Ruth Archer
Art Psychotherapy & Clinical Supervision
Bradford on Avon
For a child or an adult, it’s extremely
powerful to hear someone say,
“I get you. I understand. I see why you
feel this way”.
Daniel Seigel
Hello.
I’m Ruth, an experienced HCPC-registered Art Psychotherapist offering confidential, approachable therapy for children, young people and adults in Bradford-on-Avon and online.
Choosing the right therapist for yourself, your child or your young person, is an important decision and can feel like a big step. I offer a warm, compassionate and welcoming space where people feel heard, understood and accepted for who they are, and what they bring.
I help people to make sense of their experiences, using both verbal and non-verbal means, in ways that feel comfortable and meaningful for them. You don’t need to have any previous experience, skill, or be ‘good’ at art to benefit from art psychotherapy. Building trusting relationships is at the heart of my work.
Sessions take place in my private studio in central Bradford-on-Avon, or online.
I also provide clinical supervision for therapists and trainees, offering a reflective space to explore clinical practice, develop professional confidence and deepen therapeutic understanding.
Therapy Services
Art Psychotherapy
Art psychotherapy begins with an initial assessment session, providing an opportunity to explore the experiences or challenges that have brought you to therapy. This session also helps me develop an understanding of your individual needs and how I can best support you.
Together, we will explore your experiences in a safe, compassionate, and creative way. I draw on a range of approaches and creative techniques, tailoring each session to your individual needs and working at a pace that feels comfortable for you.
Sessions last 50 minutes and take place weekly, on the same day and at the same time. This regularity helps to create a consistent, supportive therapeutic space where trust and meaningful progress can develop over time. We typically work together in blocks of 6 sessions, with a review session taking place after each block, before agreeing our next steps.
Parent/Carer Support
As part of my practice, I offer dedicated support sessions for parents and carers.
You may be aware that your child or young person is finding things difficult, and want to better understand what they are experiencing, how to support them, and how to move forward together in a positive way.
These sessions provide a safe, confidential space to explore your concerns. I will listen carefully, help you gain a deeper understanding of the challenges your child or young person may be facing, and work alongside you to develop supportive strategies that feel right for your family.
By strengthening your understanding and confidence, these sessions can help enhance your relationship with your child or young person, creating a stronger foundation for connection, communication, and positive change.
Clinical Supervision
I offer supervision to qualified and trainee art psychotherapists, counsellors, and other professionals seeking a reflective, relational, and creative approach to supervision.
I view supervision as a collaborative and reflective process. I recognise that therapeutic work can be both deeply rewarding and emotionally demanding. From my own experience of being supervised, I know that the most meaningful professional growth occurs within relationships where I have felt genuinely supported, encouraged, and able to think openly. This understanding informs my own supervisory practice.
I strive to provide a trusting, compassionate environment where you will feel heard, valued, and appropriately challenged, enabling you to reflect on your practice, develop professionally, and continue to offer the best possible care to your clients.
What is Art Psychotherapy?
Art therapy is an established form of psychotherapy, delivered by trained art therapists (also known as art psychotherapists).
Art therapy uses art as the primary mode of expression, alongside talking with an art therapist. It aims to reduce distress and improve social, emotional and mental health by promoting insight, self-compassion and a sense of agency and self-worth.
During art therapy, you are supported by an art therapist to use art to express and articulate often complex thoughts and feelings through art making. This may be following difficult or traumatic experiences which may be hard to talk about.
(The British Association of Art Therapists BAAT).
Professional Experience
I have over 20 years of clinical experience as an art psychotherapist, working with children, young people and their families, as well as with adults. My psychodynamic approach is informed by an understanding of how unconscious processes and early experiences can influence emotions, behaviours and relational patterns. I work collaboratively with clients to explore these underlying dynamics, supporting greater insight and understanding through the therapeutic process.
I am passionate about working alongside others to help them make sense of their challenges, enabling them to move forward with greater clarity, confidence and positivity, and ultimately thrive. I was drawn to this work through my own experiences of growing up, as well as through my journey as a mother of two children.
I qualified as an Art Psychotherapist in 2007 at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, and have since gained extensive experience working with a diverse range of clients presenting with varied emotional, behavioural and relational difficulties, across the NHS, primary and secondary school settings, charitable organisations and within the private sector.
My career began in the NHS, within a service forming part of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for Lanarkshire, Scotland. I also held the role of Clinical Lead for Children and Young People's Therapeutic Services within a specialist trauma clinic in Bristol for a number of years, where I worked with individual clients and their families, as well as supporting a team of clinicians.
In addition to my private practice, I currently work within a co-educational independent school in Wiltshire, providing 1:1 therapy to young people aged 11 to 18, as well as contributing to the school’s wider pastoral care and wellbeing provision.
Over the years, I have enjoyed contributing to the training of therapists as a visiting lecturer on the MA Art Psychotherapy and MA Counselling for Children and Young People programmes at the University of South Wales.
I am registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) . I work in line with the BAAT Code of Ethics and Professional Practice, and I engage in regular clinical supervision and continuing professional development to ensure my work remains thoughtful, ethical, and informed by current practice.
Qualifications
Doctoral-level Research Studies in Psychotherapy - University of Lancashire. 2024-2025.
Foundation Studies in Family Therapy & Systemic Practice - Family Therapy Training Network, Glasgow. 2013.
Supervision Training for Art Therapists - British Association of Art Therapists. 2010.
MSc Art Psychotherapy - Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. 2007.
BA(Hons) Fine Art - Leeds Metropolitan University. 2005.
The Therapy Space
I offer sessions from a welcoming, light-filled, first floor studio in the centre of Bradford on Avon, or sessions can be arranged to take place online.
Studio Bacchus
The Vaults
24 Silver Street
Bradford on Avon
BA15 1JZ
Parking is available on Woolley Street or using the town centre car parks.
Get in touch.
If you'd like to find out more or arrange an initial conversation, please get in touch using the form provided, or contact me directly.
0776 366 1785
Initial consultations are free of charge.