Art-therapy uses creative expression embedded within a therapeutic relationship as a way to encoutner challenging thoughts and feelings as well as to discover potential ressources. It is particularly suitable for those of us who find it easier to express themselves through images and creative materials than through language alone.I understand art-therapy as a holistic method that incorporates and combines symbolic representations - inner images - with physical sensations and emotional reactions. Collaborating with an art-therapist can be a useful addition during ongoing psychotherapy, clinical psychological or psychiatric treatment.

No. Art-therapy requires neither artistic talent nor prior knowledge – it's not about whether the result is beautiful or technically successful, but about the meaning it holds for you personally.

I work with adolescents and adults for whom art therapy can be helpful in various situations: in cases of stress, exhaustion and burnout symptoms, in the search for more meaning in life, during processes of change, in processing stressful experiences or grief, as well as in addition to ongoing psychotherapy, clinical psychological or psychiatric treatment.

After a free initial consultation, in which goals and framework conditions are clarified, the focus from the second session onwards is on the creative design work – accompanied and reflected upon through the conversation.

An individual session costs €90 (50 minutes) or €110 (75 minutes), a group session (up to 4 people) €160 (90 minutes) or €40 per person. The initial consultation is free.

In Austria, the costs of art-therapy are currently not covered by health insurance for outpatient treatment. Coverage may only be possible in the context of inpatient treatment.

Currently, art therapy is not among the psychotherapeutic or medical treatments recognized in Austria and therefore does not replace psychotherapeutic or medical treatment.It is very suitable as a self-experience tool or as a complement to psychotherapeutic, clinical-psychological or psychiatric treatment.A separate professional law for art therapy is currently being drafted in Austria. The Austrian Health Institute (GÖG) will publish a report in November 2025 advocating for clear legal regulations governing art therapy within the healthcare professions.

Sessions usually take place in the therapy room. Home visits or online art therapy are also possible if needed.

Art-therapy involves the interplay of different brain regions. The brain can be understood as a complex predictive system that is in constant exchange with our incoming sensory signals, the body's internal environment, and the surroundings. These predictions are recalled or updated within the therapeutic situation, for example, in the artwork itself or transferred to the therapist, thereby making old patterns accessible to consciousness and allowing them to be overwritten by a new experience. In this way, change occurs at the neuronal level within therapeutic processes, which can also be explained by the mechanism of neuroplasticity [1] .Three further key factors can be distinguished:Symbolization and imagination processWithin the framework of art therapy processes, it is possible to practice and learn how to represent distressing issues symbolically using various materials. The activity of the default mode network can be considered essential in this context. This network is active when we direct our attention inward; it is responsible for our autobiographical narrative and it forms images and symbols relating to past, present, and future life situations [2] .Imaginatively formed pictorial scenes contain content that, based on the work of Kernberg and Fairbairn, represents internalized, affectively colored relationship experiences that constitute basic building blocks of our psyche in childhood and form the basis of a complex predictive model [3] .Perceiving these themes from a distance in the artwork can facilitate the process of emotional processing by naming [4] , reflecting on and understanding them [5]. Long-term, effective strategies can be found to regulate emotional reactions and satisfy emotional needs.Design processFindings from creativity research show that creative processes can reduce stress [6] and anxiety [7] [8] and improve mood via specific reward hormones and receptor activity; here, the creative process shows an interplay between the resting mode network and executive (planning, controlling) brain networks [9] .Art-Therapy collaborationBased on an empathetic, trusting relationship that provides a supportive framework, your art-therapist can guide you in getting to know yourself and your resources better. Empathy is a fundamental component of the professional approach and, according to research in interpersonal neurobiology, promotes the reduction of stress and anxiety [10] [11] , which is also confirmed in specific art-therapy studies [12] [13] . An overview of understanding professional art-therapy relationship dynamics in connection with neuroscience research is provided by Vaisvaser (2021) [14] and Vaisvaser et al. (2024) [15] .Sources:[1] Vaisvaser, S. (2021). The Embodied-Enactive-Interactive Brain: Bridging Neuroscience and Creative Arts Therapies. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 634079. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.634079[2] Goodwyn, E. (2024): Understanding spontaneous symbolism in psychotherapy using embodied thought. Behavior Science. 2024, 14, 319. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14040319[3] Mellor, M.J. (2021). The Emergence of Psychoanalytic Metaneuropsychology: A Neuropsychoanalytically Informed Reconsideration of Early Psychic Development. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 701637. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.701637[4] Kim, S. (2018): Therapist's Empathy, Attachment, and Therapeutic Alliance: Neurobiological Perspective. International Journal Psychology and Behavior Analysis, 4: 140 https://doi.org/10.15344/2455-3867/2018/140[5] Vaisvaser, S., King, Juliet, L., Orkibi, H., Aleem, H. 2024: Neurodynamics of Relational Aesthetic Engagement in Creative Arts Therapies, Review of General Psychology 2024, Vol. 28(3) 203-218 https://doi.org/10.1177/10892680241260[6] Koch, S., Arnaud, C. (2022): The Art of Managing Stress - Effectiveness of Creative Arts Interventions for Stress Reduction and Stress Management: a Systematic Review https://doi.org/10.3205/jat000025 1. Attachment 1_jat000025.pdf[7] Kruk, K., King, J., L., Strang, C., E. (2025): Conclusion. in King, JL, & Strang, C.E. (eds.). (2025). Art therapy and the neuroscience of trauma: Theoretical and practical perspectives (Second edition). Routledge.[8] Magsamen, S., Ross, I. (2025): Your Brain on Art. How the Arts Transform Us. Edinburgh: Canongate Books.[9] Liu, C., Zhuang, K., Zeitlen, DC, Chen, Q., Wang, X., Feng, Q., Beaty, RE, & Qiu, J. (2024). Neural, genetic, and cognitive signatures of creativity. Communications Biology, 7(1), 1324. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07007-6[10] Roth, G., Strüber, N. (2022): How the brain creates the soul. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta Verlag. 5th revised edition.[11] Kim, S. (2018): Therapist's Empathy, Attachment, and Therapeutic Alliance: Neurobiological Perspective. International Journal Psychology and Behavior Analysis, 4: 140 https://doi.org/10.15344/2455-3867/2018/140[12] Hu, J., Zhang, J., L. Hu, H. Yu, and J. Xu (2021): Art Therapy: A Complementary Treatment for Mental Disorders. Frontiers in Psychology 12 (August 2021): 686005. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.686005 .[13] Bokoch, R., Hass-Cohen, N., Espinoza, A., O'Reilly, T., Levi E. (2025): A Scoping Review of Integrated Arts Therapies and Neuroscience Research. Frontiers in Psychology 16 (May 2025): 1569609. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1569609 .[14] Vaisvaser, S. (2021): The Embodied-Enactive-Interactive Brain: Bridging Neuroscience and Creative Arts Therapies. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 634079. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.634079[15] Vaisvaser, S., King, JL, Orkibi, H., and Aleem, H. (2024): Neurodynamics of Relational Aesthetic Engagement in Creative Arts Therapies. Review of General Psychology 28, No. 3 (2024): 203–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/10892680241260840 .