A Walk of Wonder, Whimsy and Witnessing
Let the streets of Amsterdam be a mirror to your inner life and help you practice the art of noticing things you haven’t before
A guided hour that stays with you
Most of us rush through our neighbourhoods - and our lives - while rarely seeing them. We follow the same routes, carry the same preoccupations, and miss the gnomes on the rooftops, the flowers pushing through every crack, the tiny story carved into a doorway from 1884. Just like we miss the quieter signals from within: the whispers of wanting something we don’t allow ourselves to fully feel, the pull towards changing something that we can’t put into words yet, the vague restlessness that’s searching for release.
This walk doesn't ask you to meditate in a studio or journal at a desk. Instead, it uses De Pijp - its whimsical details, its community-tended bursts of colourful flowers, its century-old architecture built as a love letter to the working class - as the stage to an inner journey. You slow down. You practice noticing. You witness the beauty of the world around you, and you are witnessed by others walking alongside you.
Led by a psychologist and art therapist, each stop carries both an outer invitation (to look, to wonder) and an inner one (to reflect, to recognise).
What is art therapy?
And how it helps
Art therapy isn't an art class. You don't need talent, experience, or even a particular affinity for making things.
It's a way of using simple guided creative activities (such as drawing, clay, collage, writing) to access what's hard to reach through words alone.
When we're going through something complex - and motherhood is certainly a complex experience - our minds tend to go in circles.
We get exhausted by worrying, not knowing, trying to deal with the past and predict the future. We think and overthink, analyse and overanalyse, even talk about these things, but can’t seem to get relief or real answers that are true to us.
Art-making engages the body and the unconscious alongside the mind. It helps surface feelings that have been building up, reveal patterns that are hard to spot from the inside, and make sense of experiences in a new and empowering way. It works even - sometimes particularly - for people who would never describe themselves as creative.
The science of it
In addition to personal experiences shared by moms and moms-to-be of how engaging in art-making helped them process this profound shift, there is a growing body of research on what art therapy can offer during this life-changing transition and beyond.
Here is what the evidence points to.
Group art-based activities help women:
express complex emotions
foster a sense of connection
strengthen personal resourcefulness
Crane T, Buultjens M, Fenner P. Art-based interventions during pregnancy to support women's wellbeing: An integrative review. Women Birth. 2021 Jul;34(4):325-334.
doi: 10.1016/j.wombi.2020.08.009.
Social benefits
community and peer support
reduced feelings of isolation
time just for mothers
Emotional benefits
fun and enjoyment
relief from worries and anxieties
relaxation and calm
Psychological benefits
discovery of new skills for motherhood
increased self-esteem
easier bonding with the baby
Cluderay, ER., Barnes, C., Collard-Stokes, G. et al. Arts-based interventions for maternal well-being: a systematic review. Current Psychology 44, 4614–4633 (2025).
doi: 10.1007/s12144-025-07496-6
Some studies show:
reduced anxiety symptoms
reduced depression symptoms
with art-based interventions seeming interesting, safe and cost-effective for women in the perinatal period
Qian J, Sun S, Wang M, Sun X and Yu X (2023) Art-based interventions for women’s mental health in pregnancy and postpartum: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Frontiers in Psychiatry 14:1112951.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1112951
Hi, I’m Eva.
A psychologist and trained art therapy facilitator based in Amsterdam. Being a mom of 2 is one of my most treasured and meaningful roles, but the experience of motherhood is so intense and illuminating, so full of wonder and weariness, that I firmly believe we need spaces and opportunities to process the whole range of emotions and changes.
That’s why I choose and love to support moms at all stages - from the transition into motherhood to the years of being deep in it.
I offer group workshops and individual sessions, both designed to be accessible to anyone regardless of creative background. My approach draws on art therapy, psychology, and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) - but in practice, it simply feels like a warm, guided space to pause, explore and find answers from within.
These sessions create something that's rare and precious for most moms: uninterrupted, nourishing time that's entirely their own.