The minerals in our bodies and the minerals in the earth are very similar and making a clay-work is a form of re-connection of the two. Engaging in clay-work is a process of an intense and powerful tactile experience of touching.

 

Human beings' initial communication with the world includes tactile contact which makes non-verbal communication possible. Clay-work facilitates the expression of emotions, revealing unconscious through concretization and symbolization. Clay-work enables the client to encounter the constructive and destructive aspects of the self, in processes of psychic change and identity formation, or in becoming himself/herself (Sholt and Gavron, 2006).

 

PER Counselling uses the art of clay as a psychosocial support method to help clients re-connect their bodies to the earth and experience a haptic involvement to express their emotions and discover different and opposite aspects of their identity. Clay-work is commonly used to respond to many psychological problems including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).​