Creativity is a natural resource available to all of us. Expressive Arts Therapy (EXA) invites you to expand your view of creativity and learn to engage with your own creative energy as a vital element in your journey through life. Expressive Arts Therapy provides a way into this creative life force energy using multiple forms of self-expression woven together in a single session. Described as “Intermodal” or “Multimodal”, EXA sessions will often move between written words, images, sounds and movement.
What can I expect in an Expressive Arts focused therapy session?
When you come to my office you’ll see a large table and plenty of art supplies ranging from crayons and markers to watercolor paint, oil/chalk pastels, collage material and sometimes salt dough, playdoh or clay. I generally tailor EXA sessions to your individual needs and interests. No prior experience is necessary! My methods are designed to be accessible to everyone. Especially as you’re getting started, I will guide you into the process. After a few sessions, clients often have a sense of the direction they want to go with their process on a given day. I will remain actively engaged as a guide, assistant or witness in the process, providing support throughout. Generally, the first part of the session is focused on engaging the creative process while the last part of the session is reserved for reflection on the process and reorienting toward the rest of your day.
What are the most common problems Expressive Arts Therapy can help with?
Expressive Arts meets you where you are, and therefore most anyone can benefit from this type of work. More specifically, EXA can be helpful with anxiety, perfectionism, self-esteem, moving through creative blockages, depression/fatigue, connecting with ancestral wisdom, emotional processing, grief and trauma processing.
I’m trained in a fine arts discipline, can I benefit from Expressive Arts Therapy?
Yes! For those trained in a fine art discipline, expressive arts can offer a sense of play and freedom aside from your formal or professional work. The focus of an EXA session is on the creative process more than achieving a particular ‘piece of art’. Working with the inner critic and expanding creative possibilities can be valuable aspects of EXA for those actively engaged in a specific art process.
What have people said about Expressive Arts Therapy sessions?
Often clients say “that’s just what I needed” or “I feel better” after an expressive arts session. Those who continue with the expressive arts process over time, report feeling a greater sense of agency in their life, an ability to return to their creative pursuits outside of therapy, greater flexibility in many areas and often feel more supported through resources they discovered in the expressive arts process. As people discover resources both internal and external, they may also encounter aspects of life’s mystery or connect to deeper truths.