Creative Therapies
We can provide Creative Therapies to support your family.
Sessions are designed to aid your child’s development, encourage play opportunities and help your child to express themselves.
Creative therapy in art, music or drama and movement helps to address individual physical, emotional, cognitive and social needs. Our professionally registered therapists deliver sessions in The Ark, at home or at your child’s school.
We also offer therapy groups and some in-reach services, such as Music Therapy in hospital, including the Neonatal Intensive Care Units at Barnet Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital and UCLH.
Once you’re referred to Noah’s Ark our Family Link team will develop a package of care for your family, including the option of creative therapies if appropriate.
Our creative therapies are available for your child with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition, their sibling(s) and parent/carers, subject to availability.
Type of Therapies
Music Therapy
Allowing the communication of feelings and emotions through music; everyone is given time to be seen, heard and listened to.
Drama and Movement Therapy
Using a variety of verbal and nonverbal techniques such as story work, puppetry, role play and movement.
Art Therapy
Understanding thoughts, emotions and behaviours by expressing feelings through art.
We also offer:
Hydrotherapy
Water based therapy in our relaxing pool to aid relaxation, alleviate pain and relieve muscles.
Occupational Therapy
Focuses on developing, recovering or maintaining daily living skills to help children to perform everyday activities.
Access to Therapies
Once we accept your family’s referral to Noah’s Ark your Family Link Worker can offer you access to our range of Therapies, based on your needs.
- You can request creative therapy at any time, and we will look at your needs and our availability.
- We offer therapy in blocks of twelve sessions, with a review after six sessions. We can extend the number of sessions if the therapy is proving beneficial.
- The type of therapy we offer (Art, Music, or Drama) will depend on availability and suitability, but we will take your preference into account.
- Please note that we may have a waiting list.
- Our Creative Therapies are an assessed service – if we determine that creative therapy is not required, we may refer you for Specialist Play or a Home Support Volunteer as an alternative.
- The demand for our services is high so we do not usually offer sessions if you are already receiving therapy elsewhere (for example at school).
- If your child is referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) we do not usually offer therapy services. However, we may be able to provision sessions (if appropriate) whilst your child is on the waiting list for CAMHS, in consultation with the lead psychologist.
- Our services are based on need, and we are able to signpost you to other organisations if we feel that you may be better suited to alternative services.
Where Therapy Sessions Happen
Our Creative Therapy team meet your family where you need the sessions to be.
Our music and creative therapy rooms are often the perfect place, allowing a separate space from school and home where your family can come to explore your emotions, not to mention the variety of equipment we have.
We can also visit your child at school or in your home.
Creative Therapies Working Together
Our senses are all closely linked, which can support some wonderful joint creative interaction across music, art, drama and play. Examples include:
- Mark making (such as attaching bells to paintbrushes).
- Drawing and creating to music.
- Painting with drums.
Our Art, Music, Drama and Play teams work closely with one another to ensure the most enriched and therapeutically beneficial experience for you. We often run group activities combing different forms of therapy.
Watch our video
We put together a video that showcases our Creative Therapies team and the incredible work they do. We hope you enjoy watching!
Funding Creative Therapy
Our Creative Therapies are available to the babies, children and young people that we support and their families. Our fundraising efforts help to provide this essential service that complements our clinical provision and allows us to give a holistic approach to our care.
