The creation of art in the presence of a trained art psychotherapist can have a profoundly positive effect for people experiencing difficulties in their lives. Art therapy is not a recreational activity (although the sessions can be enjoyable) but a form of psychotherapy that helps people address confusing and distressing issues. Art psychotherapists work with people to access their own image-making abilities. You could work with people of any age, from very small children through to older adults, helping them to use art media to express themselves and communicate. You may work with groups or individuals. You and the person you are working with will jointly explore the meaning of the process and image/art object in the light of personal experiences and/or interpersonal relationships that may sometimes be distressing or troubling. The aim is to facilitate the intra-personal and interpersonal communication of experiences that may be difficult to put into words. The art psychotherapist’s task is to support processes of emotional integration by providing a safe, reliable and containing therapeutic environment within which the person can create and use art making to develop insight and promote change.