Look Again – Season 6, Episode 4
Released: May 5th, 2026 | Approx. 27 minutes
Have you ever felt like you were carrying something too heavy to explain, something that lives just beyond words? You’re not alone.
That experience is something many people living with schizophrenia and psychosis know well. And it’s something their families and caregivers often know too.
In the fourth episode of Season 6 of Look Again: Mental Illness Re-Examined, we explore art therapy and the role creativity can play in supporting mental health; not as a replacement for medical treatment, but as a tool for coping, processing, and connecting.
Nicole Parekh would be the first to tell you that you do not need to be an artist to benefit from art therapy.
As a certified art therapist, former BCSS regional educator, and someone who has spent more than 14 years working alongside people living with sever and persistent mental illness, she has seen what happens when people are simply given the space and permission to create.
In her conversation with us, she walks listeners through what art therapy actually is, and what it’s not. It’s not about skill or about producing something polished or finished. It’s about the process and what happens when we make something without judgement, and what that act of making can reveal, release, or transform.
Nicole also speaks to what caregivers and family members carry, and how creative expression can offer them just as much benefit as it offers the people they support. Caregiving can leave people feeling like their lives are out of control. Nicole describes how just 10 minutes of art-making can offer a small but meaningful sense of reclaiming that.
Whether it’s listening to music, looking at art, doodling with a pen and paper, or dancing to your favorite song alone in your room, these small creative acts can be soothing, connective, and quietly powerful.
This episode also features award winning Vancouver artist Sandra Yuen, who will be joining us on stage at Voices of Hope on May 23rd. In a visit to her studio, Sandra shares how she has spent decades using visual art, writing, and music to cope and connect with others following her diagnosis with schizophrenia at 15.
Sandra has also created an original painting for BCSS inspired by the iris flower, which has become a meaningful symbol within the schizophrenia community.
Read more about Sandra and her artwork here.
Whether you’re a family member trying to understand what your loved one is experiencing, a caregiver looking for support yourself, or someone simply curious about the intersection of creativity and mental health.
Because sometimes the most important thing is finding a different way to say: I am here, and I am trying.
🎧 Listen to BCSS S06E4: Art Therapy and the Creative Path to Coping, available wherever you get your podcasts.