About

Hello, I'm Elise, Art Therapist. I feel most alive when I am out camping, have a soft pastel in my hand and am making marks on paper. Second to that, I love working alongside children, their families and communities.

Children are artists, they use imaginary play as a form of learning, they begin drawing on the walls as experimentation and would go on to paint our towns and cities if only we encouraged them to! As a person-centred art therapist I believe implicitly that children have their own unique wisdom. I support children to express what might be difficult to say in words through the use of art in a therapeutic environment.

I also believe that children are leaders, social-change makers and advocates for nature, who are seeking the guidance and tools to embrace their own agency. I see children battle with bureaucracy all the time, they are far more attuned to fairness than many adults. I believe with the right tools, children can learn skils that will last them a lifetime.

You will be drawn to my work if it sounds like a tune from your songbook. However, I am a registered Art Therapist (MArtTher), qualified Primary School Teacher (GradDip) and hold a BA of Communications in Social Sciences. I have lived and worked in many parts of this wondrous planet and know one thing to be true; play and making with our hands are universal tools for healing.

I offer:

• Individual and group art therapy

• School and online based groups and workshops

• Child-centred, socially-responsive community arts collaborations

• Tailored professional learning (for adults)

• Programming advice/guidance to organisations

Underlying my work are values informed by humanistic, person-centred arts therapy, a social justice lens, trauma-informed care and a commitment to anti-racism and non-pathologising discourse.