Art therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses the creative process — drawing, painting, collage, sculpture, and other visual media — as a primary means of communication and exploration. It does not require artistic skill or prior experience. The creative process itself, rather than the finished product, is the therapeutic instrument.
Art therapy is particularly valuable where verbal communication alone is insufficient — where experiences, emotions, or inner states are too complex, too threatening, or too deeply embedded to be easily put into words. Through image-making, patients can access and express psychological material that lies beyond the reach of ordinary language.
At IsraClinic, art therapy is led by Valery Kravitz — founder and director of the clinic, certified art therapist (Arti College of Design and Art, Israel, 2023), and clinical programme curator.
In art therapy sessions, the patient works with visual materials under the guidance of the therapist. The therapist does not interpret the work for the patient — rather, the patient is supported to explore what the images, colours, and forms they have created mean to them, what feelings arose during the process, and what the work might be communicating about their inner world.
The creative process activates psychological material in a way that is often more direct and less defended than verbal conversation. Images can carry emotional complexity, ambivalence, and contradiction that words cannot — opening pathways to insight, emotional processing, and change.
Art therapy also provides a form of containment: difficult emotions and experiences can be given external form, placed outside the self, and worked with from a greater distance than pure verbal processing allows.
Art therapy is used at IsraClinic as both a primary and complementary modality across a range of presentations.
It is particularly effective for trauma and PTSD — where verbal recounting of traumatic material may be re-traumatising or inaccessible, and where image-based processing offers a gentler pathway to integration. Art therapy is used alongside EMDR and trauma-focused CBT as part of integrated trauma treatment.
For depression, anxiety, and stress-related conditions, art therapy supports emotional expression, self-exploration, and the development of internal resources.
For personality disorders and complex presentations, it provides access to schema-level material — early experiences, attachment patterns, and relational dynamics — through symbolic and metaphorical means.
Art therapy is also effective in grief and bereavement, eating disorders — where the relationship to body image can be explored through non-verbal means — chronic illness, burnout, and life transitions.
For children and adolescents, art therapy is often the most natural and accessible therapeutic medium — offering a form of expression that does not require the verbal and reflective capacities that adult-oriented talk therapies assume.
Art therapy at IsraClinic is offered by Valery Kravitz, whose clinical practice spans art therapy, the Psychoergonomic Method, and the broader clinical programme of the clinic.
Sessions are conducted in a dedicated space with a range of visual materials. No previous artistic experience or ability is necessary — the work is entirely process-oriented, not aesthetic.
Art therapy is available in Russian, English and Hebrew, in person at the Tel Aviv clinic. Sessions may be integrated into a broader treatment plan alongside psychiatric consultation, pharmacotherapy, or other psychotherapeutic modalities.
Art therapy is indicated when verbal communication alone is insufficient to access the relevant psychological material; when direct verbal discussion feels too threatening or activating; when working with imagery and symbolism is clinically productive; and when a non-verbal pathway to emotional processing is preferred.
It is a particularly appropriate modality for trauma, childhood adverse experiences, eating disorders, grief, and presentations involving significant difficulty with emotional verbalisation.
Art therapy may be offered at any stage of treatment — as an opening modality, as a deepening complement to verbal psychotherapy, or as a consolidation tool in later stages.
IsraClinic accepts patients for art therapy sessions in person in Tel Aviv, in Russian, English and Hebrew. No referral is required.
Lead Therapist: Valery Kravitz — Certified Art Therapist & Clinical Programme Curator | IsraClinic | Last reviewed: 2026
Art therapy opens pathways that words sometimes cannot. If you would like to learn more or arrange a session, our team is available in English, Russian and Hebrew.