Mary Kain

I have worked for many years in primary and secondary schools as a counsellor and before this as a teacher. This has given me extensive experience of child development, as well as an understanding of many of the problems facing our young people today.

When a child is experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties, these feelings can find expression in challenging behaviours, anxiety, depression and/or physical ailments.

I use an integrative way of working and draw on different therapeutic approaches to suit each young person's individual needs. I combine this with using the arts. By introducing the use of different artistic media, such as  drawing, painting, clay, sand play and puppets for example, the possibilities for self expression  are enhanced through symbolic representation of a young person's feelings when at first words might be difficult to find. 

From my practice space within a gentle holistic centre in Rye I offer the support and encouragement that can allow a young person to explore and express their feelings in a safe and confidential environment. I bring a non-judgemental and empathetic attitude to my work with children and young people.

I like to set up an initial consultation to assess the child and explain how art therapy works. From here we can agree to hold a number of sessions, lasting around 50 minutes, at the same time each week.  At the end of the agreed number of sessions we can review our work and decide how to proceed. Sometimes a short course of sessions can be enough to resolve troubling issues but a young person can also stay in therapy for as long as they wish.