What is Creative Therapy?

Creative Therapy is a way for children and young people to process their grief when they may not be ready to talk or have the language to explain what they are feeling. Books, games, art, journalling, play and music can provide a space that allows children and young people to explore feelings and experiences at their own pace, in a way that feels safe and developmentally appropriate.

Creative Therapy can be especially helpful for children and young people who have Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), younger children, or anyone who struggles to put their grief into words.

How is Creative Therapy different from Counselling or Talking Therapies?

Firstly, there is more contact with the child’s parent or carer. Whilst ensuring the child’s confidentiality is respected, with the child’s consent, key themes of the therapy can be communicated by the therapist to family members or key members of their network.

If children prefer not to talk, they can draw, play, share special interests and make things all while building a trusting relationship with the therapist in a safe, supportive environment where themes of grief and dying can be explored in a way that feels right for them.

Sessions can be shorter than traditional counselling session of 50 minutes if that suits the need of the child, although they still will be at the same time and day each week.

The child may find ways of remembering their important person who died through art, music, collage, scrapbooking or photography. If so, we will work together to make sure the child has the resources they need to do this.

If the child needs you or a trusted adult to be in the session, we can plan and accommodate this need.

How does it work online?

In your assessment session your therapist will talk to you about the types of activities the child enjoys, and depending on their interests will ask you to provide basic materials you may already have, e.g. pens, paper, beads, modelling clay. They may also send you some resources to use in sessions, it’s helpful if you can keep these in a safe place and have them ready at the beginning of each session.

The child and the therapist may also play games online together, so exploring whether the child can share the screen and use the whiteboard on Zoom would be helpful. The therapist may also share links with your child to play games online.

How might it help?

Creative Therapy provides a safe space for children to express their grief which they may find difficult to put into words.

Some children lose confidence after a bereavement, and Creative Therapy focuses on helping children to feel empowered and having a choice about what they do, which often results in increased self-esteem and resilience.

Sometimes children can explore alternative behaviours and coping strategies that may lead to them finding their grief easier to manage.

With the child’s permission, some elements of the sessions can be communicated to a trusted adult, which may help in finding ways for the child to process their grief or make changes at home or school to try and make life easier for them. For example, this could be highlighting an area of confusion for the child, noting an activity that seems to be particularly soothing for them or recommending resources, games or books that have been helpful in the sessions.

Meet Sophie, the therapist behind Creative Therapy, who developed this method at Winston’s Wish to help children and young people express their grief when they don’t want to talk or have the language skills to put their grief into words.

Accessing Support

Speak to our bereavement support team for further information by using our on-demand services.

Call us for free on 08088 020 021 between 8am-8pm, weekdays.

Email us on ask@winstonswish.org or fill out our contact form and we’ll reply within two working days.

Chat online between 8am-8pm, weekdays by clicking the blue ‘Chat with us’ button at the bottom right of your screen.

For urgent support, text WW to 85258 to speak with someone from our trusted partner, Shout.