Doing Well: The Wellbeing Science Insights Podcast · Life Management Science Labs

Emma Noack: Nurturing Well-being Through Artistic Expression | Doing Well #70

·48 min·3 clips

Emma says the Voice referendum showed how community grief can change the energy of a workplace and a trauma group.

The episode opens with a land acknowledgement before Lumo introduces Doing Well as a wellbeing science podcast produced by LMSL. Emma Nowak joins from Narm, Melbourne, where she practices as an art therapist. Her focus is connecting with people through creativity, especially trauma survivors, people experiencing anxiety, and the LGBTQIA+ community. She also brings a background in art history to the conversation. The show notes that she primarily works with clients under 25, both privately and in community settings. Lumo asks what artistic expression means in everyday terms. Emma answers by pointing to drawing, sculpting, and other forms of making that help someone express something important to them or something they are thinking about. She describes artwork as a kind of mirror, where the canvas can reflect the self. The conversation then shifts to how different art forms may affect wellbeing in different ways. Emma frames art therapy as an umbrella rather than a single method. She distinguishes between formal support for trauma and simpler self-managed practices for ordinary stress. For people who want something they can do at home, she points to drawing as a way to reduce stress. Coloring comes up as another example. Emma pushes back on the idea that coloring is somehow too basic to count. Instead, she treats it as art for wellbeing: mindful, meditative, and calming to the brain's alarm system. The episode keeps its tone warm and approachable throughout. It does not rush the listener into jargon. Instead, it lets Emma explain the difference between therapy, self-soothing, and creative expression in plain language. The result is a gentle case for making space for art without treating it like a performance. It leaves the listener with a simpler idea of what art can do.

As heard by us

A plainspoken case for creativity as a useful wellbeing tool, not a precious hobby.

Emma Nowak treats artistic expression as part of wellbeing, not a side hobby. The discussion works best when it stays plain: drawing or doodling can take the edge off stress, coloring can feel calm and focused, and art can be a way of noticing the self without needing to impress…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want art to feel useful, not intimidating, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Doing Well: The Wellbeing Science Insights Podcast