I finally earned my Registration as an Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT) through the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA).  I want to share a line that I submitted as part of my application that hits a resonant note in the heart of my work:

"I now know that being an expressive arts therapist is more than a bag of tricks to use in a therapy session.  It is a way of offering my full presence to someone and allowing the full creative potential of both of us to flow freely."

I recently read the wikipedia article on "Imprinting" as I was reflecting on the way that early patterns of behavior seem so difficult to change.  I went to wikipedia with the question, "Does imprinting ever wear off?  Did the chicks ever stop following that guy around?" 

I didn't get the answer to my question  (if anyone knows, please enlighten me), but I discovered an unbelievable story about the way humans have used the principle of imprinting to help birds overcome difficulties resulting from captivity. 

From Wikipedia:

"The Italian hang-glider pilot Angelo d'Arrigo [...] noted that the flight of a non-motorised hang-glider is very similar to the flight patterns of migratory birds: Both use updrafts of hot air (thermal currents) to gain altitude that then permits soaring flight over distance. He used this fact to enable the re-introduction into the wild of threatened species of raptors.

 Birds that are hatched in captivity have no mentor birds to teach them their traditional migratory routes. D'Arrigo had one solution to this problem. The chicks hatched under the wing of his glider, and imprinted on him. Then, he taught the fledglings to fly and to hunt. The young birds followed him not only on the ground (as with Lorenz) but also in the air as he took the path of various migratory routes. He flew across the Sahara and over the Mediterranean Sea to Sicily with eagles, from Siberia to Iran (5,500 km) with a flock of Siberian cranes, and over Mount Everest with Nepalese eagles. In 2006, he worked with a condor in South America."

I found myself very moved by this story, and perhaps it is a beautiful parallel for what we do as therapists: to re-orient the natural instincts of our clients who may have not learned the healthy patterns they needed early in life.   I am inspired to know that there are such self-sacrificing heroes in the world who can help us to navigate our way through a changing world and remind us of our true natures. 

Angelo d'Arrigo passed away on March 26, 2006 at 44 years of age.  Rest in peace. 

Wow!  The IEATA Conference surpassed my wildest expectations in its richness and caliber of presentations and offerings.  The location was gorgeous, and there was an exciting sense of power in the air to be part of our collective force of innovators. 

I also had a wonderful experience sharing my work through my presentation, Dance Orientations for Re-Wilding the Self and the World.  This presentation was about mapping intentions in dance practices that activate our healthful participation in the web of life.  As I prepared to give my presentation, I realized that this work has been important for me to celebrate and affirm the tremendous gifts of our species to be beautiful and benevolent members of the biosphere.  Check out my video and writings on my new webpage.  I look forward to your comments and questions!

The 2013 IEATA Conference is fast approaching!  I wanted to share the
abstract I wrote for the workshop I will be presenting to give a brief taste of
the context and concepts that have brought me to this work.  Thanks for
reading!

     Since the advent of agriculture, the human hunger for change has caused
us to accelerate survival technologies more rapidly than we can
assimilate.  Proponents of ecopsychology suggest that industrialized
societies produce lifestyles that are addicted to continuous stimulation in
order to dissociate from the feelings of alienation from the natural world,
leading to many environmental, social, and mental health crises of today
(Glendenning, 1994).  Our perverted drive for greater comfort and security
has placed us so out-of-step with the natural rhythms of the world that a
different kind of change is needed to restore our sense of belonging to the
Earth as a member species.   

    The perspectives of indigenous peoples of the world have largely been
disregarded as primitive, nonsensical, or irrelevant in academic discourse, but
this imperialistic mindset has thwarted our ability to integrate their ancient,
time-tested knowledge into our current perception of health (Blanchard,
2011).  Every human being is indebted to ancestral origins in tribal
hunter-gatherer groups who successfully survived in the wild.  Endangered
rituals of descent into the underworld are the legacies that have continually
renewed our intimate relationships with the natural world (Plotkin, 2008). 
Dance and movement have held a wide range of functions in non-industrial
societies, including mental and physical healing for individuals, resolving
social conflicts, and honoring the forces of nature.  

     In my twenty-year exploration of dance and movement, I have
distinguished nine valuable intentions or orientations that serve to activate
the primary characteristics of a healthy, wild human animal.  The first
three, Meditative, Ecstatic, and Mystical, are focused on transcendent,
universal, or divine realities culminating in a state of harmony with the
natural world.  The next three orientations, Relational, Social, and
Activist, provide structures for communities to maintain an internal balance and
constructively participate in local ecologies.  In the last three
orientations, Physical, Expressive, and Trance, the dancer becomes a tracker in
the wild, imaginal realms of the human body, the personal or collective
unconscious, and nature, respectively.   
    
     While all of these orientations are valuable, the Trance orientation is
our least developed area of competence due to our troubled history with the
humans and land on which we find ourselves.  Most of the residents in the
United States are relative newcomers to this continent, and our dominant society
has been founded in momentously destructive changes to the native people and
their ancestral covenant with the land.  Unresolved transgressions and
growing estrangement with nature have resulted in the loss of our capacities to
skillfully contribute to the unfolding story of humanity’s role in the “dream of
the Earth” through revelatory experiences (Berry, 2006).  I will suggest
that the Trance orientation of dance is perhaps the most promising method of
establishing unsentimental, historically-conscious relationships with the
more-than-human world.  

