Art as Therapy
We need to make stuff.
Do you notice that you feel better when you’re in an artistic project? Or when you sing in the car? The most important thing I’ve learned in 25 years of therapy practice? When people engage their creativity, they start feeling better.
I use art methods as an adjunct to regular EMDR therapy. Art therapy can be many things, but I usually start with paper and paint. Sometimes my clients already know their medium, so they bring it with them: a sketchbook, or sewing project, a guitar . . . Anything will work.
In fact, one of the first things I find out about my new clients is their art form. What is your art form? We all have one. Even if you’ve never had music lessons, your art form may be music. And even if you’ve been told you’re not creative, you may have a painter inside you. Lots of people tell me they can’t write, but then put pen to paper and create delicious poetry.
Let’s nurture your inner artist. We’ll start slow and watch how it speeds your therapy.
ART AS THERAPY BLOGS
Exiting a Sick System: Anger Wisdom, Part XIX
How does anger help us exit sick systems? Anger helps us exit sick systems. How? Anger allows information processing, because it is a part of the learning curve. So, let’s look at how anger facilitates timely exit when we need it. First, sick systems tend to have...
Anger Triggers: Anger Wisdom, Part V
Anger Wisdom Means Knowing Our Triggers Here's the beginning of one of my big anger triggers. When I was eleven, a younger kid who came to our house for violin lessons wanted to feed my little red swordfish. I warned him not to add any flakes because I’d just done it....
5 Easy Steps to Your Just-Right Home Office Studio
Stay at home requires a just-right home office studio where you can get creative, comfy, and feel your best. Five easy steps to set up your working oasis at home and #flattenthecurve.
Self-Love and Photography: 3 Steps to Feeling Better about Yourself
Photographer, Cory Powell, shows us how to use selfies as part of a creative emotional recovery process.
Build a Culture of Creative Inspiration: Your Office Space Matters
Creating a beautiful, comfortable therapy office inspires and energizes therapists and clients.
Therapist Creative Support
Beauty prevents burnout by raising our vibration and focusing our energy. Therapists and all helpers need creative support to engage beauty in their everyday work. Building practice based on beauty creates sustainability and abundance.
The Solution for Therapist Burnout=Beauty
Beauty: The Solution to Therapist Burnout Beauty is everywhere you look. But most therapists have been trained away from it. We got trained to look at problems. Problems=the un-beauty. This formula leads straight to burnout. Looking at problems served us pretty well ....
Religious Trauma into Soul Healing, Part VII: Creating
Creating Soul Healing You probably know how I feel about this one. Art saves lives. But for the rest of this post, I'll stay away from the word, "Art," and replace it with "Creativity" or "Creating." Creating leads us out of spiritual prison or confinement and into...
Note to Self: Write MORE that’s Real in 2018
MORE I need to write, but haven't in a while. I got a little bogged down trying to create neat, unoffensive packages of psychotherapy. I sort of lost myself, and writing became a chore. But I'm writing my way back home, thanks to a little rest and time with writerly...
Calm Receptive Mode: Get calm and find the good stuff inside you.
Your higher self knows how to calm you. We all want to find calm receptive mode. But not everybody wants to get a massage (although we should - there are people who can make us feel safer and less awkward). Some of us need action. We need to be out in a kayak or...
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