What are the opening hours?

Monday 1pm - 7pm Tuesday 1pm - 7pm Wednesday 1pm - 7pm Thursday 1pm - 7pm Friday 1pm - 7pm

Heart Smart Arts

Home
United Kingdom
Rye
Heart Smart Arts

You are loved, unique and brilliant (you may just not believe it yet) ✨
Therapy, client and family advocacy, support
Small team: Exceptional service

09/02/2026

***WE'VE MADE IT!***

It feels as if it's been the wettest, gloomiest winter. But this is your reminder that we've made it through the darkest weeks of the year. The sun will not set before 5pm again now until October.

Hello more sunny days! Hello spring. Those of you who are affected by the winter blues or SAD can begin to breathe a sigh of relief. Take care of yourself and your body over the coming weeks. We live within systems which don't allow us enough rest over the winter. By now our energy can be very depleted.

But it is coming back, a little each day and with the daylight and nature's rhythms.

It's OK if everyone in your family is tired. It's OK if you're needing a bit of extra time, more nourishment. This makes complete sense at the end of a long winter season.

Sunnier days ahead ☀☀☀

06/02/2026

Developing creativity in Ashford, we'll offer courses and workshops to improve mental health and combat isolation. Working together we'll create inspiring art, connection, and community resilience.

30/01/2026

We need your help.....🎨

We are delighted to be working alongside on launching their fundraising campaign to provide people in rural areas with mental health support in the form of free art therapy workshops, activities and online courses (especially during Winter which is tough for many).💦🌩️🌨️❄️ Heart Smart Arts will be creating and delivering workshops both online and offline if we are able to reach our funding goal. We really hope to help people who couldn't normally access or not easily access our services to do just that with this project.!

People in our local villages and rural locations often don't have equal access to activities and services. We want to change this!! 🎸🎨🩰🪇🥁♟️🎮🎭

You can support us by making a pledge/donation (min £2.00) and by sharing this post and link far and wide!!
https://www.spacehive.com/creative-connections-in-ashford

We have 76 days left to raise funds for this project. Thank you😊

28/01/2026

***DRAWING & TALKING IS ART THERAPY, ISN’T IT?***

Well actually, No. This is something that has come up a few times lately so we thought it would be good to make a clear distinction between the two.

Firstly it’s important to say we value and appreciate ALL qualified practitioners working in mental health and the arts. We believe the world needs more wonderful practitioners doing this important work.

Drawing & Talking and Art Therapy are both using Art to support mental health and wellbeing. They are underpinned by similar principles and ideologies. It would be so easy to think they are the same. If your child has accessed Drawing and Talking at school, this is not actually Art Therapy. Having said that, it’s a great first step into this kind of support. Art Therapists may have even begun this type of work with a Drawing and Talking qualification!

Drawing and talking is designed to be lower level wellbeing support. To be a Drawing and Talking practitioner, someone must complete a short course often taken by those working in related fields such as pastoral care or social work and serves a useful purpose in providing care to those who wouldn’t necessarily be able to access or need longer term therapy.

Art Therapy, on the other hand is a protected title. Art Therapists have to complete 2 to 3+ years of training (an MA in most cases after a first degree in a related field) and have extensive therapy of their own in order to do this work. All of this helps them to understand how to meet clients at the level they can engage and to have significantly processed their own trauma in order to work safely in deep psychological work. Art Therapists are Psychotherapists who have to be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (who also register professional like an Occupational Therapist or a Paramedic). Art Therapy, and the right experience from the therapist, will often be used with significant or severe trauma to support a client.

The support your child would receive from these two services might have some similarities but will be very different levels of trauma work.

26/01/2026

***WAIT...WHAT? WHY WOULD I BE BENEFITTING WHEN THERAPY IS FOR MY CHILD?***

Yes, so you might be under the impression that your child's therapy is just for them. In one sense it is, it's their space. But in actuality it will impact you as a whole family.

When a child is in therapy, parents and families are often surprised on the impact it can have on everyone else. Big changes and shifts can happen as your child's behaviour might adjust. Children in therapy can impact their siblings and their parents through what they are learning. You might find that language or behaviour changes in them positively rippling through the whole family.

So even though the time and money investment can seem significant. It is just that - an investment - both in their wellbeing and, significantly, in your own because you aren't managing this on your own anymore. You have a support team cheering you on. And that changes everything. This is an investment in the future of your family's mental health. What a place to invest!

A new way to look at the cost, perhaps?

21/01/2026

*** “THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT MY LIFE.”***

No, perhaps not now because you haven’t met them yet. How can they?

This statement shocked me because I was amazed that someone thought this about therapy.

Therapists care deeply about their clients wellbeing and their experience. Yes, it is our jobs and we have probably all experienced a young person at one time or another suggest that we are only here because we get paid for it.

But actually, we love what we do. We’ve gone through years of training, input and *hard work* to be able to do it. We deeply care about supporting people with their mental health. And if we were here just for the money, quite frankly, we chose the wrong job!😝

I know every member of our team thinks about clients a long time after they’ve finished therapy. We see something or think of something which reminds us of that client. And we wonder how they are doing and hope things are working out for them.

Just like teachers remember special students and tell their stories years later, therapists recall and think about their clients and wish them well (privately). Not all the time but it might surprise you how often.

