The DBT art therapy skills program uses the concepts and framework of DBT, Art Therapy, Narrative Therapy and Intentional Peer Support. The program is co-facilitated by Mahlie Jewell and Chloe Simpson.Both are trained and experienced to work with expressions and experiences of trauma, emotional dysregulation and extreme distress.

Mahlie Jewell (M.AThR, M.ACA) is a clinically qualified, registered and regulated Art Psychotherapist with certification and specialist training in delivering DBT. Mahlie is also a  trained peer worker, peer supervisor and academic whose work using DBT has been published internationally. Mahlie holds professional membership with: Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA): professional membership number: 49852078, International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD): professional membership number: 75959282, Australian Counselling Association: professional membership number: 20333, BlueKnot Complex Trauma Professional Community Network: professional member and the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association. Mahlie (she/they/I/we/us) is a First Nations autistic queer person queer with living with ADHD, complex trauma and chronic illness.

Chloe Simpson, is a qualified and experienced arts-based peer support worker and peer educator with training and certification in DBT skills facilitation. Chloe (she/they) is a queer person who identifies as autistic and lives with ME/CFS and complex trauma. 

The pilot DBT Art Therapy program was scientifically evaluated and professionally researched under ethics approval in 2021. The results and outcomes of the research pilot were independently evaluated, peer-reviewed and academically published international. To view the research article, you can use this free access link: https://bpded.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40479-022-00203-y

Art Therapy is a specialised form of healing that involves creating visual art. 

Art Therapy has proven to provide a helpful space and a useful tool for many people, including those who are non-verbal, experience extreme distress and emotional dysregulation and/or have experienced trauma. 

Art therapists believe that the making art and creative process itself is healing and are trained to facilitate the art making process, allowing the people they are working with to share what feels safe.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) was created by Marsha Linehan (2014) who is both a behavioural psychologist and a person
with her own lived experience. 

DBT looks at the challenges that people experience in life as a skills shortage and focuses on providing and  strengthening practical skills in four areas: Mindfulness, Distress tolerance, Emotional regulation, and Interpersonal effectiveness. 

DBT is a behaviour change therapy, it requires hard work and commitment to change. It is designed to become
embedded in our automatic systems over time and no one “gets it perfect the first time”.

Fees are set via the NDIS pricing guide and are universal for all participants, regardless of disability support access or income. Those with low levels of access will be prioritised. Those with private health insurance are encouraged to access the resources available to them in other spaces in the first instance. 

The program is billed fortnightly post-session and follows the NDIS price guide for service and support via a specialist practitioner. 
The total cost of ONE MODULE (6 week block) is $720.00 which equates to $60.00 an hour. 
Payments are billed in three seperate installments of $240.00 a fortnight via tax invoice.