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If you are receiving treatment from one of our mental health teams, you may be referred for therapy, if it is right for you.
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How we can help
How we can help
Therapy provides a supportive, non-judgemental environment where you might feel more able to talk openly about your experiences.
Your therapist and you will work together to make changes that you want to achieve to feel a greater sense of happiness, empowerment, or perhaps to feel less affected by particular experiences.
Therapies can be:- Individually with a therapist
- In a couple or with other members of the family
- In a group of people with similar difficulties.
- Therapy may be mainly concerned with what is happening in your day-to-day life or about understanding the connections between the past and the present.
Psychological therapies are more likely to work if you feel comfortable and at ease with your psychologist, therapist or group leader. If you have concerns it is a good idea to talk to your therapist. We are always interested in how people experience our services.
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The Briars
Crabb Lane
Exeter, EX2 9JD
01392 221 241 -
West Pilton Health and Wellbeing Clinic
Youngs Drive
Barnstaple, EX31 1QL
01271 378 781
- Introducing arts therapies
- Art therapy
- Music therapy
- Dramatherapy
- Dance and movement therapy
- Other types of therapy
- TALKWORKS
Introducing arts therapies
Watch 'Introducing Arts Therapies' video (opens on YouTube).
Art therapy
Art therapy or art psychotherapy is a form of expressive therapy that gives you the opportunity to engage in the creative process of making art, as a way of addressing painful feelings and experiences without talking about them.
Art therapy (video) is not about being 'good' at art or having an artistic ability. It's about giving you a creative way to play and explore to allow your story to be told. The result can bring insights and awareness which in turn can support healing and the resolution of inner conflicts, distress or traumatic experiences.
Your art psychotherapist will work with you in a safe and non-judgemental environment. Art works made within your therapy belong to you, but your therapist will look after them in a confidential way for the duration of your therapy. They will work with you to help you make sense of your experiences. This is a collaborative approach, rather than it being one where your therapist imposes to you the meaning of your work.
Being creative can undoubtedly support wellbeing for us all but importantly art therapy is a specific form or psychological therapy which harnesses creativity as a means of processing and working through the reasons individuals seek therapy. It is a specific treatment and not a recreational activity.
Our art therapists hold a professional qualification and are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) who regulate psychological professions.
Music therapy
Music therapy is a type of psychotherapy where music is used alongside talking to enable self-exploration and the safe expression of difficult emotions.
No musical experience or skill is necessary - when it feels comfortable, you will be asked to try out various instruments and the sounds they make, and from there your therapist will improvise with you.
The relationship between you and your therapist is crucial to this type of therapy and forms a key part of the work during the music improvisations.
We know that music therapy (video) can be extremely useful and effective for people:
- Whose relationship as a young child with their main caregiver was very disruptive or abusive
- Who have suffered childhood trauma, the music provides a safe place to explore aspects of this type of trauma
- Who find expressing emotions or connecting with emotions difficult.
It can also be a helpful approach for people who are on the autistic spectrum, providing a safe and less direct means of forming a therapeutic relationship.
The music is often used in conjunction with other creative techniques such as sand tray (placing figures and objects in the sand for more symbolic representation) or other approaches, according to individual need.
Our art therapists hold a professional qualification and are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) who regulate psychological professions.
Dramatherapy
Dramatherapy is a unique type of psychotherapy using the art forms of drama and theatre.
Our dramatherapists will work with you using a wide range of techniques from theatre and the performing arts, including storytelling, projective play, purposeful improvisation and role play.
Dramatherapy can be used to explore past events, memories or feelings; experiment with future possibilities and desired behaviours; practice being in relationships and rehearse difficult situations and help find greater flexibility between life roles,
Dramatherapy (video) can help you to make positive connections between mind and body processes. It works in a multisensory way, looking to activate the imagination, emotions and physical self. Building confidence to become more playful and spontaneous is all part of the dramatherapy process. Working symbolically and metaphorically through drama, movement and image-making offers a wide variety of approaches.
People can be referred to dramatherapy (video) (for a range of issues, including relationship problems, loss and bereavement, past traumatic events.
Our dramatherapists hold a professional qualification and are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) who regulate psychological professions. They are both skilled clinicians and artists.
Dance and movement therapy
Dance movement (video) is a type of psychotherapy that uses movement, dance and talking to help people understand their feelings and experiences.
Our bodies hold memories of what we've been through. How we move shows how we feel inside. Being aware of our bodies can help us feel safer, understand our emotions and improve our relationships.
Sessions may also include art materials like clay, paint, collage or natural objects to help express feelings. Sometimes we work outdoors in nature.
Everything is optional and you choose what feels right. We support you to explore your body's feelings and stories in a safe and gentle way.
At first, we focus on helping you feel safe and grounded. As trust grows, we may explore deeper experiences like trauma or early memories.
Other types of therapy
Cognitive behavioural therapies
Cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT) are an umbrella term which covera a range of therapies that are used to identify and change unhelpful patterns of thinking or behaviour which may have developed in response to past experiences.
You and your therapist work together to find different ways of responding to situations to overcome unhelpful repeating patterns, to develop a more positive self-image and to improve your quality of life.
Family and couple therapy
Family and couples therapy can help those of you in close relationships to better understand and support each other. It enables family members to express and explore difficult thoughts and emotions safely, understand each other's experiences and views, appreciate each other's needs, build on family strengths, and work together to make useful changes in your relationships and your lives.
Group therapies
Group therapies can involve a range of different approaches. However, they all have the benefit of providing a space where you have a shared experience of talking about difficulties, learning new ways of understanding problems and connecting with others who may have had similar experiences.
Relational based therapies
Relational therapies is an umbrella term that includes a number of therapies such as cognitive analytic therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, interpersonal psychotherapy and mentalisation-based therapy. These therapies support you to think about your current difficulties in the context of past and present relationships with others and with yourselves, and to consider how they might offer possibilities for change in your life.
Trauma focussed therapies
These therapies focus on the ongoing effects of a past trauma. They include eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR), trauma-informed CBT, as well as other specialised therapies which focus on the experience of abuse in childhood.
TALKWORKS
If you are experiencing a common mental health difficulty such as low mood, depression, anxiety or problems with sleep, TALKWORKS can help.
The team is made up of NHS therapists and counsellors, who are here to listen to your difficulties and provide you with a variety of tools and techniques, to help you to feel more like yourself again.