Art Therapy

Art therapy is for all children — a space to give language to big feelings, anxiety, different ways of perceiving the world, different ways of expressing. For children who might communicate better through play, image, and making than through words. A creative, relational space where nothing needs to be fixed or explained. The work gently includes parents too — because change happens in relationship. No art skill needed. NDIS funding may be available for self- and plan-managed participants.

Art therapy is a counselling-based therapeutic approach that uses creative process as a way of exploring experience, relationship, and meaning. Rather than relying solely on words, art therapy offers another way of listening to what is present - working with paint, clay, drawing, movement, found objects, and different materials that become a language for what feels layered, confusing, or stuck.

At Rain & Me. Children’s Therapy, art therapy is relational work. It's not about making art, learning techniques, or producing anything in particular. It's about what unfolds between us - how expression takes shape, what emerges in the space, and what gets held without needing to be explained.

This work doesn't just focus on the child. It asks us to look at the whole picture - what's happening in the family, at school, in the broader environment. Not to locate blame, but to understand context.

You might find yourself reflecting on your own responses - what gets triggered in you, what patterns show up, what you're carrying. Not because you're doing something wrong, but because change happens in relationship, not in isolation.

WHO IS ART THERAPY FOR?

For children, this might be a time of big feelings, intensity, withdrawal, difficulty finding their place in demanding environments, or navigating transition and loss.

For adults, art therapy often resonates when experience feels embodied or hard to articulate, or when talking alone doesn't quite reach what matters.

Want to know more about Art Therapy or what happens in session? Take a look at some frequently asked question below.

frequently asked questions

  • Art therapy is a counselling-based therapeutic practice that uses creative process as a way of exploring experience and meaning within a therapeutic relationship. The focus is on process rather than artistic skill or finished work.

  • Art classes focus on learning techniques or producing particular outcomes. Art therapy takes place within a therapeutic relationship and attends to expression, meaning, and relational context rather than skill development.

  • No. There is no expectation to be creative, skilled, or artistic. The focus is on exploration and expression, not on how something looks.

  • Sessions might be quiet and reflective, or messy and cathartic. Your child might spend 40 minutes working with clay without saying much, while something important gradually takes shape. Or it might be loud - paint everywhere, bodies moving, big energy that needs to go somewhere safe. Sometimes you'll join in. Sometimes you'll watch something unfold that you didn't know was there. There's no "right" way to do this. Some sessions are playful. Some are tender. Some feel slow and repetitive - returning to the same material, the same gesture, over and over, because that's what needs to happen.

  • Confidentiality is approached with care and respect. Information shared in sessions is held thoughtfully, with attention to the child’s dignity and to appropriate communication with parents or caregivers where needed.

  • NDIS funding may be available for counselling-based therapeutic supports only (please see details below).

    Some private health insurance funds such as Medibank, HCF, BUPA, AHM and ARHG (St Luke's Health, Police Health, GMHBA, Emergency Services Health, Phoenix Health, See-u by HBF (previously CUA), AIA Health, Mildura Health, Teachers Union Health, Westfund, Teachers Health, Nurses & Midwives Health, Unihealth, Doctors Health Fund, HBF, Australian Defence Force) funds may offer rebates for counselling, depending on the insurer and level of cover. Clients are encouraged to check directly with their health fund regarding eligibility.

    Medicare: Medicare rebates are not available for these services.

    Private pay options are also available.

  • NDIS funding may be available for self-managed or plan-managed participants only, where counselling supports align with your plan goals and are deemed reasonable and necessary by the NDIS.

    Important: I am not a registered NDIS provider. If you are agency-managed (NDIA-managed), you will not be able to access my services through the NDIS.

    My services may fit under the following:

    • 15_606_0118_1_3 Early Childhood Supports – Counsellor (for children under 9)

    • 15_043_0128_1_3 Assessment Recommendation Therapy or Training – Counsellor (for people over 9)

    • Capacity Building - Improved Daily Living Skills category

    What can be claimed (where approved):

    • Counselling sessions using creative and arts-based therapeutic approaches

    • Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), where aligned with plan goals

    • Session documentation and reports

    What cannot be claimed:

    • NDIS funding is not available for complementary or alternative modalities, including Psych-K or Access Bars

    Check with your NDIS planner or support coordinator that counselling supports are included in your plan.

    NDIS guidelines and pricing are subject to change. Information current as of February 2026.

Important information

Rain & Me. Children's Therapy offers arts therapy and counselling-based therapeutic support. Creative modalities are used as primary therapeutic processes within a counselling framework.
Services are evidence-informed and tailored to individual needs through collaborative care planning. Therapeutic outcomes vary and cannot be guaranteed.
NDIS services are available where appropriate and aligned with participant plans and funding approval. Rain & Me. Children's Therapy works with self-managed and plan-managed participants.