Andy Ridley (he/him) is an Art Psychotherapist registered with the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council) and a member of the British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT).
Andy is an Art Psychotherapist, supervisor and lecturer in art psychotherapy, trained and experienced in psychodynamic and analytical art psychotherapy. Andy qualified as an Art Psychotherapist at Goldsmiths University in 2011 and since qualifying, has worked in various clinical and community settings with individuals and groups, and adults and children. Andy has also lectured and held workshops on art psychotherapy with BAAT and at various universities and institutions in the UK and abroad. He is currently a Senior Lecturer on the MA Art Psychotherapy course at Roehampton University.
Andy has a background in teaching and adult and mental health nursing and has been a studio and community artist for over 30 years, working with a variety of creative media individually and in collaboration, and in numerous and diverse community and organisational art and health contexts. His continued engagement in art and health has been driven by Andy’s belief that creativity for all of us is a core aspect of what makes us human, and that creative activity and self-expression can help us to find meaning to significant and formative past events and relationships, and the possibility of release from distressing feelings and the traces of past trauma.
Artmaking in a safe and supportive therapeutic context can also allow us to gain greater insight into important aspects of our emotional world and personal experience, leading to increased self-awareness and self-affirmation.
Alongside clinical practice in healthcare settings, Andy has been working in private practice as an Art Psychotherapist since 2019 and can offer you support with:
· Anxiety
· Trauma
· Vicarious (secondary) trauma
· Depression
· Bereavement and loss
· Low self-esteem
· Chronic illness
· Mental health distress
· End of life experience
· Crisis of identity
· Personal exploration and self-analysis
· Unlocking creative potential
· Dream analysis
· Practicing art therapists and art therapists in training
· Art Psychotherapy supervision for practitioners
Andy’s integrative art psychotherapy practice is founded on the premise that understanding and support in therapy is a collaborative process, built on trust in the therapeutic relationship, creative expression, and an openness to explore sometimes distressing and unconscious areas of experience that might not otherwise be voiced.
Getting Started
The first step is to arrange an initial consultation, to see if art therapy is right for you. This is normally followed by a block of four to six weekly 50 minute sessions before considering longer-term therapy.
Please fill out the contact form to arrange a consultation or to book a free introductory phone call.
