Celebrating Neuroaffirming Professionals: Art and Music Therapists

In our Celebrating Neuro-Affirming Professionals Series, each resource spotlights a different profession making a difference in the neuro-affirming space. It’s our way of acknowledging the vital, often unsung contributions these professionals make every day in supporting neurodivergent individuals and communities.

For many neurodivergent people, traditional talk-based therapies can feel overwhelming, inaccessible, or even ineffective. That’s where creative therapies — including art therapy and music therapy — can open new doors.

These professionals don’t just provide activities. They offer powerful therapeutic pathways that support regulation, connection and self-expression, all without needing words.

Art and music therapists support people of all ages and communication styles. When they work from a neuroaffirming lens, they help create space where neurodivergent clients can explore who they are without judgement, expectation, or pressure to perform.

What Do Art and Music Therapists Actually Do?

Art and music therapists use creative processes to support mental health, emotional regulation, trauma recovery, sensory integration, and identity development. Their work goes far beyond making art or playing instruments — it’s about using creative mediums to connect with a person’s inner world in a safe and structured way.

Depending on a client’s goals and interests, sessions might include:

• Drawing, painting, collage or sculpture

• Songwriting, vocalisation or sound exploration

• Using rhythm and movement to support regulation

• Listening to or analysing music that evokes personal meaning

• Working through difficult experiences using metaphor and creative distance

Sessions may be one-on-one or group-based, and often integrate sensory supports, movement, or nonverbal communication — all of which can be especially helpful for neurodivergent individuals.

Why This Work Matters for Neurodivergent Clients

Not all neurodivergent people process or express emotions verbally — and even those who do may find words inaccessible during times of overwhelm. Creative therapies provide alternative ways to communicate and process experiences.

For children, a neuroaffirming art or music therapist might:

• Use rhythm and visual expression to support regulation

• Offer choices that honour the child’s autonomy and sensory profile

• Avoid interpreting the child’s work through a diagnostic or behavioural lens

For adults, they might:

• Explore identity, trauma, or masking in ways that feel safe and non-confronting

• Support emotional release through movement, sound, or creative flow

• Create space to connect with parts of self that have been suppressed or invalidated

What Makes a Creative Therapist Neuroaffirming?

Neuroaffirming creative therapists don’t see self-stimulatory movement or communication differences as disruptions. They embrace them as part of how a person relates to the world.

They understand that not all clients want to “unpack feelings” or “process trauma” in conventional ways — and that healing can happen through rhythm, pattern, and play.

You might recognise a neuroaffirming art or music therapist by the way they:

• Respect different communication styles — including silence

• Respond to sensory needs — adjusting lighting, sound, or materials as needed

• Offer genuine choice — not prescribing how a session should go

• Use metaphor and creative distance — making hard things safer to explore

• Focus on process over product — valuing the experience more than the outcome

• Challenge ableist norms — refusing to see creative expression as a means of "fixing" the person

To sum, they adapt their methods to suit the individual, not the other way around.

How to Know If This Support Is Right for You

If you or your child is seeking a therapeutic approach that feels more embodied, expressive or sensory-friendly, working with an art or music therapist might be the right fit.

You might ask:

• Do you have experience working with neurodivergent clients?

• How do you accommodate different communication styles?

• What role does client choice play in your sessions?

• How do you create a safe environment for sensory regulation?

If they’re a member of the Neuroaffirming Professionals Alliance Australia (NAPAA), they’ve committed to working in ways that honour identity, autonomy, and accessibility — not compliance or conformity.

A Big Thank You to Neuroaffirming Art and Music Therapists

At NAPAA, we celebrate the vital role that creative therapists play in the lives of neurodivergent individuals and families. You help clients connect with themselves and others through mediums that speak louder than words.

From supporting emotional regulation through rhythm, to providing safe expression for trauma and identity, your work is both creative and courageous.

You meet clients in places language can’t always reach — and remind them that their inner world is worth expressing in whatever form feels true.

We see you. We value you. And the world is more vibrant, expressive, and inclusive because of you.

And if you’re looking for one? Our growing NAPAA Directory is here to help. We’re always on the lookout for more neuroaffirming hairdressers to join our professional community - if you’re neurodivergent and you know an amazing hairdresser who caters to, and champion your needs, please share NAPAA with them and encourage them to join us!