Art Therapy Supervision

“When we work together using the arts and our imaginations, the amazing, surprising and unexpected become possible.”
– Dr Carla van Laar.
Master of Creative Arts Therapy.
Doctor of Therapeutic Arts Practice
Clinical Registrant PACFA
PACFA Accreditted Supervisor

I am an artist and therapeutic arts practitioner - or art therapist. Art is at the heart of all my activities and services. Please enjoy viewing the collections of my paintings in the gallery on this site. As a practicing artist, I have a wealth of first hand understanding about the ways in which art is a way of knowing, of being in the world, of connecting with ourselves and others, of honouring and celebrating, of healing and enhancing life, and how art is a way of co-creating the world that we share and live in together. Problems can be viewed artistically, art based practice can inform process and inquiry, and art can provide evidence of lived experiencing. This philosophy is embodied in all of my work.

About Me

Services

The services I offer include:

creative arts therapy at my Inverloch studio
professional supervision for therapists and counsellors;
therapeutic arts education and training;
creative professional development workshops;
curriculum development;
commissioned artworks;
art and mindfulness wellbeing programs:
and arts project development and facilitation.

I aim to make all my services engaging, creative, authentic, experiential, accessible, and excellent value.

Enquire

Professional Supervision for Therapists

Supervision is part of our commitment to look after ourselves in order to function well enough to help others. Supervision includes debriefing, brainstorming, discussing, processing your professional practice, and is also crucially important for your self-care.

Self-care is something that many of us need to be reminded of, and make time to do – otherwise it just might not happen. Self-care helps us to nurture our resilience and capacity to keep going. Self-care helps us to maintain our own health. It is a way of valuing ourselves, and walking our talk.

Learn More Register Here

Professional Development for Therapists with Carla

I love sharing the amazing things that I have learned over decades of practice, study and research into art, healing, transformation and life enhancement. My training workshops provide continuing professional development for therapists through which you will be supported, mentored and encouraged to expand and deepen your practice.

In every professional development training intensive, you can expect to engage in:

art-making and creative processes,
participate in experiential and interpersonal learning,
practice approaches, methods and skills that you can adapt for use in your own work contexts,
and receive a collection of three contemporary articles for scintillating further reading.

I have tailored the themes to:

give you skills and information you really need and want to know;
consider the implications of art based methods that are indigenous to art therapy practice;
and how we can use these deepened understandings in our work.

Learn More Register Here
I highly recommend Carla van Laar for practitioners seeking supervision in counselling, art therapy and the helping professions. She is compassionate, down to earth, relatable, creative, has a strong drive towards ethics and integrity and inspires these qualities in others. I find her encouraging, supportive, a good listener and wise counsel. She has helped me to be a better counsellor, facilitator and support worker than I would have been without her guidance, help and insight.

Tom Hope, Holistic Counsellor
Carla van Laar
5
2019-05-13T11:20:28+10:00
I highly recommend Carla van Laar for practitioners seeking supervision in counselling, art therapy and the helping professions. She is compassionate, down to earth, relatable, creative, has a strong drive towards ethics and integrity and inspires these qualities in others. I find her encouraging, supportive, a good listener and wise counsel. She has helped me to be a better counsellor, facilitator and support worker than I would have been without her guidance, help and insight. Tom Hope, Holistic Counsellor
“I have known Carla in a variety of capacities and most recently as my supervisor. I began supervision at a time when I was finding it particularly challenging to manage some organisational changes including more detailed case notes for clients with a history of complex trauma. I feel so much more confident with the documentation requirements and found supervision with Carla to not only be an immense support throughout the transition but also an invaluable space for personal and professional development. Carla is extremely skilled and experienced and has a compassionate and direct approach. I highly recommend Carla as a clinical supervisor for those practitioners who wish to better support themselves and their clients.”

~Anjali Sengupta, Dance/Movement Therapist.
Carla van Laar
2019-06-13T18:59:22+10:00
“I have known Carla in a variety of capacities and most recently as my supervisor. I began supervision at a time when I was finding it particularly challenging to manage some organisational changes including more detailed case notes for clients with a history of complex trauma. I feel so much more confident with the documentation requirements and found supervision with Carla to not only be an immense support throughout the transition but also an invaluable space for personal and professional development. Carla is extremely skilled and experienced and has a compassionate and direct approach. I highly recommend Carla as a clinical supervisor for those practitioners who wish to better support themselves and their clients.” ~Anjali Sengupta, Dance/Movement Therapist.
"Carla has a way of enriching a person's self through the art of compassion, creativity and imagination.  She has a genuine, caring nature about her and can bring out the best in people.”

