From what you have described here, I understand that she is not prepared to work alongside another therapist, but is open to discussing/trialling work with you as your sole therapist. It doesn't sound as if she has been very clear though and the important thing is that you are confused. It is probably too early to tell whether this is a sign of an ill-fitting match and it might be worth arranging an initial session to explore more. I am being hypocritical here as I have previously rejected therapists for incorrect grammar in an email, so...

I am not really surprised that the art therapist is not recommending this as a course of action. I often hear art therapy spoken about as if it is a gentler option than talk therapy, a kind of adjunct wellbeing activity like yoga or meditation. I have previously been in art therapy for 1.5 years and it was deep therapeutic work. People seem to think of the art as being foremost and the therapy aspect as being less prominent. My experience was that the therapy happened through the art objects I produced - the therapy was a combination of me, the therapist and the object. For me, this would be like me being in Gestalt therapy and thinking I would do psychodynamic therapy once a month as an add-on. It wouldn't make sense for me. I am not suggesting that you are thinking of art therapy in this way, just typing out loud really.

In your position, I would definitely want to discuss with the art therapist what it would be like to start making an object and then leave it for a month before I continued developing it. I would have hated that. Even typing about this has made me feel sad for your as yet unstarted and yet soon to be abandoned pieces! Projection incoming! It might be worth talking through what role the art therapy would have. Would you be taking the same emotional material to both kinds of sessions and using different approaches to explore it? Would you be taking different areas to each therapy?

I would be very cautious about working with either/both therapist if they have agreed to something which is outside of their usual practice/approach. Whilst this is not your boundary to look after because their practice is their responsibility, I would want to protect myself and so would be wary of their lack of experience or confidence negatively impacting on my therapy.

Also, when I have considered other forms of therapy or other therapists, it has often been as a response to feeling that my therapist is not present enough with me. This has been due to a rupture, due to her being on holiday, or sometimes just my inability to maintain connection in absence. I am not saying that this is the case for you and nor am I trying to suggest that the art therapy is not a good option for you. How many therapies/therapists you undertake is totally your business and should be your decision, assuming that they can keep their end of things safe. Therapists have a horrible habit of assuming that they know best, arising from misplaced professional arrogance. Of course, many of them can't even operate successfully from *within* the scope of their practice, but don't get me started on that.