Sensorimotor Art Therapy

“Touch comes before sight, before speech. It is the first language and the last, and it always tells the truth.” – Margaret Atwood

What is sensorimotor art therapy?

Neurological research has proven that trauma is held in the body and needs to be treated through embodying therapies. Instead of addressing the storied memories, Sensorimotor Art Therapy® focuses on regulating the nervous system, building resources, encouraging active responses to once overwhelming events, and nurturing developmental deficits.

We instantly respond to safety and threat with our body. Sensorimotor Art Therapy® encourages the awareness of such implicit felt sense experiences; it fosters the expression of these body sensations to enable clients to actively respond to otherwise often overwhelming or inexplicable events. Drawing in rhythmic repetition, or the physical encounter with the resistant clay engages the motor cortex; and simultaneously it stimulates increasingly satisfying sensory feedback.

In the safety of a session this sensorimotor feedback loop encourages the development of new neurological pathways that can repair traumatic ruptures that once occurred. Such sensorimotor achievements can lastingly transform even early infant developmental setbacks; they assist in finding an active response to traumatic experiences. They allow us to rewrite our biography towards a more authentic, alive sense of self.

Sensorimotor Art Therapy® has been developed by Cornelia Elbrecht

What is the clayfield?

The Clayfield is a body-oriented, sensory-based form of therapy using a box filled with clay. It is often referred to as “touch therapy”. It offers a safe, nonverbal way to explore emotions, connect with internal body sensations, resolve trauma, and support resilience.

People of all ages can benefit from this modality. It is particularly useful for children with developmental delays or trauma, neurodivergent individuals, and adults experiencing grief or major transitions.

The tactile experience and movement in the clay can access deep, often unconscious memories and emotional patterns.

The Clayfield supports:

emotional regulation,
trauma resolution
sensory integration
attachment and relationship challenges

The focus is on touch, pressure, resistance, and movement. Most clients find the experience grounding and calming.

We offer clayfield to families and in group settings. This process can also be paired with other modalities we use such as EMDR or Internal Family Systems.

What is guided drawing?

“Guided Drawing® uses rhythmic bilateral repetition to explore emotions and felt sensations in the body as flowing or blocked internal movements. Trauma manifests physiologically as bracing patterns, tension, pain or numbness, accompanied by strong emotions.

Here the focus is not on the story of what happened, but on the implicit responses needed in that present moment. The process is self-guided, which is profoundly empowering for the client. The therapist has the option to introduce archetypal shapes as interventions to structure and support this bottom-up approach.”

*This is an excerpt from Sensorimotor art therapy website that our clinicians are trained through. This unique approach has been developed by Cornelia Elbrecht over the past 40+ years.

How is this different then regular art therapy?

Like much of art therapy, the goal isn’t to create a finished product. But what sensorimotor art therapy uniquely focuses on is the sensory and kinesthetic input from the materials. It’s about the felt sensations — how the hands move in the clay or in the paint on the paper, what is felt internally, haptic senses, and sensory feedback loops. There’s no interpretation of the “art” — the focus is somatic and experiential through the feedback of directly interacting with the material (clay, paint or chalk).

How does working with clay help heal trauma?

Attachment and complex trauma implicitly inform our relationship with the world. We reach out through motor impulses and receive sensory feedback from such encounters. Adults and children explore these haptic (senses in our hands) learning experiences in their search for fulfillment at the Clay Field.

At the end of a session only intense body memories will be taken home. The repair of the sensorimotor feedback loop has lasting therapeutic benefits.

Clay mimics human touch and connects in our brain to a core human desire – to be loved and known. Trauma is stored in the body which means that our nervous systems are at the root of healing trauma. We have to address more than the story or narrative that is getting stuck – we have to address the felt experience in the body. The clay helps us do just that.

“The clayfield was more powerful than I imagined. It shifted things in me that I wasn’t expecting and taught me a lot about myself.”

Join us for our clayfield group option called Rebuilding Attachment!

Not sure if this is for you?

Reach out for a free 15 minute consultation to see if this is the right next step.

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Trauma is stored in the body, and so healing happens when we meet the body with safety and support.

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We would love to connect first and find out what your needs are! When it comes to therapy…it really matters that you find the right fit! We have a team of highly trained and warm, down to earth, creative therapists. If we aren’t the right fit, we will help you find resources to take the next step. Reach out here and we will get you started.

If you are experiencing an emergency:
Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to reach a 24-hour crisis center, text MHA to 741741, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room.

We are a private practice that offer a range of cash pay services. We partner with Mentaya to support your out-of-network insurance benefits and can use an easy benefits calculator to see what your reimbursement will be. We also accept HSA/FSA and partner with Arizona ESA for students.