Dyadic Art Therapy | alexaarttherapy

What is Dyadic Art Therapy?

Dyadic Art Psychotherapy is a joined up approach to Art Therapy involving children and their parents or carers in joint art therapy sessions at least some of the time. The make-up of the dyad varies with different children and different family set-ups, but usually involves the child and an adult with whom the child has a significant relationship.

I have worked with many families in this way and really believe in the value of working therapeutically with parent/carer and child. It can maybe feel quite strange to begin with, but my job is to find ways to help everyone feel settled and enjoy the space together. If one way doesn't feel right, we can mix it up until we find a way that works.

The sessions can offer a number of potentially therapeutic opportunities such as:

Facilitating reflective discussions between you and your child
Develop your attachment and relationship together
Facilitating creative and playful activities
Enhancing sensitivity, understanding and attunement around your child
Exploring impact of your own history on your parenting
Facilitating joint engagement activities
Co-constructing shared narratives, which can help deepen your child’s understanding of what has happened in their past that maybe difficult for you to explain without support
Enhancing your child's ability to regulate their emotions and for you to develop your co-regulation skills

As a parent or caregiver, you may:

be wondering if support would help with your relationship with your child
be struggling to understand your child’s behaviour
be struggling to act with sensitivity towards your child’s emotional needs (this could be possibly because you feel you have lacked this sensitivity yourself in life, or because you are experiencing difficulty in other areas of your life that is taking up energy and thinking space)
be at risk of family breakdown if support isn’t offered to help think about your emotional needs in relation to your child
be worrying that your own history or attachments/relationships may be impacting on your child
be finding it hard engaging with or being playful with your child

If you feel any of the above apply, this doesn’t mean you are failing or should feel blamed. Recognising any areas of need is the first step to making positive changes, in your own way, and at your own pace. I offer reflective sessions in between the dyadic sessions to give some space for you to be able to think about what is happening in the dyadic sessions, gain and share insight, explore patterns and responses, and to plan for future sessions together.

You can contact me to talk about the process in more detail and to share your reason for considering support.

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