When words stall, images step in.
In this episode of The MindSpa Podcast, co-hosts Tina Wilston and Michelle Massunken sit down with Elena Kourounis, an art therapist-in-training at MindSpa Mental Health Centre, to explore how creativity can calm the body, open reflection, and reconnect us across ages, couples, and families.
From pastry chef to therapist
Elena’s story begins in the kitchen, not the clinic.
She started her career as a pastry chef, then became a teacher, where she discovered the creative spark that drives her work today. After facing a major health crisis, she felt called to realign her life around empathy, authenticity, and collaboration — the values that now guide her approach as a therapist.
The process over the product
Art therapy, Elena explains, isn’t about artistic skill, it’s about expression.
“It’s like talk therapy,” she says, “but the artwork does the heavy lifting.”
In her sessions, clients of all ages use different materials, from paint and clay to fabric and yarn — to express emotions that might be difficult to put into words. The goal isn’t to create a perfect picture; it’s to engage the senses and let the process itself reveal what’s inside.
Elena often starts sessions with a grounding exercise or a simple prompt: draw how this situation feels using only colors and lines.
From there, discussion flows naturally. The art becomes the bridge between experience and understanding.
Techniques that engage both body and mind
One of Elena’s favorite tools is bilateral drawing — using both hands simultaneously to draw. This technique activates both hemispheres of the brain and strengthens the neural bridge between them, helping clients feel calmer, more balanced, and more present.
These kinds of creative interventions can help clients stay within the window of affect tolerance — the optimal emotional range where we can process safely without shutting down or feeling overwhelmed. Art can ground someone who feels anxious, or gently lift a person who feels numb or disconnected.
Who benefits from art therapy?
Art therapy supports anyone who struggles to find words for what they feel.
It’s particularly effective for:
- People who feel “bad at art” or perfectionistic — because the process invites letting go of control.
- Those navigating eating disorders, PTSD, or addiction recovery, where control, expression, and body awareness are key parts of healing.
- Couples and families who need new ways to communicate — creating separate drawings and then a “bridge” between them to visualize repair.
Community, connection, and belonging
The conversation also touches on how COVID-19 changed connection, especially for teens and young adults. Two years of isolation reshaped how many people relate to others, fueling social anxiety and disconnection.
“Teens are still learning how to be in community again,” Elena reflects.
“Online spaces are great, but we need both, in-person and digital, to feel whole.”
Tina Wilston, our co-host highlights the work of organizations like Youth Ottawa, which are helping young people rebuild real-world community through creative projects and shared experiences.
Inclusive spaces and lived experience
Elena also brings her lived experience as a member of the queer and polyamorous communities in Ottawa. She leads workshops at local community spaces where art becomes a tool for expression, education, and belonging. These gatherings demonstrate how creativity can be a shared language of healing, one that welcomes everyone, regardless of background or identity.
Process, presence, and hope
Art therapy reminds us that healing doesn’t always start with words.
Sometimes it begins with a color, a texture, or a gesture of curiosity. Whether used alongside talk therapy or on its own, art can help us slow down, regulate, and reconnect, to ourselves, to others, and to the communities we belong to.
🎧 Listen to Episode 19 — “When Words Fail, Art Speaks”
Link to:
Linktree of the MindSpa Podcast
with Elena Kourounis, Art Therapist (Intern)
Produced by Shawn Batten | The MindSpa Podcast
📍 Recorded at MindSpa Mental Health Centre, Ottawa, Canada
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