Are you struggling with something that you find hard to share with friends or family?

Maybe even something you are finding hard to articulate to yourself? Do you think you might have issues around food or addiction? Low or erratic mood? Trauma or issues from the past that seem to still be affecting your life today? Questions about your sexual orientation or gender identity?

Could you benefit from a place to step away from daily life?

... to explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours

... to re-connect with who you essentially are

... to start living the life you want

My name is Dr. Keith Thurlow-Bishop and I am a fully qualified and highly experienced Registered Clinical Counsellor and Approved Clinical Supervisor (RCC-ACS), Registered Canadian Art Therapist (RCAT), and Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT) based in Vancouver, British Columbia. I have been working in mental health since 1990, and have extensive experience working with people recovering from food, body image, and exercise issues, compulsive behaviours such as addictions, mood problems, and experiences of abuse, neglect, trauma, or the ongoing effects of colonization. 

I am currently completing training in Somatic Experiencing and Nature-Based Therapy.

My practice is offered exclusively online in real time via a secure video platform.

What is 'Expressive Arts Therapy'?

Expressive Arts Therapy is a form of psychotherapy that integrates traditional talk therapies with the use of the arts (visual arts, music, drama, dance/movement, writing, sand play, etc) to support self-expression, self-exploration, healing, and growth. It is a highly effective treatment option for people recovering from trauma, grief and loss, eating disorders, addictions, and mood disorders. No previous experience of the arts is needed, just a curiosity and willingness to explore and experiment. Typically, part of a session will be devoted to a creative activity, and part of the session to processing the experience and the art-work that has been created, although there are no absolute rules. However, we may choose to just talk, and that is OK, too.

You will need a small and inexpensive art supply kit that I can tell you more about when we meet. Many of these supplies you will likely already have in your home or office, and the rest can be found easily online, at local art stores, or at dollar stores.

I have particular experience of working with people who have difficulties with :

• Eating disorders or problematic eating behaviours
  
• Compulsive exercising
  
• Body image issues
  
• Self-harming behaviours
  
• Addiction issues
  
• Mental health issues such as personality disorders
  
• People experiencing the ongoing and intergenerational effects of colonization
  
• Sex, sexuality, gender identity, and gender expression issues (LGBTQ2S+)
  
• Experiences of abuse, neglect, or trauma
  
• Mood issues such as bipolar disorder, anxiety, and depression
  
• Life-threatening conditions such as cancer and HIV/AIDS
  
• Relationships
  
  I am committed to providing a high quality, accessible, effective, and culturally sensitive professional service in a safe, confidential, healing space and receive regular clinical supervision to ensure the efficacy of my practice.
  
  In addition to psychotherapy and expressive arts therapy, I also offer group and individual clinical consultation to trainees and qualified arts therapists and clinical counsellors.
  
  I acknowledge that I live and work on the unceded, traditional, ancestral territories of the Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh(Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish)Nations. I colonially occupy this land without the consent of the Peoples to whom the lands belong, and I remain committed to my ongoing learning and supporting the process of Truth and Reconciliation.