Lets demystify: How Art Therapy Can Help Soften That Inner Critic

(Art Therapy Manchester | Therapy Manchester)

At heyfromwithin.co.uk, I often meet clients who arrive carrying a loud, persistent voice inside. The inner critic.

It sounds different for everyone. For some, it’s a whisper, always doubting. For others, it’s a shout, pointing out every mistake before a brush even touches paper.

What the Inner Critic Looks Like in the Therapy Room

When we first meet the inner critic in therapy, it can be a powerful presence.

I notice clients become a shadow of themselves apologising, hesitating, planning their artwork out loud, starting again and again. The pencil rubber is never far away.

Art therapy gently makes space for that voice. We check in:

• What is it saying?

• What tone does it have?

• Who does it remind you of?

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This isn’t about judging the critic or pushing it away. It’s about curiosity.

How Art Therapy Helps Explore the Inner Critic

In art therapy sessions, we begin to make the inner critic visible.

Clients might:

• Draw what the critic looks like.

• Sculpt it from clay, giving it a body and a place to sit.

• Collage its favourite words or phrases.

• Write its story when it first appeared, what it was trying to protect.

  
  

This process can feel challenging at first, which is why we often begin with more controlled art materials. Over time, as the therapeutic relationship builds, we move to less controlled media encouraging expression, playfulness, and risk-taking.

The Shift: When the Inner Critic Softens

Something happens when the critic is invited into the art-making process.

Clients become curious, not scared. They notice its patterns without being overshadowed. They start experimenting leaving the rubber aside, letting mistakes stay on the page.

I sometimes invite clients to build an inner cheerleader too a voice that celebrates every creative risk, no matter how small.

Over time, the inner critic doesn’t disappear, but it becomes just one voice at the table no longer the one calling all the shots.

Why Therapists Work with the Inner Critic

Therapists work with the inner critic because it holds so much of a person’s story. Often, this voice was a survival strategy once helping someone stay safe, keep the peace, or avoid shame.

Attachment theory and Sensorimotor Art Therapy remind us that these parts of ourselves can be met with compassion. We honour what they once did for us, while gently supporting the client to find new, freer ways of being.

Do You Have to Talk About It?

No. Talking isn’t required in art therapy. Some clients talk through every step, others stay quiet and simply make. Both ways are welcome.

And no you don’t need to be “good at art.” Art therapy isn’t about producing something pretty. It’s about expression, process, and giving what’s inside a place to land.

Why It Helps to Know Your Inner Critic

When you know your inner critic, you’re less likely to be run by it.

You might notice:

• More playfulness in your choices.

• More compassion for yourself.

• More ability to take risks, in art and in life.

  
  

And that is where deep, lasting change begins.

This blog connects beautifully with other posts on heyfromwithin.co.uk:

• How Inner Transformation Affects Mental Health – for exploring deep shifts that happen in therapy.

• Art Therapy: Brushstrokes Where the Paper Listens – a look at the art-making process in action.

• Therapy Manchester: Guided Drawing – a practical way we work with themes like the inner critic.

  
  

And don’t miss the Art Therapy for Adults service page to learn more about how sessions work.