Irene Whitehead

HCPC registered
MBACP registered
BAAT member

Available for in-person sessions on Tuesdays. Available for online sessions at other times. Offering 1:1 client therapy or supervision for Creative Therapists working with children and young people.

Everyone in the world has a fundamental need to experience a sense of belonging, acceptance and safety. There are moments in life or sometimes when one can feel unsafe or unsure and direction seems to feel altogether lost or perhaps just hazy. It is my belief that at times like this creativity can help to regenerate an interest in life, to promote a sense of presence, self-knowledge and healing. Art Therapy has within its process the potential to resonate deeply with innately held understandings of what each of us needs in order to grow and thrive, not just survive.

The therapy is client-led. My role as art therapist is to be alongside you on your particular journey. I am here to talk with you, to listen to you, to hear you, to bear witness, to sit silently with you or to laugh and to play with you as you navigate life’s deeper and sometimes more difficult moments or as you discover the hope and joy in rays of light. Together we discover what is needed to help you feel more yourself.

Since 2008 my therapeutic practice has included supporting people across all age groups from infant school aged children to young people to older adults, and across diverse cultures, religious beliefs and gender orientations within community sectors. I continue to support individuals, families, dyadic groups and larger groups in mainstream and special needs education. I work with children in care, refugees and people suffering loss and bereavement, domestic violence, trauma, abuse, neglect, divorce and family breakdown, anxiety and depression and selective-mutism. I work with people wishing to address themes of identity, gender orientation, body image and women’s age-related issues. I support individuals, including adults, with special educational and neurological needs such as those on the Autistic Spectrum, with ADD and ADHD.

I work integratively and will draw on a number of therapeutic techniques. My practice is primarily informed by Attachment Theory, Object Relations and trauma-informed theories, which I believe sit together at the heart of the human experience.

I have been immersed in the creative world all my life. While I can’t remember the first time I picked up a stick and drew in the sand or made a mud pie – I was still too young.  I can remember – when I was older – that if I had no paper and pencil I would create pictures out of leaves, sticks, stones and flower petals. My love of nature has remained fundamental to my world and shaped my core beliefs, which are framed by an eclectic, wholistic, shamanistic approach to living, creativity, and wellbeing. I worked for 25 years in and around the creative industries involving children, schools, families and the community. It was during this time that I gradually built on my interest in the healing potential of the arts.

While I have experience of working with many art mediums and materials; I can also appreciate how daunting it might feel to someone less familiar with art materials to embark on a programme of art therapy for the first time. Many people believe you need to be good at art to engage in art therapy but this is not true. Self-expression and symbolism can be derived from any aspect of the creative process. As an Art Therapist, I have a passion for being alongside each and every client, as you learn what makes you who you are, unlocking that potential to find inner peace within.

Contact Irene at: whitehead.irene@gmail.com