Drawing and Talking

What Drawing and Talking does

Drawing and Talking is a UK-based therapeutic training and certification organization founded in 2004 and headquartered in Mitcham, Surrey. It commercializes a proprietary, non-directed, attachment-based therapeutic technique grounded in Jungian psychology, Attachment Theory, and the neurobiology of trauma, designed to enable individuals — particularly those who find verbal therapies confronting — to discover and communicate emotions through drawing. The company's core product is a tiered training curriculum: the Foundation course (£299) certifies practitioners in the core technique, followed by the Advanced course (£325), a Review refresher (£80), SDQ assessment training (£250), and a six-week Independent Practitioner Programme (£375). An annual CPD membership at £99+VAT provides recurring revenue and maintains accreditation, while in-house training days serve organizations with 20-80 delegates.

The customer base spans five primary verticals: education (schools, academies, SENCOs, teaching assistants), healthcare (CAMHS, NHS, mental health practitioners), charities, children's services, and — more recently — older adults and dementia care. The GTM motion is training-led: free 75-minute webinars serve as top-of-funnel lead generation, converting into paid certification courses and ongoing membership subscriptions. Marketing relies on content (blog, testimonials, case studies), email, and a public Practitioner Register that drives inbound demand for independent practitioners. The company operates a sister entity, Mental Health Hub, that extends CPD resources and hosts the practitioner directory. No external funding, M&A activity, or institutional investors are disclosed; the business is founder-operated and self-sustaining, with 20,000+ practitioners trained cumulatively over its 20-year history.

Name

Drawing and Talking

Legal name

Drawing and Talking Ltd.

Website

https://drawingandtalking.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Drawing and Talking is a UK-based therapeutic training organization that certifies practitioners in a proprietary non-directed, attachment-based drawing intervention for emotional expression, serving education, healthcare, charity, and elderly care sectors through course fees and annual membership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Therapeutic Training Services

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Visual Arts (Drawing, Painting, Illustration) (EDAAAGAA)

Keywords

• Therapeutic training
• Art therapy certification
• Mental health training
• Children's wellbeing
• Professional development courses

Headquarters

HQ city

Mitcham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Training Courses: One-time fee training courses including Foundation (£299), Advanced (£325), Review courses (£80), SDQ training (£250), and Practitioner Programme (£375). These represent the primary customer acquisition vehicle that converts practitioners into certified Drawing and Talking professionals.
2. Annual Membership Subscription: Annual CPD/membership subscription at £99 + VAT per practitioner. Includes access to coaching calls, masterclasses, additional courses, and CPD resources. First year included with Foundation training. This creates recurring revenue and drives ongoing engagement with certified practitioners.
3. In-house Training: Organizational training days for groups of 20-80 staff, offered at discounted rates compared to individual enrollment. Both Zoom and in-person options available for schools, charities, and other organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Drawing and Talking Ltd. is a UK-based therapeutic training organisation that delivers accredited certification courses in a proprietary, non-directed drawing-based therapeutic intervention grounded in Jungian psychology and attachment theory. It trains practitioners across education, healthcare, charity, and children's services to deliver the technique to children, young people, and older adults (including people with dementia).

