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My mission, at Halifax Art Therapy, is to promote well-being and empower clients to explore, understand, manage, and heal mental health challenges by combining psychotherapy with the creative process.
ART THERAPY IS FOR EVERYONE
Art making experience is not required, only curiosity and an openness to using the creative process for self-knowing and healing.
Megan Boyle, MA, RCT (she/her)
Art Therapist & Registered Counselling Therapist
Welcome to Halifax Art Therapy, and thank you for considering me to work with and support you on your journey towards wellness!
As I reflect back, I can identify my path to becoming an Art Therapist beginning many years ago, as an adolescent who reaped the therapeutic benefits of having a creative practice during that stage of development. Art making provided me with an outlet for self expression, a space to quiet my mind and enter a flow state, it allowed me to build on and explore my ever developing identity, and it aided me in building confidence as I developed and mastered skills. I became especially passionate, however, about the role that art making can play in psychotherapy, and healing more serious mental health difficulties, during early adulthood when I used art making to help explore, understand, and process my own experiences with anxiety and depression.
My personal experiences lead me to obtain an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Fine Arts, from St. Francis Xavier University and later a Master's in Creative Arts Therapies specialized in Art Therapy, from Concordia University. It is through the combination of my formal counselling education and my lived experience that I am able to bring a unique depth of knowledge and support to clients.
I am licensed with the Nova Scotia College of Counselling Therapists, which is the regulatory body in place to protect the public by ensuring the highest quality counselling services for Nova Scotians. For more information regarding the college, the profession, the professional complaint process, and/or ethical standards please visit https://nscct.ca/.
I have a professional membership with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), and I maintain the professional standards of practice outlined by the CCPA.
WHAT WILL SESSIONS LOOK LIKE?
In alignment with my person centered approach to therapy, the role that art making plays in therapy varies depending on individual needs. With this said, I have found over the years that most sessions fall into one of the structures below:
1. Creative Play: These sessions involve exploration of art materials, and engaging with the creative process, with the sole intentions of playing and expressing oneself. These sessions may have a theme of connecting with, and healing our relationship with, our inner child. These sessions are process heavy and often not about the final product at all. Some folks like to talk while playing, and report being able to open up more easily when using the creative process to relax, and others like to create in supportive silence - this is completely up to your preference and needs at the moment!
2. Mind mapping/emotional check-in: Some clients like to begin our sessions by engaging in a check-in exercise where they externalize all of the thoughts and feelings occupying their mind. Clients use any art material(s) to represent each of their thoughts and emotions on paper or canvas. This mind-map, or emotional check-in, created in introspective silence, serves as a guide for the remainder of the session as it reflects back key points of your recent experience. This practice can help folks slow down, reflect, feel a sense of groundedness, and begin to organize their experience before diving into the talk-therapy portion of the session.
3. Creative Project Support: I support your personal creative journey, encourage tapping into and following your creative flow, and I accompany you as you bring your creative visions to life! This may include practicing giving space to and trusting your creativity, talking about your creative ideas and coming up with a plan on how to develop them, talking about a completed project, its meaning to you, and what the process revealed, and/or working on the actual projects in session.
INDIVIDUAL ART THERAPY & MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELLING SESSIONS
$140/hr (tax included). If your insurance plan includes services with Registered Counselling Therapists you will be able to submit your receipt for reimbursement.
The main approaches I use in therapy are person-centered, emotionally focused, and strengths based. I am passionate about helping my clients develop a healthier self-relationship. I provide counselling therapy to folks who may be feeling stuck, or experiencing anxiety, low mood and depression, and other related issues. I provide support to those navigating transitional periods, and I have much experience working with young adults who may be struggling, or are overwhelmed by the expectations, pressures, or challenges that occur during the post high-school period. I also have experience supporting those who are grieving a loss, or seeking personal development.
I provide Art Therapy as a supportive adjunct therapy for those who experience some other mental health difficulties such as, but not limited to, PTSD, bipolar disorder, and BPD. Please reach out if you would like to add Art Therapy to your wellness plan and we can discuss working together.
ART THERAPY WORKSHOPS
Price Varies - Contact for Quote
I sometimes provide themed Art Therapy workshops for adults to promote wellness through art making. It is my intention, with each workshop, to create space where individuals can slow down, let go, and use the creative process for self reflection, and to reveal the needs of their mind, body, and spirit.
SCHEDULE A SESSION
To book an appointment, contact me via the email at info@halifaxarttherapy.com. Please note: I generally tend to emails and phone messages on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays during regular business hours, so it could take between 1-4 days to hear back.
If you are in crisis and need assistance please contact the 24/7/365 crisis text line at 686868, the 24/7/365 Mental Health Mobile Crisis line at 1 (888) 429-8167 (Toll Free), or if you are in immediate danger please present to the ER or call 911.
3136 Isleville Street, Suite 203
K'jipuktuk/Halifax, NS
B3K 3Y2
902-210-8905
