When Art Becomes Sanctuary: Art Journalling and Emotional Healing

Creativity has a quiet way of reaching places words alone cannot. When my art journalling work was published in the Creative Edition of Counselling Matters, it felt like a heartfelt acknowledgement of the deep, therapeutic power of making space to create. This piece reflects not only the joy of being published, but also my lived experience of creativity as a grounding, regulating, and deeply healing practice — both personally and within the wider counselling world.

Coming Home Through Creativity: My Art Journalling Published in Counselling Matters

I’m so excited to share a piece of news that feels deeply meaningful to me — my art journalling work has been published in the Creative Edition of Counselling Matters. Seeing my artwork and reflections held in such a respected space within the counselling community feels both humbling and affirming. It’s a reminder that creativity truly belongs in therapeutic conversations, not as an “extra,” but as something essential.

The artwork featured was created through my own art journalling practice, a process that has become a steady anchor in my personal and professional life. Alongside the images, I shared these words:

“Art is such a powerful and transformative tool — it’s far more than just creating something beautiful; it’s a way of coming home to myself. When I sit down to make a journal or fill its pages with my thoughts, colors, and sketches, I feel a deep sense of peace and grounding wash over me. The act of journalling becomes a sanctuary — a sacred space where I can slow down, breathe, and listen to the quiet whispers of my own heart. Each page offers a moment of reflection, a chance to process my emotions and gently untangle the thoughts that sometimes crowd my mind. Through creating and journalling, I’m not just expressing myself; I’m regulating my nervous system, nurturing my inner world, and reconnecting with a sense of joy and balance that I can carry into everything else I do.”

Art journalling, for me, is not about skill, perfection, or producing something for display. It’s about presence. It’s about allowing whatever is happening internally to have a safe place to land. Sometimes that looks like colour splashed across a page, sometimes it’s quiet pencil marks, sometimes words spill out before I even realise what I’m feeling.

Creativity as a therapeutic process offers something that talking alone often can’t. It bypasses the analytical mind and speaks directly to the nervous system. When we create, we engage our senses, slow our breathing, and allow regulation to happen naturally. This is especially powerful when emotions feel too big, too complex, or too hard to name. Art gives them a form without demanding explanation.

In therapeutic spaces, creativity can support emotional processing, self-compassion, and integration. It invites curiosity instead of judgement. It gently reminds us that healing doesn’t always have to be heavy — it can be playful, exploratory, and even joyful. Importantly, creativity reconnects us with parts of ourselves that may have been quieted by stress, responsibility, or survival mode.

Having this work published feels like an invitation — for counsellors, clients, and anyone reading — to consider creativity as a legitimate and deeply healing practice. You don’t need to identify as “artistic.” You simply need a willingness to show up, to make space, and to let the process meet you where you are.

I hope this feature encourages more people to pick up a pen, some colours, or a blank page, and give themselves permission to create — not to perform, but to feel, regulate, and reconnect. Creativity has a way of guiding us back home to ourselves, one page at a time.