Product overview

Drawing and Talking is a therapeutic training organisation offering a portfolio of certification programmes and ongoing professional development services. The core offering consists of the Foundation to Drawing and Talking Therapy (1-day certification programme) which trains practitioners in a non-directed, attachment-based therapeutic technique rooted in Jungian psychology for supporting children, young people, and adults with emotional expression. This is supplemented by the Advanced Knowledge programme (1-day) for deeper theoretical understanding and group facilitation skills, and the Review Courses (2-hour) for annual practice refreshment. The suite also includes specialised training in SDQ assessment, an Independent Practitioner Programme for those wanting to establish private practice, short CPD courses (Safeguarding, Healing Through Art), and dedicated programmes for Older Adults including those with dementia. In-House Training provides enterprise-level delivery for organisations with 20+ staff. The Annual Membership serves as the ongoing CPD and accreditation framework, granting access to coaching calls, masterclasses, resources, and inclusion on the public Practitioner Register.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foundation Course Entry-level accredited training in the Drawing and Talking non-directed drawing-based therapeutic technique, enabling practitioners to begin delivering the intervention in their professional setting.
• Advanced Course Next-tier accredited training for practitioners who have completed the Foundation Course, deepening clinical understanding and application of the Drawing and Talking technique.
• Independent Practitioner Programme Higher-level programme certifying practitioners to operate as independent Drawing and Talking practitioners, with supervision and clinical competence requirements.
• SDQ Training Training in the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a behavioural screening tool used alongside the Drawing and Talking technique to measure outcomes.
• Review Courses Refresher and continuing-education courses that allow trained practitioners to revisit and update their Drawing and Talking knowledge and skills.
• Short Courses Brief, topic-focused training sessions for practitioners seeking introductory exposure or supplementary knowledge related to the Drawing and Talking approach.
• In-House Training Bespoke Drawing and Talking training delivered directly to organisations with 20 or more delegates, typically used for whole-team upskilling such as INSET days in schools.
• Older Adults Course Specialist variant of the Drawing and Talking training adapted for practitioners working with older adults, including those living with dementia.
• Annual Membership Subscription membership for trained practitioners providing 20% off courses, access to the Mental Health Hub resource library, and ongoing practitioner support.

Quantifiable outcome

• Trained over 20,000 Drawing and Talking Practitioners in 20 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Place2Be: UK children's mental health charity that trains and places counsellors in schools and offers CPD programmes. Comparable as a UK school-based mental health training provider targeting overlapping buyer personas (SENCOs, school leadership).
• Anna Freud Centre: UK children's mental health charity delivering schools-facing training, CPD, and resources for teachers and mental health practitioners. Comparable target buyer (school mental health leads) and CPD training delivery model.
• Mental Health First Aid England: Largest UK provider of mental health awareness and skills training courses, including instructor certification and workplace programmes. Comparable training/certification business model and CPD-accredited course architecture.

Direct peers

• Nurture UK: UK charity supporting nurture group practice in schools with training, accreditation, and CPD programmes for teaching staff. Directly comparable as a UK school-based, practitioner-certification model addressing SEMH needs.
• Theraplay: US-headquartered provider of attachment-based, dyadic therapeutic training and certification for clinicians and educators. Highly comparable to Drawing and Talking given shared attachment-theory foundation and practitioner-certification GTM.
• ELSA Training (Educational Psychology Services): UK-wide network of Emotional Literacy Support Assistants trained via local authority Educational Psychology teams. Directly comparable as a school-based practitioner training and certification scheme for non-specialist mental health delivery.
• Sensory Attachment Intervention (SAI): UK-based provider of attachment- and sensory-based therapeutic training courses for schools, care, and therapy professionals. Comparable methodology (attachment theory), practitioner certification model, and vertical mix.
• Pyramid Educational Consultants (PECS): Provider of the Picture Exchange Communication System — practitioner training, certification, and ongoing consultation using a visual/non-verbal communication framework. Closely comparable as a visual-modality, practitioner-certification training business serving SEND/education.

Regional players

• British Association of Art Therapists (BAAT): UK professional body accrediting art therapy training at postgraduate level. Comparable in art-based therapeutic training but operates at a higher clinical/academic tier than Drawing and Talking's short-course certification model.

Emerging players

• PATHS Program UK (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies): UK distributor of the evidence-based PATHS social-emotional learning curriculum, training teachers and support staff in schools. Comparable training-for-schools GTM, though with a US-validated curriculum versus Drawing and Talking's proprietary technique.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/drawingandtalking
• Xx.com/drawandtalk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drawing-talking

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Drawing and Talking