Psychotherapist Runa Park

Runa Park holds a Master's degree in Art Psychotherapy from Goldsmiths College, University of London. She also completed a Postgraduate Diploma in IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) in Interpersonal Psychotherapy from the Anna Freud Centre and University College London.

As a registered Art Psychotherapist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and an accredited Interpersonal Psychotherapist (IPT UK), Runa brings extensive experience from her work across the NHS, counseling centers, communities serving individuals with learning disabilities, psychiatric care facilities, and educational settings. She has worked with clients across all age groups and cultural backgrounds, addressing complex needs related to emotional and behavioral challenges, mental health conditions, physical and neurological issues, life-limiting illnesses, as well as physical and learning disabilities.

Runa's core training is in psychodynamic art psychotherapy and interpersonal psychotherapy. She also integrates attachment-based therapy into her practice, adapting her approach to the unique needs of each client. By drawing on mindfulness techniques, psycho-education, and mentalization-based therapy, she provides holistic, client-centered care.

In addition to individual therapy, Runa has been involved in a wide range of community-centered workshops. For three years, she co-led weekly therapeutic art groups at Barry House in collaboration with the Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers. She has facilitated art workshops at the Horniman Museum's annual refugee event, conducted art therapy sessions for stroke patients at Guy's & St Thomas's Hospital, and co-facilitated workshops on attachment theory for foster carers at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust to strengthen therapeutic parenting skills. Most recently, Runa led therapeutic workshops for children and young people at both West London NHS Trust and East London NHS Foundation Trust.

Currently, Runa practices in both NHS and private settings, offering therapy and psychoeducational workshops to a wide range of client groups with diverse emotional and psychological needs. She is particularly passionate about designing therapeutic art workshops with a focus on sustainability and environmentally friendly themes, combining her dedication to green practices with her therapeutic work.

Psychotherapy can help with issues such as:

What is Interpersonal Psychotherapy?

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is a structured, time-limited form of therapy that focuses on improving interpersonal relationships and social functioning to help alleviate symptoms of depression and other mood disorders. It is based on the premise that difficulties in relationships, such as grief, role transitions, interpersonal disputes, and social isolation, can contribute to emotional distress. IPT aims to help individuals identify and address these issues, improve communication skills, and develop healthier ways to relate to others, ultimately enhancing emotional well-being and reducing psychological symptoms.

What is Art Psychotherapy?

Art psychotherapy is a form of psychotherapy where art making is used as the main form of expression. You do not need to be an experienced artist, as the aim is not necessarily to create work to a high standard, but to use art making to help process difficult thoughts and feelings, with the overall goal of helping you develop in a safe and expressive environment.

Art psychotherapy is widely recognised as an effective trauma focused intervention because it engages the right hemisphere of the brain, which is responsible for emotional processing, nonverbal communication, and visual spatial tasks. The right hemisphere is particularly attuned to emotional and intuitive functions, while trauma, especially when intense or overwhelming, often disrupts verbal expression and can make experiences too fragmented or complex to put into words.

In such situations, art offers a meaningful way to express emotions, memories, and experiences through symbolic or abstract forms. This approach bypasses the cognitive and verbal aspects of trauma processing, which may be blocked or difficult to access, and instead taps into the emotional and intuitive capabilities of the right brain. As a result, art therapy provides trauma survivors with a safe and accessible means of exploring and processing their experiences.

Moving Forward

If you are interested in beginning psychotherapy, seeking clinical supervision, or enquiring about psychoeducational workshops, please reach out via email at containingspace@gmail.com to schedule an initial consultation.