What Happens in a Session?

Here’s what to expect in an expressive arts session

When people consider coming to an expressive arts session, there are often a few practical questions that come up. What will I be asked to do? Do I need to be creative? Will I have to share anything personal?

I hear these questions often, usually before someone has had any direct experience of this practice. And I totally get it — creative spaces can feel daunting, especially if past experiences with art, learning, or groups involved pressure or judgement.

An expressive arts session is designed to be clear, contained, and supportive from the beginning. While every facilitator and group will have their own style, sessions tend to follow a simple structure: an arrival and settling phase, a creative working phase, and a closing. This structure isn’t rigid. It exists to offer orientation — so participants don’t have to guess what’s coming next — and to provide a clear frame for the session.

Arriving and settling in

Sessions usually begin with a short period of arrival. This might include a welcome, an orientation to the space, and a simple invitation to slow down — perhaps by noticing the body, the breath, or what’s present in the room.

This opening phase helps mark a transition from the pace of everyday life into a more attentive space — a tuning in to the present moment and to where you are. Facilitators often clarify what the session will include: that there’s no pressure to share personal material, no expectation to be good at art, and that how you participate is always a personal choice. Knowing this early on can help people settle and engage at their own pace.

Working with simple creative invitations

Once the session is underway, there is often a brief check-in — a way for participants to orient themselves to where they are arriving from and what they might need. This might happen through words, an image, or a short creative response rather than detailed explanation.

From there, the session moves into working with simple creative invitations. These are open prompts that offer a place to begin, such as responding to a material, an image, a quality of movement, or a short piece of writing. Invitations are intentionally open, allowing each person to engage at a depth that feels right for them.

An important part of this phase is the role of distance. Working through materials creates a natural buffer between experience and expression. Rather than speaking directly about something that feels close or overwhelming, participants can approach it indirectly — through colour, line, movement, or form. This regulated distance helps people stay engaged without becoming overwhelmed.

Because the focus is on process rather than content, there is no pressure to explain or interpret what is being made. Participants can adjust pace, pause, or shift materials as needed. Facilitators support this by holding the structure of the session and reminding people that choice and pacing are part of the work.

Making and noticing

Throughout the creative phase, attention is gently brought back to noticing. This might include noticing sensations, images, movements, or shifts in attention as the process unfolds.

Reflection in expressive arts is not about analysing or finding meaning. It’s about witnessing what emerges and staying curious about the experience itself. Sometimes this noticing happens quietly while making; other times it’s invited through moments of reflection. This approach differs from more interpretive art therapy models and stays grounded in immediate experience.

This allows people to remain connected to what they’re doing without needing to explain it or turn it into a story. What matters is not what the work “means,” but how it was to engage with it.

Sharing and closing

After a creative exploration — whether that’s a visual piece, writing, or performance — there is usually a closing phase to support integration and resolution. Sharing is held lightly. Participants may choose to speak about what they noticed, or they may simply acknowledge the work in their own way. This is often done through what we call an aesthetic response — a moment for the work to be witnessed without interpretation.

The session is then gently brought to a close, helping people transition back into their day. This closing phase is an important part of containment, ensuring that the creative work feels completed.

What people often leave with

Expressive arts sessions don’t aim to produce solutions or resolutions. What people often leave with instead is the experience of having engaged — of having made choices, responded creatively, and stayed present with what was there.

Whether someone attends a single session or returns over time, what tends to stay with them is the memory of having done something rather than talked about it. Of having found a way in, even without knowing where they were going.

For many, that experience becomes practical in a very simple way: they leave knowing they can begin, they can respond, and they don’t need to have clarity before they start. And that can make returning to everyday life feel a little more manageable. 

---

Curious to explore expressive arts?