    Dance Orientations for Re-wilding the Self and the World is a treatise
on the importance of reprising the benevolent role of the human species in the
web of life.  The interwoven segments of lecture, discussion, and engaging
creative processes are intended to convey a heartfelt invitation to deepen our
personal and professional awareness of the power of dance.  My hope in
mapping these embodied intentions is to re-imagine a model of health that is
interconnected with the health of the larger community of life.  In this
way, we not only respond to the changes of the past, but also direct change
toward a hopeful future.

 References: 

Berry, T. (2006).  Dream of the Earth (2nd ed.).  San Francisco,
CA: Sierra Club Books.

Blanchard. G. (2011). Ancient Ways: Indigenous Healing Innovations for the
21st Century. Holyoke, MA: NEARI Press.

Glendenning, C. (1994).  My Name is Chellis and I’m in Recovery from
Western Civilization.  Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Plotkin, B. (2008).  Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness
and Community in a Fragmented World.  Novato, California: New World
Library.

I recently moved to Cartersville, Georgia for a position at a partial hospitalization program for children and adults.  This position has many new challenges and opportunities for using the expressive therapies in a mental health setting.  One great advantage is that there are fewer regulations about materials that can be used, since the clients are not actively in crisis and can have access to objects with metal pieces, such as a drum!  Joy!  Also, each client's stay in the program is longer than the typical five days at the Crisis Unit, so that affords more in-depth involvement over time with each client.  One challenge I have faced so far is that there are more restrictions about hanging artwork on the walls in my new space, and the treatment rooms are not stocked with art materials - they have to be brought into each room for the sessions from a storage closet.  One thing I have learned over the years is that having an engaging and creative space is one of the most important steps when inviting a client into an expressive process.  I am hoping to have more ways of making the environment of my new position more warm and welcoming. 

Since part of my theoretical orientation of expressive therapy is rooted in principles of ecopsychology, I feel I should mention my experience with being in a totally different bioregion than I was in Florida.  Georgia has a very complex natural history that I am in the process of learning about.  The Creek, Cherokee, and Yamasee Indians of this region were mostly wiped out by diseases, forced relocation, and genocide, but many of the Creek Indians of this region formed a community in Florida known as the Seminole Tribe.  The history of slavery and the civil rights movement in this region continue to affect daily life, as countless incidents of racism have been brought up during group sessions in the few weeks that I have been working here.  Atlanta was one of the earliest industrialized cities in this country, and the colonialists of this region exerted over three centuries of harmful dominion over humans and nature, resulting in a very exciting process of creative survival. 

Walking in a nearby park, this phrase popped into my mind:  "The walking wounded create their destinies."  Both through my work with troubled children and teens and also through my observations of the resilience of the people and nature of this land, I hope to witness the beauty and grace of how all earth inhabitants can overcome horrendous difficulties and cultivate tremendous powers of insight and manifestation. 

I'm very excited to report that I will be presenting at the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA) conference in Berkeley, CA, held on March 14 - 17, 2013.  This year, I will be presenting my work in exploring nine different orientations in free-form movement practices that correlate to the upper, middle and lower worlds from the shamanic paradigm.  I have found this map to be so beneficial in my work with bridging the expressive therapies with ecopsychology, as well as personally beneficial in deepening my own dance practice.  I'll let you know more about it in future posts.  Please check out the details of the conference on this link - it is sure to be a wonderful event. 

http://www.ieata.org/conference.html

I also presented at the IEATA conference back in 2009 on my work using veils in movement in expressive arts therapy processes with teen girls and their mothers.  It was entitled, "The Veil, the symbol of Islamic covering" and explored increasing multicultural awareness of the practice of veiling from a historical, social, political, and symbolic perspective.  Please enjoy these two videos that I used in my presentation as an introduction to dispel some perpetuated stereotypes about veiling practices.

I'm happy to report that my Free Art experiment in my teen expressive arts therapy group (in which I refrained from giving any specific directives) was a success.  I still felt compelled to start each session with a relevant discussion topic which I felt deepened the group field and propelled clients toward a more intimate and introspective exploration in their art process.  Rather than overwhelming the clients in the room who had little art experience, I found that Free Art was actually less intimidating to them since they could start with something that was familiar to them, such as a design or decorative lettering.  In subsequent sessions, I found they became more comfortable and appreciated the freedom, especially when other group members modeled intense interest in their own art. 

One challenge is when a one or more group members have advanced drawing skills, which seems to stifle and intimidate others in the room.  I have to work harder on those occasions to assure clients that it is more important to make one's art meaningful than to make it appear impressive to others.  Occasionally I engage in my own art process with the group as a way to model the safety of taking risks and trusting the outcome when making art.  The most important part of the session continues to be the sharing segment, where my goal is that everyone in the room feels seen and supported with compassionate and respectful witnessing.  Within a few  sessions, I find that most clients are able to enjoy an unbridled creative foray into their inner life.

I feel very privileged that so many wonderful young people have shared their most vulnerable and courageous artwork, poetry, music, stories, and dances with me.