Art Wise

Art Wise

Running in North Ayrshire, Falkirk and Renfrewshire, Art Wise aims to help families meet their individual needs, to thrive and to stay together. Providing parents/carers with therapeutic and creative support to better understand their child(ren’s) behaviour, develop tools to connect, communicate and support their children to identify their own needs and coping strategies using art and creativity.

Working with our qualified Art Therapist and Wellbeing Support Worker through a mix of parents/carer sessions and whole family creative play sessions you will be able to connect with other parents, access peer support, and develop your local support networks by linking in with other local organisations which can support other aspects of family life e.g. benefits, welfare, food security, relationship support, nutrition etc.

The programme will run in 10 week blocks, with follow up sessions.

Renfrewshire:

Wednesday 20th Nov – Wed 29th January 2025*

*Please note their will be no sessions on 25th Dec & 1st Jan

Who: Aimed at parents/carers and their children of primary school age

When: Art Wise Renfrewshire is commencing with a new 9-week block on the 20th November and in this block, we are offering a programme with two complementary strands: parent/carer sessions during school hours on Wednesdays between 1pm & 2pm followed by the family sessions from 3pm & 4.30pm.

Where: Gallowhill Community Centre, Netherhill Road, Paisley PA3 4SF.

North Ayrshire:
  • Baby/Toddler Art Therapy; messy play sessions
  • Ages 0 – 4
    Wednesdays 10.30am – 12pm
    Location: Fullarton Connexions, Irvine
    Come along to have some fun messy play with your baby/toddler using different art and sensory materials. Mums, Dads and Carers welcome! A safe and supportive place to learn how to connect and communicate through creativity.
  • Group will be facilitated by 2 qualified Art Therapists.  
Falkirk:
  • Children aged 0-3
  • Tuesdays 10.15am-11.45am
  • Falkirk Trinity Church, Manse Pl, Falkirk FK1 1JN

This programme is funded by the Whole Family Wellbeing fund.

North Lanarkshire: coming Oct 2024
North Ayrshire, Falkirk & Renfrewshire
Ages: Parents
On-going recruitment

“A safe space to talk about personal and parenting challenges and receive emotional support.”

We Work With Some Incredible Partners

Schools’ Artist in Residence

Schools’ Artist in Residence

Our Artist in Residence programme brings the most exciting visual artists to Primary School children living in disadvantaged communities, who are unlikely to have opportunities for creative expression; are least likely to have ready access to arts materials in their own home; and are least likely to visit galleries. Work, co-produced with children, gives them an opportunity to be heard & seen and is curated through high quality exhibitions that celebrate achievements.

If your Primary School is interested in getting involved then please get in touch.

Art Therapy

Art Therapy

Art therapy offers a safe relaxed space for children to express themselves through creativity and play.

Sessions work on the basis that it can be easier to address difficult emotions through art than talking about them directly. In sessions, art therapists offer support and help children get a better understanding of their worries and concerns.

Children can find the process of creating, playing and making relaxing. It can offer relief from any stress or anxiety they may be feeling and it can help with building confidence and coping skills.

Read about our three types of Art Therapy below!

Referrals for North Ayrshire Art Therapy

Please note new referrals for one to one Art Therapy in North Ayrshire are currently paused to reduce the length of waiting time between referral and meeting one of our therapists.

We are still taking referrals for Family Approach and Group Art Therapy.

For more information please contact: arttherapy@impactarts.co.uk

One-to-one Art Therapy Image

One-to-one Art Therapy

Over a number of sessions we will work with you in a confidential setting to help you to explore how you are feeling and what might be troubling you.  Perhaps you have experienced changes at home, in school or with friends that you are finding tricky.

We know that it can be sometimes be difficult to put all this down in words.  Working with our fully trained therapist we will support you to find other ways to express and communicate these feelings.  It might be by putting paint on paper, using puppets to tell a story or using drawings to tell others how you feel.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be an artist, and we don’t ‘mark’ your work.  Instead we use art as a way as exploring the things that can help you.  

Family Approach Image

Family Approach

Family Approach involves a child and their parent or carer in joint sessions with a focus on strengthening their relationship through mutual understanding.

It allows both children and parents and carers to process their own emotions and develop positive coping skills, and for parents and carers to better understand their child’s social and emotional needs.

Therapeutic Group work Image

Therapeutic Group work

Therapeutic Group work is ideal for children who are experiencing difficulties at school or home e.g. difficulty with transitions or engaging with their peers, communication difficulties, bullying, etc.

Small groups of children experiencing similar issues are supported by Art Therapists to build confidence, overcome social difficulties and to learn strategies for regulating behaviours through a series of therapeutic arts sessions. A crucial element of this work is to make sure this is a fun, positive and supportive experience and not a stigmatised ‘therapy’ group.

Meet our Art Therapists

Creative play

Creative play

Creative Play engages primary school aged children in creative outdoor pursuits which instil a love of playing outside.

Our fully trained and qualified creative practitioners provide children with a range of complimentary creative opportunities, while encouraging children to interact with natural materials and their surroundings – designed to spark the imaginations of children, allowing them to explore new ideas and activities which are fun and designed to increase physical activity and engagement with the environment.

From creating abstract sculptures out of organic materials found in the park to building “birds’ nests” or dens, or doing forest treasure hunts, storytelling and painting with mud, Creative Play will ignite children’s imagination and encourage a deeper and more creative contact with the outdoors.

Ages 3 – 12

Creative Play Booklets

View our booklet for 30 fun and creative ways to play outdoors!

Get Children & Young People involved in our Nature Trail Challenge!