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

Heart Smart Arts

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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

04/12/2025

***LET'S TALK ABOUT CHRISTMAS AND NEURODIVERGENCE OR SENSITIVITY***

❌Itchy Christmas jumpers
❌Rooms which are too hot with the heating on or too cold!
❌School timetables changing completely or ceasing to exist!
❌Flashing lights and strong smells
❌Feeling poorly and run down
❌Noisy songs and music in places it isn't normally
❌More family gatherings and social situations

And then we ask them to say 'thank you', eat what you're given, stand on stage and sing at the right time!

No. Christmas asks too much sometimes.

So here is permission to whip your child out of things which are just too much for them. Here is permission for some pyjama/duvet days. And here is permission for a sensory soothing home decoration situation which you explore together to see what will feel good and what might be too much.

And here is permission for doing what feels good for your family, for your child and yourself REGARDLESS of what schools, extended family or anyone else thinks.

It's your Christmas. Let's make it for you 💓🎄

*x

02/12/2025

***HAPPY DECEMBER!***

December is here! And with it the deepest and darkest of winter.

Though there will likely be things to look forward to at Christmas or over the holiday season, this is also a time of chronic mental health struggle. So just to acknowledge that if this is you, you are not alone. Our bodies miss the daylight, our energy is lower, we are often trying to do as much as we might in the summer months. Our bodies resist.

Instead of stress, anxiety and rush right up to the holiday season, we would like to invite you to a different kind of experience:

A slow burn, a slow build up to a more peaceful time. Christmas can be really tricky. We miss loved ones no longer here, feel the financial pressure of "the perfect Christmas"... it's a lot.

So instead, what about a gentle Christmas? One where you say No to things which don't bring you peace and joy. A Creative Christmas? A kind Christmas? One where you give a little time rather than things.

How could this holiday and winter season meet your needs for rest(ore) and peace? What could make this experience joyful for you?

And that's where we'll leave you today 💓

20/11/2025

***WOULD YOU LIKE A LITTLE SUPPORT FOR YOU?***

Parent Consultations are 60 or or 90 mins to talk about what you’re finding challenging. We’ll brainstorm some ways forward for you and make a plan. And we’ll be there to give you the support you need.

Sometimes it just takes some fresh ideas or a change of perspective.

Send us an email or give us a ring. We'll be happy to find a time to get you taking some positive steps forward.

harriet@heartsmartarts.com 07709065200

*x *x

17/11/2025

***THESE ARE THIE KIND OF THINGS PARENTS SAY ABOUT THERAPY WITH US***

And we are so grateful for all the feedback we receive.

For some children this is the first time they have felt safe to express themselves away from parents. For most it is about growing this capacity for resilience and safety to manage what life throws at us sometimes.

You can read more about the impact on therapy with us on our website or on our Google reviews.

*x

13/11/2025

***THE WEATHER THIS PAST WEEKEND ☀️😍***

Was just beautiful! I hope you got a chance to get out and enjoy it too… as the rain came by Sunday afternoon.

Early morning sunlight is so good for us in the Autumn and winter as we are missing our vitamin D from the summer months. It helps to calibrate our circadian rhythms and to get good sleep.

The rain seems to have arrived this week so grab any opportunity you can, even if it’s just to sit by your window and open it for some fresh air when the sun shows it’s face.

There was a little sprinkling of rain whilst I (Harriet) was out and when I took this photo but the sunlight was just so worth it.

So just a little reminder to take those moments. Put your phone down and breathe it all in. Your nervous system will thank you 💖

10/11/2025

We think it’s really important to be transparent with you about the cost of therapy 🌈✨

It can be a significant amount of money to find every month and we will always discuss this with you to make sure it’s financially sustainable for you as a family.

Our taster sessions are the perfect opportunity to find out what a session is like without committing to a number of sessions just yet. You get to meet the therapist, see the space and try out some of the things we have (art materials and lots more!). We also believe that this shouldn’t cost a huge amount as it’s just to try it out but it is also our therapists time and expertise.

Taster sessions start at £25 and regular sessions are then £75 per session. We offer PAYG options or monthly invoices so you can choose how to spread the cost. We accept bank transfer, direct debit and cash. We do have a very small number of funded places for low income families. This is funding which we spend our own time finding so it is limited and sometimes there is a waiting list for this. Contact us directly to find out more about this.

You may be thinking - is that more than it was? - and the answer is yes. We have had a price increase in October 2024. The last time we increased our prices was 2021 and we hope for this to be the only increase you will see for some time.

*x

29/10/2025

***AUTUMN IS DEFINITELY HERE…🍁🍂***

We are so lucky at the Rye space to be able to enjoy the seasons from our big windows and patio doors facing the garden.

We currently have some space on Wednesdays at Rye. Get in touch if you’d like to know more!

*x

27/10/2025

***THE POWER OF WORDS***

Poet:
Poem: The Mountain
Mural:

Lately, I’ve been feeling called to share Art with impact to draw the connections between creativity and therapy.

