Engaging personal therapeutic practices

Hi Everyone!

I am adding a post here about my own personal therapeutic practices.  I encourage the clients I work with to engage with whatever spiritual aspect of themselves feels comfortable, as often times the lost feeling of hope can be found again in personal spirituality. 

I have many clients who attend a religious affiliation on a regular basis, and I encourage them to connect with their religious community as a means of support.  It is amazing when a client smiles as they relay their sense of comfort and community when they speak about their religious supports.  I am learning, however, to maintain awareness as to the tenderness that religion provokes.  However, the incorporation of as many personal aspects as possible in the healing process facilitates acceptance and growth.

That being said, here is a photo of my cat joining me at my morning prayer sessions, whereby I connect with Spirit and mentally, emotionally, and spiritually prepare myself for the day:



That's it for now.  Enjoy your Sunday, friends!

Visualizations and Affirmations through Art

Art and art therapy can also be used to visualize goals.  Often when I have clients who feel stuck or hopeless about a situation, I encourage them to use art supplies to create their ideal situation, and to allow their imaginations run to wild and free.  Too frequently I have clients that come in and feel inhibited by their apparent lack of art skills.  Part of my job as an art therapist is to listen to their self-doubts, then encourage them to think of themselves differently.  Of course this takes more than one session, and yet this is the beauty of therapy as the unfoldment of the human spirit manfiests.

What I have created above and below in the images are visualizations of what I want to achieve.  The above image is my visualization for an art therapy studio complete with plenty of space, long work tables, natural surroundings, and a warm, inviting environment.

The image below is my abstract representation of what financial security looks like to me.  I unearthed an image of a golden bowl while doing a meditation on this topic, and realized that I always have access to abundance and financial security. 

It is important to belive in the symbols we use to represent our goals and gifts.  If one receives a symbol while thinking on a goal, affirmation, or idea, that symbol is a gift from spirit and the higher self.  As art is unique for each person creating it, the symbols are unique and special for each person.  Treasure them well!

Understanding Dreams through Art

     Hi Everyone! Thank you again for viewing this blog. It is continually a work in progress, as are most things in life, and I feel honored when others experience what I share on this blog.

     Let's get started! I had a dream last week about an old school friend whom I was visiting, and their sister, (of which they do not have one in this reality) came out of a side room and handed me a bow. She instructed me to take the bow and hold on to it, as it was my duty to accept this bow. It was not my typical experience of a bow. This bow was elaborate in design and curvature, smooth caramel colored wood, and sturdy. It fit beautifully in my right hand, and I knew in this dream, it was mine.

     Despite this rather special dream, I woke up feeling confused and insatiably curious as to its meaning. Through my readings on dreams and understanding them, I have learned that making art to represent the dream is best at helping to integrate meanings presented within the dream. Furthermore, dreams are best understood with an open mind. If one is looking for concrete, factual answers to dreams, and demanding explanation for perplexing symbols, people, or conversations in the dreams, one might be disappointed.

     Dreams are living realities, and like any event occurring in this reality, acceptance and understanding of the magical mystery of dreams is one's best bet. This is not to say that dreams that seem to parallel this reality are to be taken lightly, for some dreams do in fact deliver messages from the subconscious or the beyond as an awakening or a foreshadowing of events to come. If this sounds contradictory, I understand! However, discernment of dreams, rather than interpretation, can be one's best approach and feeling a dream out provides depth and understanding.

     Without further ado, here is the drawing I created to represent the standout object in the dream, the bow. I also included writing along the side of the paper, as I remembered the conversation I had and powerful words that I remembered from the dream.

Mood Pyramid

Hey Everyone! I'm including an image of an art directive I did earlier this week with a client, assisting her in identifying feelings and how they change throughout the day based on various factors. The client I did this with loved doing it and even suggested her mother do it with her again on their next appointment! I was amazed. It is always nice when a client enjoys a directive and wants to share the benefit of it with another. This is my rendition of the directive, and I, too, had fun making it I also included a drawing of two whales I made one day while another client made their own artwork. !

Reinstating the Blog!

I am reinstating my blog as a means to promote my purpose serving others as an art therapist and active artists. I feel too long I have been allowing my creative processes to stagnate, thus disavowing my gifts and talents as an artist. Furthermore, in so doing, I feel it has stunted my growth as an art therapist, and for me, both careers are hand-in-hand, symbiotic, and stimulating to one another. I am including a few pieces I have recently created as a way of creating art alongisde my clients. I will not include art my clients have made unless I have their strict permission to do so. At this time however, I have not asked permissin and have not as of yet decided when I will.

The image with magazine pictures is a collage I did with a 17 year old female client I recently began working with. I use this art directive of locating images in a magazine that represent who the person is at this time in their life. Individuals tend to find images resonating with their personal tastes, future goals, and favorite tv shows, movies, music, celebrities. It is a casual, yet, sincere method of sharing information between myself as the art therapist and the client. I believe it creates a space for client and therapist to meet halfway, while at the same time allowing for ebb and flow of information and energetic exchange.

Back In Massachusetts

I've recently returned to Massachusetts to complete my degree with an internship at a local hospital. I currently work with children afterschool who are diagnosed with mental illness and learning disabiliities. The work these children have done is striking, as I become more aware of the power of art. Unfortunately, I do not have the ethical permission to post their images up here, as much as I would like to share them. Therefore, the purpose of this blog might start to transform into more work completed by me in response to their work.

I plan on posting some images soon from art I did while in Santa Fe. Amazingly, though, I threw out most of my drawings from classes because I did not feel the need to keep them considering I processed the material the art contained. I hope to continue this blog for a while longer, but am unclear as to what it will end up looking like in the near future.

HELLO!!

I have had no time to paint!!! For myself at least, but at the encouragement of my therapist and fellow classmates, and my parents, I have begun the painting process again. However, now I am trying to attempt my painting sessions without guilt, expectations, criticism, etc. We'll see what comes out of this. I will post photos soon....