Veronica Passmore is a registered provisional psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and Psychology board Australia. She is a student member of Australian Psychological Society (APS) and a Professional member of the Australian New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapy Association ( AZACATA).
Using an integrative and client centered approach, one that has a strong focus on building an empathic, respectful and collaborative therapeutic relationship, Veronica uses this relationship alongside humanistic, experiential and cognitive behavioural perspectives to empower individuals to create their own decisions and building blocks for positive change. Veronica approaches therapy through using numerous modalities such as storytelling, expressive arts, sand-tray, animal assisted and play based therapies as well as talk therapy so as to meet the needs of each individual client.
Art therapy is a dynamic and sensitive form of therapy that speaks straight to the source of our human experience. The arts allow us to access our lived experience in a gentle and honest way, externalising our inner worlds within the safety of the marks made within the artwork. The arts enable us to reveal, explore and understand our stories with meaningful clarity and creative precision. In turn promoting a heightened sense of self awareness, well being and optimum opportunity for positive change.
Art therapy is for everyone and some examples might include:
Children:
- A child is displaying some prolonged nervous behaviour after moving to a new school.
- A young boy with autism is learning to make friends.
Teenagers:
- A teenage boy has experienced the loss of of a close friend and is displaying some aggressive and defiant behaviours.
- An eighteen year old girl has just been diagnosed with a chronic illness and has become very withdrawn.
Adults:
- An adult woman is experiencing grief after a relationship ended. She is struggling with her self esteem and the meaning of life.
- After leaving a job a man in his fifties wants to explore his identity and his hopes and dreams for the future.
Later in life:
- A man in his eighties is interested in using objects to narrate and journal his meaningful life stories.
- Creating a space where a woman in her final years can share and teach her creative skills in a collaborative based art project.
Art therapy can be used in all of these examples to encourage the participant to share and express their story, understand and uncover what is meaningful, in order to find new and more positive ways to be with it.