Erika Reid Art Therapy & Psychotherapy

05/08/2025

Amor & Art

09/15/2024

If children are allowed to fully experience and express their emotions in the presence of a regulated parent or caregiver the child learns that emotions are not only manageable but they are a normal part of being human and they are a temporary state--they move in and out like waves on the ocean. We can't expect children to handle these vulnerable feelings without practice and acceptance.

06/03/2024

ART DOES HEAL!🎨

"The power of diverse arts practices to promote healing, well-being and even longevity provides benefits that rank right up there with exercise, nutrition and sleep."

Research shows that art experiences, whether as a maker or a beholder, transform our biology by rewiring our brains and triggering the release of neurochemicals, hormones and endorphins.

03/01/2024

💯

04/16/2023

BEING safe and FEELING safe are two very different things.

Could we consider that children also react to people based on how safe it feels?

Could we consider that instead of being labeled “shy,” which is typically viewed as a negative trait, that maybe the child doesn’t feel safe with Aunt Betty whom they’ve never met before?

The same curiosity can be used when we witness a child who dislikes their teacher, the dentist, the barber, the bus driver, and on and on.

Maybe they just don’t feel safe, yet.

Is this a character flaw?

Can we blame them?

This caution is a natural response in young humans. Forcing relationships or shaming the child for not engaging with people they don’t feel safe with is counterproductive in my opinion.

Children who have a history of abuse and neglect might have an even harder time feeling safe with people because they’ve learned that people aren’t always safe. The threat is very real to them.

At the same time, some children who have only ever known adults to be chaotic or scary can experience the reverse feelings. They can believe that unsafe people are safe, bc for them, safety is unfamiliar and therefore scary.

The ability to trust truly safe others takes repeated interactions of safety, respect for boundaries, honesty, and compassion.

11/03/2022

Are you wondering what an art therapy session might be like? 🎨😍
A lot of people hear the term “art therapy” and think it’s for kids or artists. While it’s true that artists and kids might use art therapy, so can anyone!

Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses the creative process to help people express and understand how they think, feel and act. Adults, children and teens can use art therapy to meet any therapeutic goal - expressing and dealing with difficult emotions, gaining coping skills, processing trauma, improving self-esteem and more.

WHAT KIND OF ART WILL THE CLIENT MAKE?

Art materials and tasks will be different on the age and current experiences of the client, you can expect to use paper, pencil crayons, markers, pastels, paint, fabric, clay, watercolour, and more.

Curious about how art therapy might work for you? We can do a free phone or video consultation to figure out how I can help.
Email: erikabreid@gmail.com

07/08/2022

06/09/2021

06/04/2021

“We had an opportunity to help prevent further damage to Ontario’s children and youth, and we have failed. Other provinces and territories made children and youth a priority, and were able to keep schools open with minimal disruption.”

Read our full response to Premier Doug Ford's announcement re keeping schools closed in-person learning: https://www.cps.ca/en/media/an-empty-promise-to-ontario-students

Now Ontario families need to know how the govt will ensure that all schools open safely in September 2021 -- *on time*, with full-day in-person learning for all students K to 12, and with all extracurricular activities and support services restored.

FordNation Stephen Lecce

05/11/2021

"We cannot overstate the extent of the mental health crisis facing our children and youth. Our clinics and hospitals are overrun with families seeking care for children and youth in distress—eating disorders, anxiety, hopelessness, depression, problematic substance use, and more."

A letter from our Ontario board members calling for:

1. reopening of outdoor recreation spaces for kids
2. a plan to safely reopen schools before the end of the year

04/30/2021

"The SickKids research reported that 70 per cent of school aged children (six to 18 years) experienced a deterioration in at least one of the six domains of mental health since the pandemic began. The domains are depression, anxiety, irritability, attention span, hyperactivity and obsessions/compulsions."

Voices build across the province for return of youth sports and fears of mental health crisis