The Wellness Room
Natural Health & Wellbeing Complementary Studio
The Courtyard - Crickhowell​
Anna De Sousa

Counselling and Integrative Arts Therapy involves being able to talk to someone about your concerns in a safe and supportive environment where you can also use a variety of art forms including painting, drawing, sandtray figures, puppets, clay, poetry, movement and sound to help you explore difficult feelings or life situations.
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I work with adults, teenagers and children from the age of nine.
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How can it help?
Creating an image can help us to see a problem in a different way. We can safely explore them as symbols or metaphors which can help give us insight and a different perspective to understanding our feelings or life situations.
It can help if you find it difficult to express how you feel in words, or where words are limiting or have become a way to avoid or block feelings. Or you may be interested in trying something different and like the idea of working creatively.
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Using art and creative expression in therapy can help us to feel more confident and allow us to feel more present and in the moment. It can help us explore and process feelings about ourselves, others, or situations around us so they may become easier to manage. It can also help us to change our perspective so we can move forward in our lives.
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Do you need to be good at art?
You don’t have to be good at art. Scribbles, lumps of clay, splodges of paint, or even just tearing up bits of paper are all forms of creatively expressing yourself.
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It's not about producing something beautiful; it's about using materials, colours or movement to help you express feelings. My role is not to interpret what you do but to help you find your own meaning and ways through situations.
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About Anna de Sousa
I have been qualified as a Counsellor since 2002 and have worked in a variety of settings including Universities, Drug and Alcohol Projects, Youth Services and Secondary Schoolswhere I have offered counselling and also taken on management and supervisory roles.
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I completed a diploma in the therapeutic and educational Application of the Arts in 2010 where I learnt about the ‘7 art forms for therapeutic conversation’ which includes the use of clay, music, movement, sandplay, art, drama/puppetry and poetry, this encouraged me to combine my love of art and creative expression with counselling and helping people develop better relationships with themselves.
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I supervise other counsellors and occasionally run wellbeing workshops. I have regular and ongoing supervision to ensure I practice safely and ethically. Other qualifications include: Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling, Integrative Approach (Person Centred, Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), Advanced Diploma in Counselling Supervision and Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling Children & Young People. I am a registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (www.bacp.co.uk).
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Please contact Anna for more information or to book an appointment.
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Tel: 07738 276735
Email: anna.i.desousa@gmail.com