“Imagination is central to recovery, without inner imagination of an alternative future, there is no place to go”
Bessel van der Kolk
Aneta Wnek MCAT, AThR, BDes
I am a Master's-qualified and ANZACATA-registered Creative Arts Therapist, researcher, arts practitioner and award-winning facilitator based in Perth. I work primarily with teens and adults, offering a person-centred and trauma-informed approach that integrates art-making and creative processes with somatic and contemporary psychotherapeutic practice. I believe every person has an innate capacity for growth, resilience and meaning-making and that creative arts therapy can offer powerful pathways for emotional processing, self-awareness and opening to new possibilities. Whether you are navigating trauma, burnout, anxiety, life transitions, grief, body image concerns or simply feeling disconnected from yourself, I aim to provide a safe, compassionate and collaborative therapeutic space to support you with your therapeutic goals.
What is Art Therapy?
Sometimes words aren’t enough – this is where art therapy – an evidence-based, expressive and embodied psychotherapy that integrates creative processes and art-making within a therapeutic relationship – can open up different ways of exploring experiences, emotions and our sense of self.
Trauma-informed Approach
Art therapy provides a way to explore difficult experiences while maintaining a sense of safety and control. You decide what to share, how to engage, and how far to go, with no pressure to revisit experiences before you feel ready.
Person-centred & Responsive
There is no single way to engage in art therapy. The process adapts to how you work best, whether through materials, images, or reflection.
Emotional Regulation
Working with materials can help organise and manage emotional intensity, making feelings easier to approach and stay with.
Meaning-making & Emotional Integration
Art therapy supports understanding and making sense of experience, not just expressing it.
Creative Expression Beyond Words
The act of making is central to art therapy. Expression happens through images, materials, and process, not just explanation.
Mindfulness & Somatic Processes
Creative processes engage sensory and bodily experience through movement, tactile engagement, colour and form. This can support present-moment awareness and connection with internal experience. Somatic processes can extend this awareness to felt bodily experience and nervous-system responses, supporting the integration of bodily, emotional and psychological experience.
What can art therapy support?
Art therapy can support individuals across a wide range of concerns, experiences and life circumstances – from navigating periods of change or feeling stuck, through to more complex emotional and psychological difficulties. These may include:
• Trauma & the impacts of difficult experiences • Anxiety, stress, overwhelm & burnout • Depression, low mood & emotional disconnection • Grief and loss • Life transitions • Feeling stuck, disconnected, numb or unsure of direction • Difficult or overwhelming emotions & emotional regulation • Identity, self-worth, self-esteem & self-acceptance • Self-criticism, perfectionism & shame • Body image & relationship with the body • Relationships, attachment & patterns of relating • Experiences that are difficult to put into words • Meaning, purpose & personal growth • Creativity, self-expression & creative identity
"But I'm not artistic and I can't draw!"
It is common for people to think that because they 'don’t believe they are creative or artistic' – art therapy can't be for them – but in fact, the opposite is often true. Everyone is born creative – many people have simply disconnected from that part of themselves, having lost confidence for various reasons as they grow up. You may find that a lovely bonus of art therapy is that you end up feeling more comfortable working with different materials and in new, expressive ways. Within this non-judgemental and empowering environment, marks, images, objects, sounds and movement can become new resources for giving you a voice that doesn’t have to have words – opening up different ways to express yourself, explore what emerges and tell your stories. You may also be relieved to know that the art therapist does not interpret what you make, and that art therapy is not about creating a perfect final artwork – instead, the process of creating and the meaning you bring to the image are what’s important.
Testimonials
BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
Suite 1/11 Ogilvie Road, Mt Pleasant, Perth WA
Art of Therapy is conveniently located just off the Kwinana Freeway and a short walk from Canning Bridge Station on the Mandurah Line, with bus stop 10245 at the door.
