BreakThrough Counselling
Art Therapy in Montreal
In-person art therapy in Montreal for children, teens, and adults. Online sessions available across Québec.
Express What Words Can't Always Say
Explore thoughts and emotions through creative expression when words alone don't feel like enough.
Build Self-Awareness
Gain insight into your emotions, patterns, and experiences through the creative process.
Reconnect With Yourself
Strengthen your connection to your emotions, body, and inner strengths in a safe and supportive space.
Sometimes healing begins with creating, not talking.
Art can express what words sometimes cannot. The creative process helps make thoughts, emotions, and experiences more visible, allowing you to explore them with curiosity, compassion, and greater understanding.
At BreakThrough Counselling, we use art therapy alongside a trauma-informed, nervous system-based approach to help you express yourself, better understand your experiences, and reconnect with yourself in a safe and meaningful way.
Are you experiencing:
- Feeling overwhelmed by emotions you can't quite explain?
- Anxiety, stress, or burnout that feels difficult to manage?
- Feeling disconnected from yourself or your emotions?
- Trauma or life experiences that still affect you today?
- Feeling stuck in the same patterns without understanding why?
- Difficulty expressing your thoughts or feelings with words alone?
- Low self-esteem or a harsh inner critic?
- Grief, loss, or a major life transition?
With Art Therapy, BreakThrough Counselling helps you safely explore your experiences, reconnect with yourself, and discover new ways to heal.
art therapy montreal
What is Art Therapy?
Art therapy combines creative expression with psychotherapy to help you better understand your thoughts, emotions, and experiences.
Sometimes words don’t fully capture what we’re feeling. Through drawing, painting, collage, clay, and other creative materials, art therapy offers another way to explore emotions, process difficult experiences, and gain insight.
The process of creating art can be calming, grounding, and restorative, creating space for deeper healing to take place. Rather than focusing on the finished artwork, art therapy emphasizes the emotional, imaginative, and expressive journey of creating it.
Over time, your artwork can also become a visual reminder of your growth, allowing you to reflect on your healing in a way that words alone sometimes cannot.
Our Trauma-Informed Approach
Healing happens when you feel safe.
At BreakThrough Counselling, our art therapy approach is grounded in trauma-informed care, attachment theory, and an understanding of the nervous system. We recognize that every person’s experiences are unique, which is why each session is tailored to your comfort level, goals, and individual needs.
While art is at the heart of the therapeutic process, it is just one of the many tools we may use. Depending on what feels most helpful for you, sessions may also incorporate psychoeducation, mindfulness, grounding techniques, gentle somatic movement, and nervous system regulation strategies. Together, these approaches can help you better understand your emotions, reconnect with your body, and support lasting healing.
Every session is collaborative, moving at a pace that feels safe, supportive, and meaningful for you.
art therapy montreal
What Can Art Therapy Help With?
Art therapy can benefit children, teens, adults, and older adults experiencing a wide range of challenges, including:
- Understanding and expressing emotions
- Anxiety and chronic stress
- Depression
- Burnout
- Grief and loss
- Navigating relationship challenges
- Low self-esteem
- Emotional regulation
- Identity exploration
- Attachment difficulties
- Life transitions
- Creative blocks
- Trauma recovery
- Nervous system regulation
art therapy montreal
Modalities We May Incorporate
While art is at the heart of the therapeutic process, it is just one of the many tools we may use. Depending on your goals and what feels most supportive, your therapist may incorporate other evidence-based approaches to deepen self-awareness, regulate the nervous system, and support your healing. Every session is tailored to your unique needs, helping create meaningful and lasting change.
Art Therapy
Using creative expression as a pathway for exploration, art therapy can help you process emotions, experiences, and inner experiences in ways that words alone may not capture.
Somatic Therapy
Somatic approaches invite awareness of the body and its signals, helping you notice how emotions, stress, and past experiences may be held in the body. Learn more.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness supports present-moment awareness and can help cultivate greater calm, self-compassion, and connection with your thoughts, emotions, and body.
Psychoeducation
Understanding how our emotions, thoughts, relationships, and nervous system work can provide insight and practical tools to better navigate challenges and support meaningful change.
Nervous System Regulation
These approaches focus on building awareness of your nervous system and developing practical tools to support a greater sense of safety, steadiness, and emotional regulation.
Attachment-Based Therapy
Exploring attachment patterns can help deepen your understanding of how early relationships may shape the way you connect, communicate, and experience yourself and others.
Trauma-Informed Care
A trauma-informed approach prioritizes safety, choice, collaboration, and empowerment while recognizing how past experiences can influence the mind, body, and relationships. Learn more.
art therapy montreal
What Progress Can Look Like
Healing looks different for everyone, but over time many clients begin to notice:
- Greater awareness of their emotions: Better recognize, understand, and express what they're feeling without becoming overwhelmed.
- Feeling calmer and more grounded: Develop a greater sense of calm, presence, and connection to themselves in everyday life.
- Increased confidence and self-compassion: Build a kinder relationship with themselves while developing greater confidence in their abilities and decisions.
