Sophie Wagstaff on Colour, Creativity and Counselling

Colour has always had a huge impact on the way I see things and very often how I experience things. Different tones almost always present me with an emotional or mental response, and sometimes even create an added dimension to whatever it is I am looking at.

As an example, across Herefordshire at certain times of year, the yellow rapeseed fields start to come through. When I see this almost chemical colour, I taste a kind of sulphur in the back of my throat. (And no, I’m not talking about hayfever!)

As another example, I have a visual diary in my head, meaning that I can see a list of the different months of the year all assigned with their own colour.

It is the same with the days of the week - red Monday, blue Tuesday, yellow Wednesday, purple Thursday, green Friday, golden Saturday and grey Sunday. It helps me to organise and recognise what I have going on.

I completed my first degree in Visual Arts from Goldsmiths back in 2005 and knew with a certainty that I wanted to carry my creative outlook into working with people. 

I retrained in counselling and therapy more recently. During that time I was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia, so my visual approach suddenly became clear to me. I use coloured overlays to help with eye strain and have used creative interventions in my counselling practice.

These almost always draw on the use of colour and its many associations. Often using coloured buttons, and occasionally drawing mandalas, I find to be extremely powerful in navigating, and often identifying certain feelings with a client. 

One of the things that drew me to St Michael’s Hospice was the connection to the arts this wonderful place has, as well as my passion for human expression.