IN-PERSON IN DENVER + GLENDALE | ONLINE ACROSS CO + ME
Art Therapy for Teens
girls who feel things more deeply than words can hold
You've probably noticed people deciding how you feel before you've even said it. That you're overreacting. That you're in your head too much. That it's just your hormones. None of that matches what it actually feels like inside.
You've tried talking about it when someone finally asks. Tried writing it down, or just pushing through it. Maybe you've even ended up in the nurse's office more than once, with a stomachache or a headache nobody can quite explain. You can sense when it's coming — the shutdown, the going quiet, the need to disappear for a while. And still, you keep being the “easy” one, the “good” one, the one everyone leans on, while whatever you're actually carrying waits in the background.
The teens I work with usually share something like this: I don't know what's wrong. I just know I don't feel like me.
Nobody would necessarily guess anything's wrong. But the loneliness is building slowly. So is the overwhelm. And a thought creeps in sometimes, one you've probably never said out loud: why does just being me take so much out of me?
You can get so good at seeming fine that even you stop being able to tell what's actually happening underneath the mask. It feels safer to go quiet than to feel all of it at once.
Nothing's wrong with you. You're a person who feels a lot, notices a lot, and has probably learned to carry a lot of that alone — because somewhere along the way, it seemed safer than burdening someone else.
Art therapy meets you at the place words can’t always reach.
You’ve gotten so good at seeming okay that it’s hard to tell what’s actually true anymore.
YOU WANT…
✔️ Somewhere to put feelings that are too big for words
✔️ To stop being ‘the chill one’ just to keep everyone else comfortable
✔️ To trust your own instincts instead of checking others’ reactions first
✔️ To feel less alone in being sensitive, different, or still figuring yourself out
✔️ Friendships where you don’t have to hide half of who you are
✔️ Somewhere safe to feel it all, even before you’re ready to say it
MY APPROACH
In here, your anxiety can be a messy scribble + your anger can be a flame.
We usually start with a creative check-in as a way to notice how you're feeling on the inside. From there, we go wherever you need to go. Some days that's more art. Some days it's mostly talking. Some days it's talking about the art.
You don't have to be an artist for this to work. The art isn't the point. It's just a way in, for whatever's too big, too weird, or too hard to say out loud yet.
You get to show up exactly as you are in here. I actually want to know the real you, and we'll build that kind of trust together, a little at a time. This is also a space that makes room for all of who you are: your mind, your emotions, and whatever you're still working out about the world and your place in it. You don't need the right words about your sensitivity or your identity for it to belong here. It's all welcome.
I believe real change happens when you get the space to find out who you actually are — not who your family needs you to be, not who your friend group expects, not whatever the world keeps telling you that you should be. We don't always have to talk about it directly, either. The art can hold what you can't say yet.
Once it's out of you and onto the page, it usually feels less heavy.
Art therapy can help you…
ALLOW FOR REAL SUPPORT
The stuff you've been carrying by yourself doesn't have to be only yours to hold - you deserve to be seen and heard by someone who cares deeply.
GIVE THE BIG FEELINGS SOMEWHERE TO GO
Anger, anxiety, sadness — whatever’s too much to carry gets to actually take up space here, not just a conversation about it.
DISCOVER WHAT LIGHTS YOU UP
Not what your family’s into, not what’s trending, not whatever’s gotten you approval before — what genuinely pulls at your attention when nobody’s looking.
BUILD FRIENDSHIPS THAT DON’T COST YOU YOURSELF
Learning what it’s like to be close to people without disappearing into whatever they need from you.
TRUST YOUR OWN INSTINCTS
Noticing the tight chest, the knot in your stomach, and trusting that wisdom instead of overriding it.
PRACTICE TAKING UP SPACE
Understanding what you actually need and saying what you actually think, even when it would be easier to stay quiet.
I’m ready to make something out of this.
FAQs
(parents, these are for you!)
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Nope, you just need to be open to using art materials to express your emotions and explore your inner world.
In art therapy, we focus on what is happening during the process of art-making. We get curious about color choices, lines, and shapes and what it can tell us about ourselves.
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At Wild Sunflower Wellness, Leanne works with teens starting around age 15 and up.
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Sessions are collaborative between your teen and the art therapist, depending on their needs at the time. Some can almost entirely art-based, others are mostly conversation, and most are a mix of both art and conversation.
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Art therapy can help teens with a variety of issues, including anxiety, family conflict, identity exploration, friendship struggles, and belonging, among other things.
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There are a lot of reasons your teen might not want to go to therapy, and it’s worth getting curious about what’s behind it rather than pushing past it. Like a lot of things worth doing, therapy is often something we do a little scared before we feel comfortable with it.
Art therapy tends to be a gentler way in than many talk therapy approaches, since it gives your teen a way to express themselves without having to explain everything in words right away. It also helps to remind your teen that this isn’t forever, and that they have a real say in finding a therapist who actually feels like the right fit for them.
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In-person in Denver and Glendale, online across Colorado.