Dr Jean-Francois Jacques

I am dedicated to help you overcome your personal difficulties and struggles, and to enable you to lead the fulfilling and creative life you are hoping for.

I am a registered arts therapist, certified somatic experiencing practitioner (SEP) and clinical supervisor with more than eighteen years of experience working in a community adult mental health service in the NHS, in the voluntary sector and in private practice. I make use of creative, expressive and embodied methods and processes to help with a range of emotional difficulties.

Over the years I have specialised in the following areas:

• low mood and depression
• anxiety disorders
• developmental and complex trauma
• traumatic life experiences & PTSD
• obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD)
• loss and bereavement
• anger and troublesome emotions
• relationship difficulties
• life transitions

I also specialise in offering psychological support for those who are directly or indirectly experiencing the effects of long term health conditions, such as health anxiety, increased stress, social and psychological isolation, loss, or changes and adaptations to work environments.

I draw from the healing potential of the arts to enable self-expression, self-awareness and change. I make use of creative, visual and active methods to help communicate what can be difficult to put into words, and to explore our deepest concerns. These may include the use of imagery, metaphors, movements, play, creative writing, art making, music, masks, puppets, photography, animation, improvisation, performance, storytelling or storymaking. The therapy also explores the roles we play in life either explicitly or implicitly. It helps identify existing, latent and new roles in order to increase our ability to enjoy a rewarding life, and to develop new narratives.

I enormously value the unique relationship that is created through therapy. I am most sensitive to your individual needs and view what brings you to therapy with empathy and compassion.

I provide a safe, confidential and stimulating environment to help individuals work through personal difficulties, manage personal problems more effectively, gain new perspectives and understanding of personal issues, work through traumatic experiences, develop personal resources, gain in confidence, manage difficult relationships, and learn ways of negotiating life transitions.

I also provide therapy online and outdoors for those interested to explore their personal self in relation to the larger ecosystem.

If you are hesitant about an expressive form of therapy because you feel that you are not a creative or artistic person, I can reassure you that arts therapy is not about being good at art. It is a medium that helps develop self-awareness and the ability to work through personal difficulties. The engagement with the arts provides an opportunity to communicate and explore personal issues from a different perspective. Ultimately, the therapy aims at meeting your personal needs. This means that there is also space for talking and reflection.

I work with adults and young people.

I provide individual and couple therapy.

Should you choose to contact me, you will be invited to attend an initial assessment session to discuss whether the therapy could meet your individual needs. You will then be able to make an informed decision as to whether you wish to carry on with the treatment. The initial assessment will also give you a better understanding of expressive arts therapy. The length of treatment will depend on your individual needs and circumstances. The initial assessment session will help clarify the length and focus of the therapy.

I am fully qualified and registered as an arts therapist with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). I practice in accordance with the HCPC standards of ethics and professional practice. I am a certified Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP), an embodied method developed by Dr Peter Levine to heal trauma. In addition, I have undergone specialist training courses in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Body Psychotherapy and Interpersonal Psychotherapy. I am also certified group work practitioner with the Institute of Group Analysis, and certified in Trauma Treatments with the British Psychological Society.  I am a member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. I am fully insured and in possession of an enhanced DBS check.

£60 per session for individuals.

£90 per session for couples.

£80 for individual supervision session.

Reduced fees are available for trainees and those on benefits.

Here are a few testimonials of people who have engaged in therapy with me:

‘When I started therapy, I felt unbalanced within myself and felt I had lost my sense of self, but I am now at the point where I have regained these things. I think I have achieved this by both the speaking and the creative methods in therapy. I have been able to learn about and understand my weaknesses which has enabled me to be more grounded and as a result I feel much more balanced’ (Individual Expressive Arts Therapy client)

'A really positive and often joyful experience, exploring and making full use of the
park space with your encouragement. I particularly found the emphasis on somatic experience really helpful and my relationship to the environment, as it took me out of my ‘head’ and more into my felt experience. I felt very safe and at ease to discuss deeper things and be playful too' (Individual Outdoor Eco Expressive Arts Therapy client)

‘Overall, I would say that therapy has helped me to learn more about myself as an individual and it has also given me the chance to express myself in creative ways that I wouldn’t have done otherwise. It has given me a safe space and it has also provided me with methods that I have been able to take away and use outside of the sessions which have helped me to be able to ground myself both in and outside of therapy. I feel as if I will be able to continue to use these when I no longer have the sessions’ (Individual Expressive Arts Therapy client)

'The outdoor setting of the therapy was a very powerful and unique experience for me and I thought you facilitated it excellently. I loved the expansiveness of it and that it afforded an expansion of myself too. I did a lot of walking and using more of my body which is something i have never done in a therapy setting before, therapy in motion is great!' (Individual Outdoor Eco Expressive Arts Therapy client)

‘It has been a revelation. Tackling issues from a different angle – using props and stories – seems much less stressful than head on’ (Individual Expressive Arts Therapy client)

‘Through just twelve sessions, you created an environment and led a process that enabled me to make self-discoveries that had eluded me for decades’ (Individual Expressive Arts Therapy client)

‘I was pleasantly surprised at how helpful I have found it. I think I have avoided the idea of therapy in the past and questioned what benefit I would gain from it. But I have definitely found drama therapy helpful. I now feel more positive about various aspects of my life. I really enjoyed just having a space where I knew I could bring whatever was on my mind and I would be listened to and would not be judged. I also really appreciated the time the therapist took to understand every small aspect of myself and my life. This helped me to feel like he was really trying to understand me and what may be going on for me’ (Individual Expressive Arts Therapy client)

‘I initially entered into therapy because I was experiencing high levels of anxiety. At the start we talked about the goal of therapy being around finding ways to reduce and manage this anxiety. I now feel in a much more positive place emotionally. I feel that I have found some ways to manage the anxiety and have also realised the importance of being able to accept negative feelings and understand that they are OK to have’ (Individual Expressive Arts Therapy client)

‘I would like to thank J. F. for his commitment to what became a very close collaborative form of therapy. It has been invaluable to my development’ (Individual Expressive Arts Therapy client)