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ABOUT EXPRESSIVE ARTS

WHY DOES IT WORK?

Letting go into the arts requires PRESENCE! It is an opportunity to leave the cluttered mind aside and engage fully in the senses, so we can come back to our natural, creative state of being. Exploring in the here and now creates an atmosphere of receptivity, intuition, joy, and inspiration to flow through our immersive exploration. Through the art-making we take distance from the challenging life situations and are able to look at things from surprising and refreshing perspectives. The power of the arts is that we transform stale mental barriers into flowing physical, tangible, audible, visible, creations - turning inaction into action, invisible into visible. Once we give our expression form, it takes on a life of its own which we can interact with in a more objective way. Taking a step back, we can then observe and appreciate with wonder and curiosity. Reflecting together, we can find beauty in the artist’s process, giving life to their unique abilities and style. We identify what works instead of focusing on the problems. From the new vantage point we can integrate any new discoveries into daily life. The arts embrace everybody, every emotion, and ALL of our parts into one gorgeous and radiant whole being!

You are the expert of your own experience! My role is to help bring to light the essence of that very special experience, helping you embrace all parts of yourself. In today's world, it can be challenging to distinguish our internal voice from the external one, Through the expressive arts experience, you discover your own desires for yourself from the inside out. 

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Expressive Arts Therapy is a way of using the arts for self exploration and approaching challenges in creative ways. We work within various artistic modalities like Movement, Drama, Painting, Writing, Ritual, Photography, Yoga, Sound and Play to cultivate a holistic life full of vitality, meaning, and wellbeing. It is a co-creative process that gives life to new and shareable forms, while nourishing our souls along the way.
 

WHAT IS EXPRESSIVE ARTS THERAPY?

WHO IS THIS FOR?

If you are alive, you are creative! Creativity is the most intrinsic force of existence. We were born from creativity and have those abilities within us to use. Like anything else, the more we develop our relationship with it, the deeper our connection to it becomes. This work is open for all and can be applied to any situation. NO ART EXPERIENCE NECESSARY!

HOW EXPRESSIVE ARTS CAN SUPPORT YOU

  • Transform fear

  • Embrace change

  • Opportunities to trust more deeply

  • Awareness of patterns, limiting beliefs, and inner strengths

  • Creative problem solving

  • Presence

  • Process over perfection

  • Experimentation & permission to fail

  • Freedom of expression

  • Develop intuition & courage to follow gut instincts

  • Self-awareness

  • Detachment from outcomes

  • Let go of control

  • Transparent environment to communicate openly

  • Artistic skills

  • Accept & receive joy

  • Body & spatial awareness

  • Connection to something greater than the self

  • Surprises & new possibilities

  • Wonder & ease

  • Take action

  • Relaxation

  • Create Clarity

  • Intimacy & sense of connection

  • Purpose & direction

  • Greater sensitivity

  • Balance 

  • Step away from clutter, busyness, and worries 

  • Release shame

  • Decision-making skills

  • Support in owning your unique, personal values

  • Vision development

  • Entrepreneurship & company mission

  • Find inner strengths

WHERE DOES EXPRESSIVE ARTS WORK?

I have practiced this work within various populations and cultures, working with themes like community building, women's empowerment, stress reduction, creative development, life transitions, and spirituality through the arts. I have also been working online with many curious people from all around the world who want to nurture their relationship with themselves. I have incredible colleagues that use Expressive Arts for healing in any population you can imagine- working with children, adults, individuals, couples, communities, refugees, people struggling with trauma, identity, physical and mental difficulties, addiction, abuse, trauma, torture,  grief, and many more.

WHEN WAS EXPRESSIVE ARTS CREATED?

Since the beginning of time, individuals and communities have used art to help people cope with and celebrate the complex nature of life. They used masks to communicate with the gods, doing rain dances to pray for crops, or painting in caves as a way of preserving the human story. The arts have been present in every culture and throughout all ages. 

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Knowing the power of the arts for healing, several artist practitioners came together in the 1970's and realized that if they combined individual creative therapy methods into one unified field, they would be able to access more areas of the human imagination, leading to the birth of Expressive Arts Therapy

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