Frequently Asked Questions

What credentials do you hold?

Registered Arts Therapist with Health & Care Professions Council, UK
Executive Board Member, The Art Therapy Association of India
(ON-GOING) - Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner Training, 2024-2027
Diploma in Narrative Practices from Narrative Practices India, 2023
Certificate in Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy from The Embody Lab, 2021
MSc. in Art Psychotherapy from Queen Margaret University, 2020
200 Hour Yoga TTC from Sivananda Ashram, 2017
B.A. in Psychology, English Literature, Performing Arts from Christ University, 2016

What measures do you take for self-care and accountability in this work?

I am in regular supervision with a qualified and experienced psychologist to ensure that I am constantly learning, being challenged, and reflecting on my approach to this work. I seek out personal therapy regularly which helps me deepen my self-awareness and my relationship to my role as a mental health practitioner. I am registered with the Health & Care Professions Council, UK which is responsible for regulating health and care professionals that meet their standards. I am also an Executive Board Member at The Art Therapy Association of India, a body that aims to regulate and advocate for Art Therapy in India.

What is Art Therapy? Who benefits from it?

Art Therapy is a form of psychotherapy where art-making becomes a medium to express and explore oneself. Art made in therapy is not interpreted by the therapist, but reflected on together with the client. Being inclined towards art-making is not a pre-requisite to participate in art therapy. It can be beneficial to anyone! Furthermore, having a trauma-informed approach to art therapy means that the client always has a choice about whether or not to make art in a session. If you have specific questions, or concerns regarding the process, please reach out to me via email, or the contact form on this website.

How do you incorporate somatic practices into this work?

Somatic practices are sometimes brought into the sessions (with the client’s consent) to understand, experience, and work with our nervous systems by bringing awareness to our bodies and working with breath and movement. Learning about the impact of our past experiences on our neuro-biology can enable us to become more sensitive to our patterns, more conscious of our innate resilience, and more aware of tools that we can use (or have already been using) to respond to distress.

What do you mean by narrative therapy?

My work is guided by practices derived from narrative therapy, a way of working that is non-pathologizing and recognizes the role that systems play in creating and maintaining oppressive states. These practices are based on the belief that narratives/stories play a powerful part not only in perpetuating but also in shifting these very states. In practice, this involves working together to re-author the narratives in our own lives. It separates the person from the problem and sees the person as an agent of change and the therapist, as a co-traveler.

What is trauma informed care?

To me, being trauma-informed means being aware of the neurobiology of trauma as well as the politics of trauma. This means that I work to sensitise myself to the ways in which systems create and perpetuate trauma, and reflect on my role as a therapist in dismantling these systems, inside and outside the therapy room. I work to stay close to my client’s lived experience, and their context. I am open to learn from and be challenged by my clients, and my client’s safety and consent always take priority. I work collaboratively with them to tailor sessions to their needs and the goals that they set for themselves. There are 5 trauma-informed care principles that make up the foundation of my practice - Agency, Safety, Collaboration, Choice, and Transparency.

What happens once I reach out to you?

Once you have filled out the contact form/emailed me, I will get in touch with you to schedule a short introductory call where we can address any further questions or concerns you might have before we begin. After this, an informed consent form and a registration form will be shared with you, to be filled out before our first session. Sessions are typically 60 minutes long, once a week at a predetermined time. Sessions take place over Google Meet for which you will need access to a private space, a laptop/computer with a webcam, and a stable internet connection.

What if I am not “creative” or if I don't want to make art in sessions?

Deconstructing learned ideas about who gets to identify as a "creative" person and what barriers keep us from expressing ourselves is part of this work too. Whether it is burnout, fear of failure, or feelings of futility, an artist’s block can be a clue and a key to one’s penchant for creative self-expression. We would work together to understand this as part of the client’s larger context - the ways in which they might have actually been blocked from expressing themselves, the systems that benefit from censoring them or forcing them to self-censor, and most importantly, what it is that their art stands for that is so de-stabilizing and fearsome for these systems. Having said that, art-making in sessions is not enforced and is one of the many ways in which a client may choose to express themselves.

Please reach out to me through my contact form or over email: aishwarya.dattani@gmail.com to schedule an introductory call (free of charge) to address any other questions or concerns you may have!