Kerryn Knight | Art Therapist & Founder of Kindred Art Space and Empowered Art Therapy
Kerryn Knight is an Art Therapist in Frankston on Melbourne’s Mornington Peninsula.
Kerryn has over 20 years’ experience in Community Services Staff Training and Business Management coupled with working through personal set-backs and ongoing professional development. As a result she has much lived experience.
As an Art Therapist in private practice since 2008, I bring forward my life experience coupled with two schools of formal training. These schools include the Transpersonal and MIECAT’s Form of companioned inquiry and both have changed my life.
As an Art Therapist, Professional Supervisor & Registered Counsellor, Kerryn provides individual and group sessions and facilitates Community Art Projects with an empowering message.
Kerryn’s lived experience has provided her with much knowledge about life issues. Because of this experience, Kerryn finds that people warm to her ability to establish rapport and build trust in the safe and nurturing space she creates and provides for You.
Kindred Art Space – The home of Empowered Art Therapy
Founded on her belief in the power of Art Therapy, Kerryn founded Kindred Art Space, Frankston in 2016. Kerryn runs her practice from this unique and nurturing space and is joined by other professional specialists providing creative, expressive therapies for Mental Health.
What is Transpersonal?
The Transpersonal focuses on that which extends beyond (trans) the personal or individual in order to look at the broader aspects of our lives. This psycho-spiritual aspect of my work includes my respectful integration of ritual and ceremony, influenced by Indigenous culture, to embrace the powerful benefits of rite-of-passage for all ages to embrace life transitions. The Transpersonal work I have engaged in throughout my own life has helped me navigate very painful experiences in order to transform them into meaningful life purpose. I am now humbled by the ability to share and therefore pay it forward to my clients to assist them through their life challenges and transitions.
How does the MIEACT form of companioned inquiry work?
The companioned inquiry process invites openness and curiosity to the therapeutic relationship I offer my clients. Through these values, together with myself as companion and you as the inquirer, we walk together on a journey in a landscape of safety at your pace to see what emerges and unfolds within the creative, experiential and expressive processes I facilitate. This process provides structure that brings the mind and body together in a grounding and transformative platform for positive and lasting change. Through this form of inquiry, I have been able to rise above patterns that have no longer serve me on my ongoing journey of transformation.
How does creating Art help with my Mental Health?
Art Therapy focusses on the process of creating rather than an art outcome. Therefore, it is not about creating a ‘masterpiece’, nor it is creating something that is aesthetically pleasing. Rather it is just about the process of expressing emotion and doing so by becoming more aware of our body felt sense and the wisdom it holds. The art created has a two-fold effect. On one hand it acts as a release of emotion. On the other hand, the art acts as a visual representation of that emotion of which the art-maker can dialogue with and gain further understanding of.
More and more research points to how we store emotion and traumatic experience, at a cellular level. In his work on trauma research, Van der Kolk (2018) speaks of how “the body keeps the score” (p. 86). This storing of events is often only re-traumatised through speaking about them, whereas with creative, expressive interventions, a person can re-frame their experience. Sometimes the trauma took place pre-language and therefore there are no words to describe the emotions felt. The representation of body felt sense and re-framing of experience helps people to externalise the issue, look at it from different perspectives, dialogue with it and do so in a safe contained process at a pace that is led by them. Therefore, the creative process acts as a vehicle for navigating issues and gain understanding from a deeper and wise part of self. With deeper understanding, solutions can be created for empowered change.
As part of her ongoing professional development, Kerryn does have a basis in interpreting art on varying levels. As a result of this understanding Kerryn knows exactly what key questions to ask of you. This empowers you to find meaning rather than just relying on you being given advice. The meaning, personal associations and feelings of the artwork is always held by you. Kerryn companions you on your journey of further self-discovery in a safe and nurturing space. As a result Kerryn helps you unlock your power to find your answers. Just as each art piece is one of a kind, the attached meanings to them are highly individual, very powerful and hold the potential to create deep and long lasting change for the better.
Kerryn Empowers You to find Your key. !
Kerryn is committed to providing individualised sessions, workshops and programs to empower people and groups to reach their goals.
Book a free “Meet & Greet”
Kerryn understands that when choosing the right therapist for you, you need to find one that you feel comfortable with. Kerryn highly recommends booking a free initial 15 minute ‘Meet & Greet’ with her to make sure you feel comfortable with her, allow her to show you some of the processes she may use in a typical session and take a tour of Kindred Art Space – the very special nurturing space she has created.