Our Team

Melissa Schellekens

Educational Psychologist/Art Therapist

Melissa has been practising expressive arts therapy since 2015. She is an experienced artist, facilitator and researcher working with groups and individuals. In 2021, she completed a PhD in Educational Psychology at the Australian Catholic University (Sydney) and has a certificate in Initiatic Art Therapy. She is also completing a Masters of Relational Gestalt Therapy, and a Diploma of Counselling. From 2010 to 2017 Melissa was in Bogota, Colombia, and ran expressive arts workshops to support internally displaced young people including Indigenous youth, ex-child soldiers and others impacted by the internal conflict in Colombia. She also developed training materials and ran workshops for professionals working with these groups. 

Through a rich array of art materials, found objects and playful inquiry, Melissa encourages exploration, curiosity, self-compassion and pushing of boundaries. Clients are assisted to overcome challenges, particularly younger clients or those hesitant to engage in more traditional talk therapy. This sensorimotor-based approach works with creative processes and bodily awareness to foster resilience, focus and connection, awaken insight, and to facilitate healing and mind-body integration.  

Evidence-based research has shown that use of art as applied by therapists and practitioners is helpful not only for those with anxiety (Abbing et al., 2018) and depression (Blomdahl et al., 2013), but also for people diagnosed with PTSD (Schouten et al., 2015), autism spectrum disorder (Schweizer et al., 2014), and other mental illnesses (Kaye-Huntington and Peterson, 2010).