I recently received a wonderful question from a reader:
"When using these exercises, do you create along with them to give a sense of 'I'm in this with you" or do you spend the time observing their creative process?"
In my experience, whether I join in the activity with my client depends on many different factors. A guiding image for me would be like a musician trying to provide a particular atmosphere for a dancer, delicately balancing leading and following. Some clients may feel so stuck in unproductive patterns that they invite guidance, modeling, and direction from a therapist, including demonstrating a creative process. Other clients will have an intuitive grasp on exactly what they need to create and explore in themselves, and in those cases, I am the blessed (and sometimes breathless!) follower who gets to witness their discoveries unfold.
In general, I sense that many people, particularly teenagers, suffer from feeling unseen, invisible,and misunderstood by those around them. I find that I ideally want to communicate to clients that I am sincerely invested in learning about them and seeing the world through their eyes, and so I usually do not engage in my own art because I want my clients to know that they have my undivided attention. I find that the more emotionally involved and transformative the work becomes for a client or within a group, the more crucial it is for me to establish my presence as an anchor, a witness, a holder of the space that can be trusted to sustain the process to its completion.
That said, I have also engaged in creative processes with clients for particular reasons under certain circumstances. In a session with an individual, particularly in the beginning of a therapeutic relationship, I find that many people feel uncomfortable being observed in silence, and some clients have even requested that I make my own art. In those cases, I sometimes will make art that I intend to present as a gift to my client that mirrors what I understand about themes in the client's life. Or I may use my own creative process to reveal how I have personally worked with the particular issue that the client is working on, such as grief or anger, without revealing excessive personal details which could shift the focus of the process.
For example, in the Four Elements Of You activity (Number 33), which is often a meditative and silent activity, I have joined in with my group to remove the power differential of my role as witness, and communicate, "I am with you." Many people fear that seeking mental health treatment means they are abnormal, and by personally engaging in an activity, I hope to convey that they are not alone and that their struggles are completely valid within the spectrum of human experience.
Another reason I might join in a group activity is to model risk-taking for clients who are new to creative expression. Feelings of inadequacy and fears of ridicule are two of the greatest obstacles for being creative. I have used posters on my wall to create an atmosphere of acceptance, such as "In art, there is no right or wrong." In an effort to please or "do it right," some clients stay close to familiar images and struggle to tune in to their own individual and unique expression. For example, in the Feeling Code Collage activity (Number 13), a client might draw "happiness" as a sun. I might join in the activity to show that happiness might also look like a fish, a bed, or fireworks. In music, drama, and dance activities, the vulnerability and risk is usually much higher, so I almost always participate.
Ultimately, my goal is to tailor my involvement in a way that would make a client feel at ease, seen, and willing to take risks to explore the inner terrain of the psyche. Though my goal is to communicate that it's not about me, it is finally all about me, since essentially what I offer a client is all that I am, including whatever wisdom or limitations that I carry within myself. When I interact with a client within the complex programming of our shared transference and countertransference, together, we can create a new way of being in the world through the rituals and gifting that occur in our sessions, and for me, that is the ultimate creative process: the shared creation of the self through heartful exchanges with the changing forces of the world.
"When using these exercises, do you create along with them to give a sense of 'I'm in this with you" or do you spend the time observing their creative process?"
In my experience, whether I join in the activity with my client depends on many different factors. A guiding image for me would be like a musician trying to provide a particular atmosphere for a dancer, delicately balancing leading and following. Some clients may feel so stuck in unproductive patterns that they invite guidance, modeling, and direction from a therapist, including demonstrating a creative process. Other clients will have an intuitive grasp on exactly what they need to create and explore in themselves, and in those cases, I am the blessed (and sometimes breathless!) follower who gets to witness their discoveries unfold.
In general, I sense that many people, particularly teenagers, suffer from feeling unseen, invisible,and misunderstood by those around them. I find that I ideally want to communicate to clients that I am sincerely invested in learning about them and seeing the world through their eyes, and so I usually do not engage in my own art because I want my clients to know that they have my undivided attention. I find that the more emotionally involved and transformative the work becomes for a client or within a group, the more crucial it is for me to establish my presence as an anchor, a witness, a holder of the space that can be trusted to sustain the process to its completion.
That said, I have also engaged in creative processes with clients for particular reasons under certain circumstances. In a session with an individual, particularly in the beginning of a therapeutic relationship, I find that many people feel uncomfortable being observed in silence, and some clients have even requested that I make my own art. In those cases, I sometimes will make art that I intend to present as a gift to my client that mirrors what I understand about themes in the client's life. Or I may use my own creative process to reveal how I have personally worked with the particular issue that the client is working on, such as grief or anger, without revealing excessive personal details which could shift the focus of the process.
For example, in the Four Elements Of You activity (Number 33), which is often a meditative and silent activity, I have joined in with my group to remove the power differential of my role as witness, and communicate, "I am with you." Many people fear that seeking mental health treatment means they are abnormal, and by personally engaging in an activity, I hope to convey that they are not alone and that their struggles are completely valid within the spectrum of human experience.
Another reason I might join in a group activity is to model risk-taking for clients who are new to creative expression. Feelings of inadequacy and fears of ridicule are two of the greatest obstacles for being creative. I have used posters on my wall to create an atmosphere of acceptance, such as "In art, there is no right or wrong." In an effort to please or "do it right," some clients stay close to familiar images and struggle to tune in to their own individual and unique expression. For example, in the Feeling Code Collage activity (Number 13), a client might draw "happiness" as a sun. I might join in the activity to show that happiness might also look like a fish, a bed, or fireworks. In music, drama, and dance activities, the vulnerability and risk is usually much higher, so I almost always participate.
Ultimately, my goal is to tailor my involvement in a way that would make a client feel at ease, seen, and willing to take risks to explore the inner terrain of the psyche. Though my goal is to communicate that it's not about me, it is finally all about me, since essentially what I offer a client is all that I am, including whatever wisdom or limitations that I carry within myself. When I interact with a client within the complex programming of our shared transference and countertransference, together, we can create a new way of being in the world through the rituals and gifting that occur in our sessions, and for me, that is the ultimate creative process: the shared creation of the self through heartful exchanges with the changing forces of the world.
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