Ana Requena
Art therapist
I am Ana
I am a professional Art Therapist, trained for three years at Metàfora School (Barcelona), and I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts from UCLM (Cuenca).
I offer sessions in English, Spanish, or Spanglish—whatever feels most comfortable for you. Sometimes we need both languages to fully express ourselves, and that’s totally welcome here.
Over the past three years, I have worked in homeless and refugee shelters as a day coordinator for De Regenboog Groep (Amsterdam). supporting individuals in vulnerable situations.
In the past, I also co-founded and helped run Aid Delivery Mission, an organization dedicated to providing emergency aid in large-scale displacement contexts.
My Story
During this time, I met a lot of friends who shared my values, and I learned so much about humanity and resilience. Looking back now, I realize that trauma can be quite a peculiar thing. For a long time, I didn’t dare to call it trauma, as I felt my suffering was insignificant compared to the experiences of the people I met who came from war zones. This made me realize how often we underestimate our own suffering.
For the past three years, I have worked in refugee and homeless shelters, and every person I met only deepened my curiosity about human nature. I suppose this is what led me to study Art Therapy.I completed a three-year Master's in Art Therapy and Community Projects at Metàfora School in Barcelona. During my internship at a refugee shelter in Amsterdam, I worked primarily with adolescents and children, spending most of my time with neurodivergent kids.
My experience with children goes back even further—during my teenage years, I spent ten summers working in summer camps. This background has made me feel resourceful when working with kids and teenagers, giving me the ability to connect with them, even when we don’t speak the same language. I believe in the power of non verbal communication"
"I consider myself a curious explorer, someone who likes to dive deep to understand things. After finishing my degree in Fine Arts, I left Spain to explore the world. Soon after, I decided to go to the Idomeni refugee camp, located at the border between Greece and Macedonia, to understand whether borders were truly necessary in society.I spent six months fully immersed in a self-organized collective project, observing so much human suffering.
When I returned, I brought back PTSD that lasted for years, even though I wasn’t fully aware of it for a long time. The trauma ignited a passion for activism and human rights, but it also distanced me from many people I loved.
I feel comfortable...
"...talking about new life experiences, cultural differences, depression, anxiety, fears, feelings of alienation, feeling lost and stuck, mood swinging, activism, squatting, values, drugs and partying, surrealistic experience, violence, sexuality, underground culture, politics, music, circus, all types of art and any topic that comes to mind".
Contact
Feel free to reach out with any questions—whether you'd like to learn more about how art therapy works or inquire about session pricing.