Renée Barker

I found I could say things with colour and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way – things I had no words for”
– Georgia O’Keeffe

 

Areas of Special Interest

• depression
• anxiety
• obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• identity formation and change
• young people’s issues
• neurodiversity
• attachment
• family systems
• new motherhood
• building emotional resiliency
• trauma
• self-harm

Counselling/Therapy Services

Arts therapy uses creativity to explore our life stories in ways that promote personal growth and change in our lives. Whether you recognise what is troubling you or not, I can help you identify and process issues and feelings that arise during our sessions together. My approach is gentle, non-judgmental, supportive and professional.

By engaging with an active and sensory process using art materials you can learn new things about yourself and/or view the past with a different lens. During a session we might use paint, pastel, movement, clay, collage, writing or sand tray during therapy. I will never interpret what you create. All personal expressions are welcome and treated with the utmost respect.

It’s important to know that you don’t have to be ‘good at art’ to engage with arts therapy. Everyone is creative and arts therapy focuses on what you learn about yourself in the process of making art, not the end product.

One of my specialties is working with children and adolescents (5+). Building trust between the child and myself is paramount to the therapeutic process. I am completely child-led and will always work at the pace that they determine.

Counselling/Therapy Approach

I use elements of the below theoretical frameworks in combination with Arts Therapy dependent on client needs:

• Narrative Therapy
• Attachment-based Therapy
• Family Systems
• Play Therapy
• Mindfulness-based Therapy
• Trauma-informed Therapy
• Sand Play Therapy
• ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

Background and Experience

I have worked alongside people in Tāmaki Makaurau for over a decade in both the therapeutic and educational sectors. I am a professionally registered clinical arts therapist who is passionate about supporting youth with their mental health and wellbeing. My therapeutic work experience includes supporting clients that have experienced family and sexual violence, complex trauma work, contracting for Oranga Tamariki, specialist therapeutic support for neurodiverse populations and private practice.

Before qualifying as an arts therapist I worked as a secondary school Art and Art History teacher and was a copywriter for an online arts magazine.