- Better understanding of patterns and relationships: Recognize how past experiences may influence current thoughts, behaviours, and relationships, creating opportunities for meaningful change.
- Reduced anxiety and overwhelm: Feel better equipped to manage stress, navigate challenges, and respond with greater ease.
- A stronger connection to themselves and their bodies: Reconnect with their emotions, bodily sensations, creativity, and inner strengths in ways that support healing and well-being.
- Healthier ways of coping with stress: Develop practical tools and strategies that support emotional regulation, resilience, and long-term well-being.
Step into a life of possibility.
Start your journey to healing with a free 15-minute consultation. Book online or contact us.
Audrey Elkeslassy, MSW, RSW
Founder and Clinical Director
Why Us
BreakThrough Counselling
We believe that true safety starts from within.
When you feel secure in yourself, that sense of safety goes with you wherever you are. But how do you find that inner safety?
You can’t always control your environment, but you can build a solid foundation within yourself. We help you develop a toolkit of resources to strengthen your confidence, self-awareness, and emotional resilience so you can navigate your world with more calm and security.
Every member of our team works from a trauma-informed place and uses what we call a “trauma lens.” This means that we understand how trauma or stress can impact the mind, body, and soul. A trauma lens helps us see how your experiences might influence how you feel, think, and respond today, even if you don’t identify your past as “traumatic.”
Are you ready to shift from surviving to thriving? Book a free 15-minute consultation.
At BreakThrough Counselling, we practice:
Trauma-Informed Care
We use evidence-based methods like EMDR, IFS, and somatic techniques to address and heal the effects of trauma.
Collaboration
We work closely with clients and other professionals to provide holistic, coordinated care that supports effective healing.
Empowerment
Our approach equips clients with tools and strategies to confidently navigate their healing journey and challenges.
BreakThrough Counselling Montreal
Meet Our Art Therapists
Meet our counsellors offering art therapy in-person in Montreal. Online sessions available across Québec.
Our Approach
What Happens During an Art Therapy Session?
Every art therapy session is unique because every person and every healing journey is different.
Your therapist will work collaboratively with you to create a safe and supportive space where you can explore your thoughts, emotions, and experiences through creative expression. Depending on your goals and what feels most helpful, sessions may include drawing, painting, collage, or mixed media alongside conversation, psychoeducation, mindfulness, grounding techniques, or gentle somatic movement.
There is no pressure to be artistic or create something beautiful. The focus is on the process rather than the final product. As you create, you’ll have the opportunity to better understand your emotions, recognize patterns, develop new coping strategies, and reconnect with yourself in meaningful ways. Over time, many clients experience greater self-awareness, stronger emotional regulation, and a renewed sense of confidence and well-being.
art therapy montreal
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to be artistic?
Not at all. Art therapy isn’t about creating beautiful artwork or having artistic talent. The focus is on the creative process and what it helps you discover about yourself—not the final product.
What if I don't know what to create?
That’s completely okay. You don’t need to come in with ideas or know where to start. Your therapist will gently guide you through the process using prompts, materials, and activities that feel comfortable and meaningful for you.
Is art therapy evidence-based?
Yes. Art therapy is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that has been shown to support emotional expression, reduce stress, improve emotional regulation, and help people process trauma and other difficult life experiences. Research also supports its effectiveness for anxiety, depression, grief, and many other mental health concerns.
Can art therapy help with trauma?
Yes. Art therapy can be especially helpful for trauma because it offers another way to process experiences when words alone don’t feel like enough. Creating art can help increase feelings of safety, support nervous system regulation, and allow difficult emotions to be explored at a pace that feels right for you.
Is art therapy good for anxiety?
Yes. The process of making art can help calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and create a greater sense of presence. Art therapy also helps people better understand their emotions, develop healthy coping strategies, and build resilience over time.
What ages is art therapy for?
Art therapy can be adapted for children (3+), teens, adults, and older adults. Sessions are always tailored to each person’s age, goals, interests, and unique needs.
What happens in an art therapy session?
Every session is different because every client is different. Depending on your goals, you may use drawing, painting, collage, clay, or other creative materials alongside conversation, mindfulness, somatic movement, and psychoeducation. Your therapist will guide you every step of the way, creating a safe and supportive space to explore your experiences.
Is art therapy covered by insurance?
Yes. At BreakThrough Counselling, our art therapy sessions are covered under naturopathy and Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC).
Coverage varies between insurance providers and individual plans, so we recommend checking with your insurance company to confirm your benefits before your first appointment. If you have any questions, we’re happy to help.
BreakThrough Counselling Montreal
How To Get Started
Get started with BreakThrough Counselling using the form below. We will schedule you in for a free consultation or answer any questions you have. Our services are available in Montreal with online sessions across Québec and Ontario.
We typically respond within 1 business day.*
*By providing my phone number to BreakThrough Counselling, I agree and acknowledge that BreakThrough Counselling may send text messages to my wireless phone number for any purpose. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency will vary, and you will be able to Opt-out by replying “STOP”. For more information on how your data will be handled, please visit https://btcounselling.
Book Online
If you’re a new client, you can book a consultation directly online using the button below.
Note: You will be prompted to create a profile in order to book online.