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Meet Our New Art Therapist
The Marie Trust is delighted to welcome Valérie Stevens as our new Art Therapist, delivering weekly art therapy sessions at our Albion Street hub following a successful pilot project.
A path shaped by psychology and art
Valérie trained as a clinical psychologist in Belgium, where a university module on psychoanalysis and art first sparked her interest in the connection between the two. During a placement working with children and young people with autism and psychosis, she saw first-hand how art could open up communication where words fell short.
“I noticed the power of art working with them — just a different way of building a relationship, a connection with the young people I was working with,” she explains.
After moving to Scotland in 2016, Valérie trained in art psychotherapy in Edinburgh, graduating in 2019. She went on to work in schools, build a private practice, and support refugees and asylum seekers as a mental health worker — before joining The Marie Trust as our Art Therapist.
What happens in an art therapy session
Art therapy isn’t an art class, and there’s no right or wrong way to take part. “Clients can use the materials in a way that feels meaningful to them,” Valérie says. Sessions are client-led and non-directive — the therapist’s role is to hold a safe, contained space for whatever the client brings, whether that’s through conversation, artwork, or both.
Unlike talking therapy, art therapy leaves something behind to return to. “It ’s almost a testament to what’s been happening in the room,” Valérie explains. “With art therapy, you have something to reflect on and go back to.”
Why this matters
Many of Valérie’s clients come to art therapy after struggling to engage with talking therapy — the eye contact, the pressure to speak. Art offers another way to reflect on experiences of trauma. “It’s difficult to access with words alone,” she says. “Art can connect to those experiences.”
Asked to describe her approach in a few words, she settles on: client-led, surprising, and a place to experiment.
Get involved
Weekly art therapy sessions are now running at The Marie Trust’s Albion Street hub, part of our wider Counselling & Psychotherapy Service.