Perimenopause Support: Navigating Back to Self Through Art Therapy

There are times in life when we begin to feel unfamiliar to ourselves.

For many Generation X and early Gen Y women, this can happen during the years leading into menopause. Perimenopause is often spoken about in terms of hot flushes, sleep disruption or cycle changes, but the emotional and psychological shifts can be just as significant. You may feel more irritable, more anxious, more tired, more sensitive, more disconnected from your body, or simply less like the person you used to be.

Navigating your way back to Self and staying grounded when life feels hard, pressured or overwhelming is something we can practise. It is not always easy to remember. Many of us are carrying work, parenting, caregiving, relationships, grief, burnout, body changes and the quiet pressure to keep everything together.

I often forget to come back to centre and stay present, but we can train our minds and bodies to remember. For me, making this into a life-balance practice has been a wild ride: processing old things and new things, being a mum, having uncomfortable conversations, doing body work, post grad study and career pivot, building a business, learning to release and let go...and still being a work in progress.

Why Perimenopause Can Feel Like Losing Touch With Yourself

Connecting with our authentic Self is a profound, shared and ancient understanding within us all. Yet life’s distractions and challenges can distance us from who we are.

We may lose sight of ourselves through disconnection from our bodies, our creativity, our relationships, or the natural world. We may be carrying trauma, shame, fear, anger, exhaustion or a sense of unworthiness. We may also be living through the invisible pressures of midlife: caring for others, managing households, navigating careers, ageing parents, changing relationships, shifting identities and hormonal transition.

Perimenopause can intensify this feeling. It may bring old patterns to the surface. It may make familiar coping strategies stop working. It may ask us to listen differently to the body, the nervous system and the parts of ourselves that have been pushed aside for too long.

The invitation is not to “fix” ourselves. The invitation is to practise returning.

We practise. We play. We open our hearts. We learn to honour ourselves, each other and the world around us. The more we engage in this, the more we begin to trust our true nature. Over time, we can learn to embrace it, share it and live from that place of deeper authenticity.

How Art Therapy Supports Women Through Change

As an art therapist, I have the privilege of witnessing people navigate back to Self through the art therapy process. Art therapy can offer a way to express what may be difficult to explain in words. Through image-making, metaphor, colour, texture, movement and reflection, we can begin to notice what is asking for attention.

This can be especially meaningful for women approaching or moving through perimenopause. Creative therapy can support reflection around identity, body image, emotional change, self-compassion, grief, anger, joy, sexuality, confidence, ageing, relationships and the question: “Who am I becoming now?”

One of the most profound experiences I have had was with a group of women who called themselves the “Wattle Seed Sisters” in an online art therapy group. Throughout a series of sessions, the group explored the journey back to authenticity. In one session, themed Tree as Me, participants created art using paint on paper, with the tree as a metaphor for Self.

The group, all having experienced trauma, spent time reflecting and sharing as they engaged in the process. The experience was filled with meaningful conversations about letting go of old patterns, reclaiming joy and rediscovering their true selves.

When they came together to share what they had made, they noticed common themes: reaching for the sky, strong roots and a sense of being a forest together. One powerful insight was the idea that “the seed starts with the first family experience,” sparking discussions on change, self-love and resilience.

I was humbled to witness their courage, playfulness and the beauty of how they showed up for themselves and each other.

7 Ways Creative Therapy Can Support Perimenopause

1 - Making space for emotional change

Perimenopause can bring mood changes, irritability, anxiety, grief or emotional intensity. Creative therapy offers a gentle way to explore these experiences without needing to have the perfect words.

2 - Reconnecting with the body

Perimenopause can bring mood changes, irritability, anxiety, grief or emotional intensity. Creative therapy offers a gentle way to explore these experiences without needing to have the perfect words.

3 - Exploring identity in midlife

Perimenopause often coincides with major life transitions. Creative therapy can help women reflect on who they have been, who they are now and who they are becoming.

4 - Supporting self-compassion

Many women have spent decades caring for others. A creative therapy group can provide space to pause, reflect and practise kindness toward the self.

5 - Releasing old patterns

Through symbol, metaphor and image, art therapy can help bring unconscious or long-held patterns into awareness in a safe and supported way.

6 - Creating connection with other women

Creative group therapy can reduce isolation by reminding women they are not alone in their experience of change, uncertainty or transition.

7 - Finding joy, play and possibility

Perimenopause is not only about loss. It can also be a time of creative renewal, truth-telling, humour, courage and reclaiming what matters.

Navigating Perimenopause Through Creative Therapy

This experience reminds me that centring ourselves is essential to self-discovery, navigating life’s challenges and embracing our humanity. We can return to ourselves through art therapy, joyful activity, time in nature, movement, rest, play and connection.

For women approaching menopause, this return to Self can be especially powerful. Perimenopause may ask us to slow down, listen more deeply and reconsider the life we are living. Creative therapy can offer a supportive space to explore that transition with honesty, imagination and care.

Navigating Perimenopause is a creative therapy group for women approaching or moving through perimenopause. Through guided art-making, reflection and supportive group connection, the program offers space to explore emotional change, identity, stress, body image, self-compassion and the transition into a new stage of life.

Learn more about Navigating Perimenopause.

Frequently Asked Questions About Perimenopause Support

What is perimenopause?

Perimenopause is the transitional stage before menopause. It can involve hormonal changes that affect the menstrual cycle, sleep, mood, energy, body temperature, concentration and emotional wellbeing.

Can perimenopause affect your mental and emotional wellbeing?

Yes. Many women experience increased anxiety, irritability, low mood, overwhelm, grief, anger or a sense of feeling unlike themselves during perimenopause. These changes can also be shaped by stress, relationships, work, caregiving and life transitions.

How can creative therapy support perimenopause?

Creative therapy can provide a reflective space to explore identity, body changes, emotional shifts, stress and self-compassion. Art-making can help express experiences that may be difficult to put into words.

Do I need to be good at art to join a creative therapy group?

No. Creative therapy is not about artistic skill or making something beautiful. It is about using the creative process to reflect, express, connect and make meaning.

Who is Navigating Perimenopause for?

Navigating Perimenopause is for women approaching or moving through perimenopause who want support with emotional change, identity, body image, stress, self-compassion and reconnection to self.

EXPLORE THE PROGRAM

Tree as Me, art response by Nicola Black

Authored by Nicola Black on 24.03.2025 (Equanimity Arts Pty Ltd)

* All shared information is provided with consent, and details have been anonymised to ensure confidentiality.