Candida Benson

‘Be yourself, everyone else is taken’  Oscar Wilde

Wise words but sometimes, it can feel too hard and complicated just ‘to be’.

Hello, my name is Candida, an Integrative Arts Psychotherapist. I am convinced that much mental distress and profound unhappiness stem from a loss of communication; primarily with ourself.
 
Psychotherapy is about beginning a conversation, an attempt to find sense in the often intense, difficult feelings that make life so challenging.

Carl Jung wrote: “Depression is like a woman in black. If she turns up, don’t shoo her away. Invite her in, offer her a seat, treat her like a guest and listen to what she wants to say.” Gender assumptions aside, pain needs a voice. It needs to be heard. Yet often words can feel elusive or unsatisfactory.

This is where the arts are helpful.

In Integrative Arts Psychotherapy, alongside a talking dynamic, we have the additional options of image-making, drawing, clay, bodywork, and sand tray. All of which support the exploration and processing of conscious and unconscious material. The arts in therapy can reinforce the discovery of a more creative, embodied self that is both flexible and resilient.

This is not about being good at Art!

The ‘Integrative’ part of my training means that I have been exposed to a broad range of psychotherapeutic schools of thought which, like the arts, invites choice for tailoring the work with each client.

My experience in the NHS, the charity sector and private practice includes:

• Adult Mental Health
• PTSD
• Anxiety & depression
• Addiction
• Domestic Violence
• Psychosis

I work face to face, online and by telephone.