Sometimes, the most important things we need to express don’t come easily with words.  

When someone you love is living with schizophrenia and psychosis, it can be hard to know how to reach them and what to say, while trying to keep yourself together.  

Caregiving means carrying a particular kind of exhaustion. Not just the practical weight of supporting someone through a severe and persistent mental illness, but the emotional weight of feeling misunderstood, isolated, and unsure of where to turn for help.  

Words, at a certain point, stop feeling like enough. 

Wendy Clark knows this firsthand. As both a Registered Art Therapist and a caregiver herself, Wendy has lived the experience of supporting loved ones through their journeys with mental health, substance use, and psychosis.  

She leans into her own creative practices; painting, gardening, and other expressive outlets, as part of her personal wellness journey, recognizing that prioritizing her own wellbeing makes her a more effective supporter and advocate for the people she loves. 

A Different Kind of Expression 

Wendy believes that when words fail, creativity allows us to speak.  

For the past eight years she has been working in the field of mental health and substance use, offering a holistic approach to therapy that incorporates art therapy, nature, land-based healing, and mindfulness meditation. In her private practice she specializes in caregiver wellbeing, supporting people of all ages in reconnecting with themselves through the creative process. 

Engaging in creative activities like colouring, painting, cooking, gardening, song, or dance, helps quiet the mind, lower the noise of daily stress, and rebuilds a sense of self. Art therapy makes this possible. 

At this year’s Voices of Hope: From Expression to Understanding event, Wendy will be exploring the history of schizophrenia and psychosis in art, and the role creative expression plays in building wellbeing and resilience for individuals and for the families walking beside them. She will also be guiding the audience through a hands-on creative activity, inviting everyone in the room to experience that process firsthand. 

If you’d like to join us for this free event – whether online or in person at the Cultch Historic Theatre in Vancouver – you can learn more and register here.  We look forward to sharing this meaningful experience with you.