~ Natasha, Art Therapy student.
Carla van Laar
2019-06-13T19:00:31+10:00
"Carla has a way of enriching a person's self through the art of compassion, creativity and imagination.  She has a genuine, caring nature about her and can bring out the best in people.” ~ Natasha, Art Therapy student.
Carla is very accomplished as an artist and art therapist. She has great passion and love of creative expression and has a wonderful way of sharing her enthusiasm and joy. She has helped me to expand my own creative process, be more expressive, focused and yet more playful with paint.  Highly recommend her professional and personal development workshops and classes.

- Elisha Lawry, Psychologist
Carla van Laar
2019-07-04T12:28:41+10:00
Carla is very accomplished as an artist and art therapist. She has great passion and love of creative expression and has a wonderful way of sharing her enthusiasm and joy. She has helped me to expand my own creative process, be more expressive, focused and yet more playful with paint.  Highly recommend her professional and personal development workshops and classes. - Elisha Lawry, Psychologist
My supervision sessions with Carla were priceless. I found in her a supportive supervisor with whom I felt held, safe and heard. Carla helped me address my concerns and find a way forward in moments of difficulty and also offered open guidance whenever I felt stuck. I found her large experience as a practitioner invaluable and after our sessions I would always feel reassured and a little bit wiser. Thank-you Carla for being a key player in my development as a therapeutic arts practitioner!

Marta, Therapeutic Arts Practitioner
Carla van Laar
5
2019-05-13T11:21:33+10:00
My supervision sessions with Carla were priceless. I found in her a supportive supervisor with whom I felt held, safe and heard. Carla helped me address my concerns and find a way forward in moments of difficulty and also offered open guidance whenever I felt stuck. I found her large experience as a practitioner invaluable and after our sessions I would always feel reassured and a little bit wiser. Thank-you Carla for being a key player in my development as a therapeutic arts practitioner! Marta, Therapeutic Arts Practitioner
Supervision is essential for good practice. It's about accountability to yourself and the families you work with. My experience of supervision with Carla has been nurturing with just the right amount of challenge that has allowed me to further my therapeutic skills. She has a way of unfolding the issue alongside you, and uses her experience and skills to question, explore options, and gather a deeper understanding of topics bought to the table.

Avrille Burrows, Mental Health Social Worker and Art Therapist
Carla van Laar
5
2019-05-13T11:22:03+10:00
Supervision is essential for good practice. It's about accountability to yourself and the families you work with. My experience of supervision with Carla has been nurturing with just the right amount of challenge that has allowed me to further my therapeutic skills. She has a way of unfolding the issue alongside you, and uses her experience and skills to question, explore options, and gather a deeper understanding of topics bought to the table. Avrille Burrows, Mental Health Social Worker and Art Therapist
“Professional supervision with Carla has been integral to my counselling practice. Carla provides a warm and encouraging environment that allows me to feel comfortable exploring and expanding the edges of my understanding and capabilities. Sharing in Carla's deep knowledge of theory and wealth of practical experience has shaped my own practice significantly. However, most fundamental has been the exquisite humanity Carla embodies in relation to this work. In her provision of this, Carla is unique indeed.”

 

- Murray, Holistic Counsellor.
Carla van Laar
2019-06-13T18:59:54+10:00
“Professional supervision with Carla has been integral to my counselling practice. Carla provides a warm and encouraging environment that allows me to feel comfortable exploring and expanding the edges of my understanding and capabilities. Sharing in Carla's deep knowledge of theory and wealth of practical experience has shaped my own practice significantly. However, most fundamental has been the exquisite humanity Carla embodies in relation to this work. In her provision of this, Carla is unique indeed.”   - Murray, Holistic Counsellor.
Carla is a thoughtful and compassionately direct supervisor whose perspective is backed by years of experience. I'd strongly recommended her for supervision for art therapists and counsellors alike.

Max Milne, Artist & Art Therapist
Carla van Laar
5
2019-05-13T11:16:33+10:00
Carla is a thoughtful and compassionately direct supervisor whose perspective is backed by years of experience. I'd strongly recommended her for supervision for art therapists and counsellors alike. Max Milne, Artist & Art Therapist
Supervision is of paramount importance in my practice as a creative arts therapist. It gives me an outside perspective of my therapeutic encounters, allows me to process my experiences and offers me the highest level of self-care. I find that Carla’s holistic approach to supervision offers all of this and more and I experience each session with her as both a guiding light and a soft place to land.

Brodie Caporn, Creative Arts Therapist
Carla van Laar
5
2019-05-13T11:19:56+10:00
Supervision is of paramount importance in my practice as a creative arts therapist. It gives me an outside perspective of my therapeutic encounters, allows me to process my experiences and offers me the highest level of self-care. I find that Carla’s holistic approach to supervision offers all of this and more and I experience each session with her as both a guiding light and a soft place to land. Brodie Caporn, Creative Arts Therapist
5
5
Carla van Laar
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