Art Therapy Service Guide 2025 

Expressive Health acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.   

𖤓 Welcome  

Expressive Health Creative Art Therapy offers inclusive, trauma-informed, and neuro-affirming therapy for people of all ages, backgrounds, and identities for Ballarat and surrounds. We support individuals, families, and communities to explore experiences, express themselves, and build capacity through creative, relational, and multimodal approaches. Whether you're navigating change, behaviour patterns or mental health complexity; seeking support, or reconnecting with your creativity, you're welcome here. 

We believe in creating a low demand space that meets people where they are, using creative processes as a bridge between inner world and outer life. You don’t need to be “good at art”, just need to be open to the process of making. 

 Modalities  

At Expressive Health, creativity can look like painting, sculpture, textiles, cooking, woodworking, mixed media, play or storytelling. We follow your curiosity across mediums, allowing therapy to meet you where you feel most aligned. 

Your Art Therapist 

Corrie Nantes (she/they) is a Master's-qualified Arts Therapist (MIECAT), Counsellor, and Mental Health professional with 20 years of experience. Bringing a background in mental health, crisis support, domestic and family violence, disability, youth work, and the arts. Corrie centres lived experience, safety, and relational practice. 

Who we support   

At Expressive Health, we welcome and affirm: 

  • People navigating trauma, burnout, or life transitions 

  • Carers, artists, and helping professionals 

  • LGBTIQ+ individuals 

  • Neurodivergent people 

  • Children/Teens/Adults 

💛 Our Values 

  • Neuro-affirming – We honour different ways of thinking, sensing, and relating. 

  • Trauma-Informed – Safety, consent, and empowerment come first. 

  • Lived Experience-Led – Your story, body, and wisdom matter. 

  • Multimodal – Therapy through image, gesture, sound, nature, and word. 

  • Process-Over-Product – The art is in the meaning-making, not perfection. 

🌿 Services Available 

Sessions can be held in person (Ballarat), outdoors, or online, depending on your preference. Modalities may include painting, sculpture, textiles, woodworking, movement, cooking, sound, storytelling, or nature-based making. 

  • Individual Art Therapy  

  • Family & Parent-Child Creative Play 

  • Relationship Therapy through Creative Process 

  • Group Art Therapy (Open Studio, Thematic, Seasonal)  

  • Trauma-Informed Creative Therapy 

  • Autism Identity Therapy 

  • Nature-Based Expressive Therapy 

  • Identity Development  

  • NDIS-Focused Capacity Building 

 

👶🧠 Art Therapy for Children & Teens 

Art therapy gives children and adolescents a safe way to express what they might not have words for. Sessions are child-led and low-demand, building trust, creativity, and resilience. Using creative materials like paint, clay, collage, and storytelling, we support: 

  • Emotional regulation 

  • Identity exploration 

  • Grief, trauma, and anxiety 

  • Sensory needs and neurodivergence 

  • Communication and confidence 

 

🧍‍♀️✨ Art Therapy for Adults 

Art therapy supports adults to reconnect with their creativity and make sense of life experiences. It can support healing, insight, and embodiment especially when talking feels too hard or not enough. People may seek therapy for: 

  • Grief, loss, or trauma 

  • Chronic illness or identity change 

  • Burnout  

  • Mental Health 

  • Personal growth and self-understanding 

‍ 

👩‍👧‍👦 Families, Couples & Relationships 

Art therapy can help families and relationships grow stronger through creative communication and shared meaning-making. Sessions may involve: 

  • Joint image-making or storytelling 

  • Symbol-based communication  

  • Repairing ruptures in a safe, non-verbal way 

  • Support for caregivers of neurodivergent people 

🖼️ Group Art Therapy 

Group sessions are available at Expressive Health or in partnership with community organisations. Programs may include: 

  • Open Studio: Creative freedom in a shared space 

  • Themed Groups: Grief, identity, connection, mental health etc 

  • Skill + Play: Learning technique through fun and exploration 

  • Nature-based Workshops: Making with land and season 

♿ Accessibility  

Our space is LGBTQIA+ affirming, sensory-considerate, and wheelchair accessible. Please reach out to discuss your access nee 

Fees 

Self-managed and Plan-managed NDIS participants welcome. A limited number of sliding scale sessions are available. 

Service /Duration /Fee (Full / NDIS) 

Initial Intake Session 

60 mins 

$156.16/Hour 

Individual Art Therapy 

60 mins 

$156.16/Hour 

Family / Relationship Session 

60 mins 

$156.16/Hour 

Reports (e.g. NDIS) 

per hour 

$156.15/Hour 

Group Programs

varies 

Ask for details 

Nature-Based Sessions 

varies 

Quoted individually