Sarah Page

I'm an art psychotherapist based in Scotland, with experience of working with children, young people, and adults.

I’m a recently qualified art psychotherapist, having completed MSc training at Queen Margaret University in July 2023. During training, I gained experience of working with children and young people, and older adults. In my first year, I worked with social innovation charity People Know How, facilitating one-to-one art therapy sessions for children and young people in primary and secondary schools in East Lothian. The young people who attended therapy were on the autism spectrum and experienced relational and attachment trauma. As such, they experienced challenges with self-expression, forming friendships, and processing change. My role as an art therapist was to support them in expressing their emotions by using art materials, and developing a therapeutic relationship, which helped them to build relational skills and confidence in themselves and others. Whilst working in schools, I developed a good understanding of school systems, working as part of a multi-disciplinary team and attending meetings to feed into the ongoing support for the children and young people.

In my second year, I worked with NHS Lothian, facilitating art psychotherapy sessions for older adults with complex and enduring mental health needs in a community hospital in central Edinburgh. This involved holding one-to-one sessions and weekly art therapy groups for the patients, the majority of whom had dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease. Due to their experiences of fragmented cognitive functioning, it was essential to have a structure for the group and a theme for them to work to, which helped them to feel secure and gave a purposeful sense of direction. The aims of the group were to provide a safe space for the development of a cohesive group, for the patients to have shared ownership of the group process, and to offer them the opportunity to strengthen relationships with other patients. Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team with healthcare assistants, the music therapist, on-site psychologist and nurses gave me many invaluable experiences and highlighted the importance of good communication. I was able to attend ward-round meetings to discuss patients’ needs and contribute to the development of coordinated plans of care. Whilst training, I learned a great deal about working in a person-centred way, undertaking a person-centred care learning module to ensure that the work I did with service users had their needs at the heart of everything we did. Working with this framework in mind helped to ensure that individual needs and requirements were at the forefront of the therapeutic work we did together, for example, working on a one-to-one basis in a quiet room for those who experienced anxiety around others and struggled with noisy environments, seeking verbal consent before each art therapy session for those with limited capacity, working with service users’ strengths, and allowing the work to be led by them as much as possible. 

Before undertaking my Master’s studies I worked in health and social care for four years. My roles were varied and involved palliative care and caring for people with physical disabilities, and complex and enduring mental health needs. In all of my roles, I have worked as part of a multi-disciplinary team. They have offered rich learning experiences, such as working effectively alone and as part of a team, and liaising with family members to broach some often difficult conversations about their relatives’ ongoing care. All of the roles I have taken have required me to be adaptable and dynamic, and I consider myself to be patient and calm in the face of new and challenging situations. 

2021-2023: QMU, Musselburgh - MSc Art Psychotherapy (2:1/Merit)

2014 – 2017: Leeds Arts University - BA (Hons) Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern Design (2:1)

2004 – 2005: Wiltshire College, Trowbridge - Art Foundation Diploma