing poetry, using collage, working with colour - it can help quiet the nervous system in ways people don’t always expect. Art therapy creates space to pause for a moment instead of constantly pushing through.

Art therapy can also be especially helpful for neurodivergent adults. Not everyone processes emotions verbally. Not everyone communicates best through conversation. Some people think visually, emotionally, physically, or symbolically. Creative therapy allows space for different ways of thinking and expressing yourself. For many neurodivergent people, art therapy can feel less rigid than traditional counselling. There’s often less pressure to maintain eye contact, explain everything clearly, or structure thoughts perfectly.

Sessions can be flexible, creative, sensory, reflective, and adapted to the individual.

As adults, we learn to prioritize speaking over feeling. We learn to find our worth in actions, successes, and accomplishments over truly companioning our own lives. We have the developed parts of our brain that overly rely on language. We’re exposed a lot more to psychological frameworks, labels, and buzz-words on social media. But all of this still can leave us feeling… incomplete. The words might make sense, but don’t seem to help actually move towards a happier and more fulfilled life.

Making, creating, thinking, and even talking with more imagination helps bridge the gap. It creates new neural pathways. It promotes integration and life-affirming action. It activates new brain centers. It gets us back into our humanness - what really makes us feel alive.

“But I’m Not Creative…”

This is probably the sentence that I hear the most as an art therapist. And genuinely - it does not matter. You do not need to “be creative” to begin art therapy. You just need curiosity, openness, or even simply a feeling that talking alone hasn’t quite worked for you.

I see it time and time again - an adult client comes to me skeptical, not really sure about the whole art therapy thing. I often encourage giving it three sessions to try it out. And almost always, they stay. Their body/soul knows this is what they needed; not just to talk, but to safely experience and externalize. To reconnect with their own humanness in a way that feels honest, novel, and alive.

Some people come to therapy because they feel disconnected from themselves. Others because they feel emotionally stuck, overwhelmed, numb, anxious, or exhausted. Art therapy isn’t about creating beautiful artwork. It’s about creating space for yourself.

Exploring Art Therapy in Mansfield and Online

If you’ve been thinking about starting therapy but feel unsure about traditional counselling, art therapy might be worth exploring. A lot of adults are dealing with constant stress, emotional exhaustion, anxiety, pressure, and burnout. My specialty focus has been with adults like you - looking for something that helps explore, shift, express, and alleviate. Looking for human connection. Looking for self, for identity, for meaning.

I offer art therapy both online and in person, making creative therapy much more accessible for adults in Mansfield, greater Nottinghamshire, and beyond.

And sometimes, healing starts not by finding the perfect words - but simply by making a mark on the page.