With our current clients we think about them often, we spend a lot of time researching what might be supportive, we reflect on how we can be an even more effective therapist for them in supervision… The list goes on.

So this really isn’t true. Therapists care deeply about our clients lives, about their mental health, their special relationships and crucially about their longer term success. This is what sets us apart from schools, for example. We are thinking about their success in adult relationships, their long term wellbeing and opportunities to thrive. Not just getting them to school or through this next exam or to be able to sit on the carpet for the whole teaching session…

There is so much that goes on behind the scenes. The client only sees 50 mins a week of that work. Their parents (if they’re children) even less. But trust me, it’s all happening behind the scenes in order to help you thrive 🌱🌱

19/01/2026

***TANGLED THOUGHTS ***

Sometimes our minds get really busy. And it can be hard to find a way forwards. Who can help you to untangle and make sense?

👋🏻🙋‍♀️

You don’t have to have a big difficult event to access therapy. Often people come to therapy because of a series of small but difficult experiences. And then they have one too many of these and find they don’t have much “gas left in the (emotional) tank”.

Sometimes it’s an overwhelming six months, something new to adjust to.

There are lots of reasons to come to therapy. One thing you can be sure of is that we are interested in your experience and we’re here to listen. Listen to how this was for you, never to judge but instead to hold space for the feelings it’s left you with.

And help you finds a way forward.

We work with adults too! ✨

16/01/2026

***WE SUPPORT PROFESSIONALS TOO!***

Are you a therapist or counsellor starting out in private practice or thinking about it?

We are so passionate about more good quality support being available for families and we realise we can't do it all! If you'd like to know more about what we offer, click the "Professionals" tab on our website or go direct here:

www.heartsmartarts.com/professionals

14/01/2026

***JANUARY BLUES…🦋***

January can be tough. Perhaps you are exhausted or you’re grieving. Maybe you’re ill (again?) or you’re feeling alone…maybe you’re quiet quitting on the expectations placed on you and no one seems to have noticed.

This is just a little reminder that *empty* isn’t bad. When we’ve been through something we can feel empty afterwards and this is our bodies way of recalibrating.

It’s not the time to push on, to “fight through it”, to be strong. It’s the time to acknowledge what has happened, to give yourself GRACE and to REST. Knowing that, when your body is ready, you’ll start to feel interested in life again.

You are not alone. Our systems are set up for January burn out. It’s ok to “rage against the machine” and have the audacity to go slow and do the minimum. Until you’re feeling a bit perkier again.

And if it’s all a bit too much, don’t do it alone. Reach out to a friend, to a therapist, to us (you’re very welcome!), to a trusted colleague.
Humans are built for connection - you too (even when you don’t feel like it).

💖 The HSA team 🦋

12/01/2026

***EVEN IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS YET...***

We truly believe this to be the case. Every single person on the planet has something of value to offer whilst they are here. Why would you be any different?

I imagine you are already doing so much of what you're here to do but sometimes we can feel a bit lost, a bit restless, *anxious* maybe when we have lost sight of the things which truly matter to us. What we really value above all.

Even though we often wouldn't choose them, life changing events can be very useful for helping us put into perspective what really matters and what really, really doesn't. It helps us to stop worrying about those things which don't matter and don't deserve lots of airtime in your brain.

Working with us can help you get honest and get clear about your values and what you are here to do. We have some exciting changes coming in line with this value soon so watch this space!✨🌈🦄

05/01/2026

***HAPPY NEW YEAR...!***

And first day back to work and school for many today. How about you? Have you made it through the day?

It's been really cold and frosty these last few mornings which, of course, makes it feel harder to get up and out but I can't help but enjoy seeing many more sunrises and sunsets that we are ever able to see in the warmer months.

Winter is still hibernating. At best, it's cold treating it's seeds to help them germinate later! It is not pushing on. Remember you are part of nature too with cycles and seasons. It is not your season to push on just yet (whatever New Years resolutions might suggest!)... We are still in deep winter, in need of deep rest. The Christmas holidays can take a lot of our remaining energy so it's OK to hunker down now and just to what has to be done and no more. Your body will thank you later!

We are very much looking forward to seeing our clients back in therapy this week and we will be encouraging them to do them same - go slowly, respect their need for rest too, as we must also do ourselves.

Happy January!

The HSA Team💓

19/12/2025

***HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM US 💗***

We’d just like to take this opportunity to wish you a wonderful holiday season and Christmas, if you celebrate it.

It is also nearly winter solstice which marks the days having increasingly more light from now on which we are very pleased about! 🌅

The whole team will be away from work from December 22nd - January 5th inclusive. We are really looking forward to welcoming our clients and their families back in the new year.

Take care and see you soon!
The HSA team 💖🎄🧑‍🎄

Address

Rye

Opening Hours

Monday	1pm - 7pm
Tuesday	1pm - 7pm
Wednesday	1pm - 7pm
Thursday	1pm - 7pm
Friday	1pm - 7pm

Telephone

+447709065200

Website

http://www.heartsmartarts.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Heart Smart Arts posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Heart Smart Arts:

Shortcuts

Address
Telephone
Opening Hours
Alerts
Contact The Practice
Claim ownership or report listing

Want your practice to be the top-listed Clinic in Rye?