I came to poetry quite late after a time of great personal loss when I couldn’t access my normal creative processes. I had always recognised the power of words but all of a sudden, they were making shapes and phrases in a way they hadn’t for me before. Poetry brought me back to a stable state of mind and creativity was the thread.

This is one of the reasons why I am so passionate about Creative therapies because I have experienced the restoration of creativity many times myself.

Creativity helps us access the hard emotions safely and begin to make sense of our experiences. Creativity has a way of communicating beyond the everyday. It can be both timeless and timely. Often we see things at the very moment we need them. In therapy, creativity can help draw connections we could never have seen with conversation alone.

If you or someone you know is struggling, reach out. You don’t need to do this alone.

23/10/2025

***IT’S ROUGH OUTSIDE BUT IT’S COSY IN HERE!***

The Ashford space is looking cosy despite the storm and rain outside. A few steps closer to completing our refit. It’s really important to us that our therapy space feels like a home from home, where all of our clients feel comfortable.

We have some space at Ashford at the moment on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. Get in touch to find out more!

17/10/2025

***EMOTIONS EXPRESSED THROUGH ART🖌***

Photo credit: Artist Lee Kyong, leekyong.com

You will likely know of some very famous artists, no longer living, who have expressed their emotions through art, such as Vincent Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo or Edvard Munch. You may not and that's OK too! There are many to choose from.

Humans have used creativity for almost as long as we know humans to have existed to make sense of their experiences, to express their pain and their joy, to warn others and to commemorate.

This is part of the reason why creativity and play work so well in therapy. Because it's innate. Creativity opens the door to exploration, curiosity and moving our emotions outside ourselves onto paper or into a 3D material.

Here is an image of an artwork from a currently working artist, Lee Kyong which is part of a series called "Sinneswelt" or Sense world. Lee Kyong is actively exploring emotions through her work and I really enjoy how the colours reflect this - some blunt and sharp at the edges, others almost indistinguishable from one another. Just like emotions! In her Artist Statement Lee describes finding painting was a way to interpret this world which can be "difficult to understand".

*xpression

15/10/2025

***AUTUMN COLOURS***

You may not know this about me (Harriet), but I absolutely LOVE colour. Specifically putting colours together to see what happens or changes. Lots of my own art making is all around placing different colours together and much of the art I will make alongside clients will be playing with colour in one way or another.

I wouldn't say Autumn is my favourite season but there are some parts I really like. This week I have been really enjoying watching the leaves changing colour where trees go from lots of different greens to a full array or reds, oranges, browns, yellows, greens and purples. It feels like a celebration of Autumn as opposed to things like creeping in darker evenings which I don't always enjoy.

Colour, interestingly, is more than just that. It is a tool I use personally to support my own mood, regulation and mental health. This might sound bizarre but there are actually psychological studies on how much colour impacts our moods in positive or negative ways. For example, there is a whole colour and design theory around how to design hospitals to help patients get well. Even down to having a window (or not) to look out from can have a big impact on how quickly patients might get well. As well as room colour and art on the walls...

So how do I use it? In my home, in my everyday belongings, even clothes, things I look at everyday: I will always choose colours which feel good to me, patterns which uplift me, designs which I enjoy. You will almost never find me with much in black. I'm not sure I even own any black clothes anymore because of how much this impacts me. The only place you'll find black actually is in artwork as it can be so impactful... but probably in small doses for me personally.

So if you want the colourful one, the silly one, the fun one, the playful one (of whatever!), have it. It's actually good for you! You can have so much fun with this if you have children too as they will really enjoy playing with and figuring out what colours feel good to them, even having lots of colour on their plates at dinner!

Enjoy,
Harriet✨🦋

13/10/2025

***WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS? WHY COME FOR THERAPY?***

The short list is:
1) Emotional Regulation
2) Relief from painful or uncomfortable emotions
3) A space to feel heard and valued.

To dig in a little deeper this means:
1) The transformative power of spending time with someone with a regulated and calm nervous system cannot be underestimated. This is how babies a children regulate - by attuning to another - and adults can significantly benefit from it too.

What you're actually paying for when you come to therapy is time with a warm, interested and calm other - the therapist. Someone who will listen without judgement and be present with you, staying in their own calm space to help you find yours. Life can be chaotic, a healed nervous system is the calm from the storm. Who in your life was the person who helped you feel calm when no one else could? That's what therapy is like.

2) This one is self explanatory. But having said that, we live in culture where the most significant coping mechanism for difficult emotions is "numbing out" - whether by alcohol, drugs, s*x addiction, po*******hy, screen addiction... these are just a few ways to distract and push down and ignore the feelings. The problem with this is it's only a short term fix. The feelings get louder this way and eventually break out in one way or another, through rage, a breakdown, a health crisis, serious illness (to name a few). Therapy helps you gently address and acknowledge these emotions, as not part of you but simply messengers passing through with information for you about how to feel good, how to have your needs met and your boundaries respected.

3) Again. Not to be underestimated. How often do you get an hour (uninterrupted!) with someone to just talk things through. Or just release some pressure. Not that often. That's what therapy is all about.

Want to know more? Leave us a comment below.

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/

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