Wicklow Play
& Creative Arts
Therapy
Madeleine Grant, MIAC, MSC, RGN, Accredited, Counsellor and Psychotherapist, Play/Creative Arts Therapist, Certified Compassionate Inquiry Practitioner, Advanced Certificate in Therapeutic Skills with Adolescents, Certificate in Environmental Art Therapy, Certified Supervisor PTIrl.
I am an Accredited Counsellor and Psychotherapist, Play/Creative Arts Therapist, Environmental Art Therapist and Certified Compassionate Inquiry practitioner with additional Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Sand, Art, Adolescent and Bereavement training. I work with both adults, adolescents and children on a one-to-one basis. I also run therapeutic workshops in nature to enable people to explore more deeply their connection to the natural world and its healing potential. I work therapeutically from a Rogerian, Jungian and Existential perspective. I believe that each person has the tools within themselves to heal.
Working using the Compassionate Inquiry method enables me to help clients to
explore what is happening for them in the present moment with the knowledge that
trauma is held in our bodies and through this gentle but direct approach clients can
access and explore long held belief systems and ways of being in the world.
My therapeutic space in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow is in a woodland setting which
brings an immediate connection with nature.
What is Creative Arts Therapy?
The creative arts allow for the expression of inner experiences that are beyond words. Our external narrative is often the starting point of a story – what happened, when and how.
The internal narrative is concerned with the impact these events have had on us. Research suggests that therapeutic communication can be made easier when using symbols or images rather than just the spoken word. The use of creative art materials can give us an opportunity to reflect upon memories, hopes, fears, anxieties and angers without tackling these emotional states head on.
What is Environmental Arts Therapy?
Environmental Art Therapy is when we bring our therapy sessions out into nature. Nature has a way of giving us what we need at any given time.
Being out in its wildness and its absolute beauty reminds us of how insignificant we are in the greater scheme of things and what seems like an insurmountable obstacle is actually manageable if seen from another perspective.
Compassionate Inquiry Approach
Compassionate Inquiry® is a psychotherapeutic approach created by Dr. Gabor Maté. In a gentle way it can uncover and release the layers of childhood trauma, constriction and suppressed emotion embedded in the body. When clients perceive the therapeutic relationship as a safe container, compassion and curiosity allow them to acknowledge and examine the traumatic events that happened to them as children, recognize the beliefs they internalized, and feel the emotions they suppressed. This contributes to the healing process. When we can release ourselves from the hold of these stories, a new way of being emerges, leading to spontaneity, choice, expansion and freedom.