Art Therapy for Adults in Sydney
Art therapy is a recognised form of psychotherapy that brings together creative making, the body, and conversation. It’s not just for kids. And you don't need art skills.
I'm Jerico Mandybur, a registered arts-based therapist offering sessions in Sydney and online across the country and overseas. Registered art therapists are recognised mental health professionals in Australia.
This kind of therapy is about the art of listening to oneself through mark-making, image, movement, sound, metaphor, and dialogue. Making use of any and all creative modalities—such as collage, scribbling, somatic movement, painting, writing, making sound, squishing clay, pulling oracle cards etc—alongside conversation, art therapy is for anyone (of all ages) seeking a gentle, trauma-informed way to understand themselves.
By engaging with the arts in the present moment, we discover new ways of feeling, expressing, and being. In our own lives and in the wider world.
Is this where you are right now?
You've read the books. You can name your patterns, trace them back, maybe even explain them to a friend over coffee. And you still find yourself in them.
Maybe you're running on autopilot. Maybe it's 11pm and you're doomscrolling, tired in a way sleep doesn't touch. Yuo’d love to feel more creative and the thought of starting feels equal parts vulnerable and cringe.
The old version of you no longer fits, and the next one hasn't fully arrived. That's the sacred middle. It can be disorienting, and it deserves company.
Feeling at home in yourself is possible
I won't promise a transformation. What I can say is that this kind of feeling rarely lifts by thinking harder. Autopilot, burnout, perfectionism, masking, and shame are often old protections.
Support that includes your hands, your senses, and your imagination can reach what words alone can’t always. Over time, people often describe feeling more resilient, more self-trusting, more alive, and more whole. That's the direction we move in, at a pace that suits you.
Why talking about it isn’t always enough
Talk therapy is wonderful. I’m a big fan. And some things live beyond the reach of clean explanations.
Some experiences are held deep in the body. Some inner information arrives as a sensation before finding words. This is the realm of pre-verbal knowledge.
If you've ever thought "I get it intellectually, so why am I still stuck?", you're in good company. Insight is a significant start.
Imagine what might emerge if you allowed your hands to make something, your body need to feel something, and your mind to receive new input from outside the thought-loop.
This is where arts psychotherapy comes in. It offers more than one way in.
What does art therapy for adults look like?
All sessions are centre around you: exploring your curiosities, values, and moment-to-moment experience. One week might be a conversation and a drawing. Another might be movement, clay, writing, or dialoguing with an image. I draw on parts work, Gestalt, depth psychology, and somatic practices, and together, we move at the pace of trust.
FAQs
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Not at all. Despite the name, “art therapy” focuses solely on the process, not the product. Art materials are simply tools to help you express and explore your experience, where words might not be enough. And often, using unfamiliar arts materials can yield the most meaningful process.
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No, I will never analyse or interpret your art for hidden meanings. In creative arts therapy, we stay descriptive; exploring what sensations the colours, shapes, or textures of your materials and art evoke for you. In this way, I offer a supportive container in which you can notice and explore what your art process feels like, without having it dissected. Here, you’re always in control of what you share and how.
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Yes. I work with self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants to provide arts therapy under Capacity Building. Please mention your NDIS participant status in your email enquiry or exploratory call. Referrals welcome.
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Medicare does not currently fund counselling and psychotherapy sessions, including creative arts therapy.
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No. Unlike an art class, creative arts therapy is a form of psychotherapy guided by a trained arts-based therapist, focused on emotional growth and wellbeing rather than skills and aesthetics.
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Creativity can take many forms. Sometimes it’s colour and image; other times, it’s language, silence, mindfulness, or the simple act of being witnessed. You are never under any obligation to engage with art materials in our sessions, despite it being named “creative arts therapy”. As a registered therapist, I can hold space for you as we weave the verbal, the somatic, and relational presence into our sessions—as well as any other holistic tools you’re drawn to, such as a Jungian approach to the tarot. It’s completely up to you.
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Online or teleheath sessions work just as they would in person. Held via Zoom, you’re invited to use any form of art materials you have on hand; pencils, markers, paper, objects found around the house etc. Nothing is lost in the therapeutic process by meeting online, and in fact, it offers clients an accessible way to work with me no matter their location and access needs.
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That’s never a problem. It’s a perfectly understandable nervous system response and it’s welcome here. The wonderful thing about arts therapy is that you never have to over-explain or behave in any supposedly “normal” way. The arts are here to support you when you lose your words, want to stim, or would rather hug a squishy than talk.
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While creative arts therapy is a form of psychotherapy focusing on emotional integration, self-understanding, and growth; my creative coaching services support creative small business or self-employed professionals take positive action and acheive their goals. As such, these two services support different groups using very different approaches and paradigms. Creative coaching clients should not be seeking arts therapy, or have an established therapeutic relationship elsewhere.
Thresholds
A newsletter.
Thresholds is the Substack of Jerico Mandybur. A place where she offers personal reflections, regular essays, and creative practices exploring the art of inner life. Subscribe now for your FREE 20-min somatic centering practice.
