art in therapy /

Art as therapy

“Offering a space to explore the analogous dichotomy between Art in Therapy and Art as Therapy -

Art in Therapy is a professional clinical practice led by a qualified Art Therapist who uses art as part of the relational process associated with Art Psychotherapy. The primary focus in sessions is on treating mental health issues, where attention is given to the process and meaning behind art objects and artistic creations, as well as the therapeutic relationship between therapist and client. Art as Therapy, on the other hand, can be understood as a much wider, informal self-care approach accessible to everyone. As part of this, creative activities can be used for relaxation and personal expression, and meaningful connections occur between individuals outside of professional therapeutic frameworks.”
— Poppy Love Oldham, Founder

Poppy love oldham

( she / her )

Socially Engaged Artist

HCPC and BAAT Registered Art Psychotherapist

based in South East London, UK.

Logo of the British Association of Art Therapists with colorful abstract shapes and text indicating full membership.
The image shows a logo for HCPC Registered with the website www.hcpc-uk.org at the bottom.
A young woman with curly red hair wearing a colorful floral dress taking a selfie indoors with a plant to her left and a white wall behind her.
A decorative sculpture of two faces close to each other, carved from light-colored stone or ceramic, with a rounded arch shape and an opening in the middle, set on a flat surface.

Art Psychotherapist

Dolls and toys arranged on a sandy surface, including a doll with long black hair in a red and white striped shirt, positioned near wooden furniture and various other clothed dolls.

Socially Engaged Artist

  • BA Interactive Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Set Design, Sculpture & Decorative Arts, Accademia Belle Di Arti, Venice Italy

  • My visual diary can be found in the musings tab where you can explore exhibitions visited, things made and other things of interest..

  • 2025 "Inner Landscapes“ Goldsmiths University, London

    2024 "Parallel Process" Goldsmiths University, London

    2023 "Play" Goldsmiths University, London

    2022 "Dialect and Heritage" in collaboration with the Dales Countryside Museum, Hawes, Yorkshire Dales

    2022 "Summer Show" in collaboration with the National Maritime Museum's Saturday Art Club, Somerset House, London

    2018 "Processions" in collaboration with artists and makers at Rural Arts, North Yorkshire. Taken on "procession" across central London.

    2017 "Art Club" in collaboration with Rural Arts, Thirsk, North Yorkshire

    2015 "Interactive Arts Show" Manchester School of Art

    2014 "Arte Al Mare" Ospedale al Mare, Lido, Venice

  • I often use cloth, clay and paint with people, helping them connect with themselves and those around them. My work aims to break down the barriers that we can all face when making art.

  • Research Skills: Oral History, Audacity Editing and Otter Transcription Training, Oral History Society

    Dementia Friends Training, The Alzheimer’s Society

    Reminiscence Arts Training, Age Exchange

Close-up of a salt rock with a red-orange center on a wooden surface, accompanied by green leaves.

Teacher and supervisor

  • For trainees wanting structured, supportive supervision that aligns with HCPC requirements.

    60-minute sessions available from Summer/ Autumn 2026

    See more in ‘For Therapists’…

  • I am an award-winning teacher and have over a decade of experience delivering accredited and non-accredited learning programmes to a wide range of individuals for over a decade. This includes Level 1 and Level 2 Creative Crafts qualifications for adults and Arts Award qualifications for those under 25 years old.

    For five years, I also worked to support neurodiverse adults develop skills and confidence to undertake employment, training and volunteering programmes. I have overseen the learning and development of large teams of volunteers and also line-managed individuals on apprenticeships and internships.

  • Developing Supervision Skills, The British Psychotherapy Foundation

    Level 3: Facilitating Learning & Development (Teaching Qualification) City & Guilds

    An Intro to Unlearning Racism & Unconscious Bias, The Racial Justice Network

    Specialist Training in devising activities for Early Years, KS1, KS2, KS3 & KS4, We are IVE

    LGBTQIA + Training, Barnado’s

  • The Arts Award inspires children and young people to develop leadership and arts skills. In my role as an Arts Award Moderator, I have supported over 100 Arts Award qualifications across various levels and collaborated with numerous charitable and heritage organisations to enhance their Arts Award offer.

    Discover, Explore, Bronze, Silver, Gold Arts Award Advisor and Moderator, Arts Award

Mess making There is a wide range of neurological and therapeutic benefits of unstructured art. In art therapy sessions, individuals can make use of messy, tactile mediums to express difficult feelings which may be too painful to put into words. Pi
In 2021, I was commissioned to work on a project with English Heritage. I worked to support 15 young people from a small charity who work to maximise the personal development of children and young people with wide ranging disabilities. Shout Out Lou
The artwork pictured is a process artwork, which I created in response to my participation in a multi-disciplinary team which works to provide mental health services to children and young people who are neurodiverse and found themselves experiencing
Arts in Hospitals uses visual art, performances and creative workshops to enhance healing environments, reducing patient anxiety, pain perception and staff burn out. My experience working both as an artist and art psychotherapist in hospitals inclu
Inspiration is complex, it involves a process of being physically or psychologically stimulated to act, which can be cultivated by intentionally surrounding oneself with things that spark curiousity. In the therapy space, sources of inspiration are
Materials in art therapy can also include natural and found objects. “We insert into narratives of the ground, the discarded and the second hand, aspects of our personality, gender, glass, ethnicity and culture, our sense of home, age and stag
Art made in art therapy can be messy With aspects usually discarded It can be an intervention with space Or objects shuffled around Something often overlooked or not handled Be felt as something sharp Something sticky or something connected
“Holding” - A process artwork that I made in 2024, to consider layers of entwining embraces. The piece depicts my intention in my practice to acknowledge the systems, families, organisations and wider networks around my clients. In my pr