November 3rd, 2016
On Monday, like every other parent, we took our children trick or treating. They got dressed up, applied their face make-up and grabbed a pillow case. We visited our friends' houses first then we headed out to the homes of strangers.
As the children walked from door to door, we bumped into people we know from the community. I got to meet the children of some adults I know through business. The girls got to meet the parents of children they know from school or gymnastics.
As the girls collected candy, we listened to make sure they said thank you. We watched them interacting with adults of all ages and abilities. They pet dogs and cats, talked about their costumes and asked some adults who were dressed-up what they were dressed as.
There is a festive mood in the air as children and their parents walk freely through the streets, enjoying the experience, showing off their costumes, gathering candy like gold and meeting the neighbours.
Recently, when I attended Sources of Strength training, we talked about the resilience of people in Latin America. Two of the factors responsible for this resilience are 1) a sense of belonging to their community and, 2) close ties to their family.
My husband and I are lucky. We get to work from home. This means we spend more time with our children than most people. I was thinking about occasions like Halloween when we get to connect with our community. I like taking the girls to Canada Day celebrations, Pirate Day, Ribfest, the Santa Parade and other local celebrations. We meet local business owners and bump into acquaintances and friends from the community. Going to Gymnastics each week is also an opportunity to get to know other families. We have a Summer Bash every year where we invite the girls' friends and their families. They spend most of the evening in the pool but we get to mingle with parents and expand our circle of friendships.
I believe we would be stronger as a community and as families if there were more opportunities to socialize like block parties, BBQs, game nights and family days. We have many empty buildings in this community. They could be transformed into indoor pools, movie theatres and games areas. I feel safer living in a connected community where my children and I know the names of our neighbours. Don't you?
Showing posts with label activities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label activities. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 November 2016
Monday, 31 October 2016
Thank You Gym Stars and Other Birthday Party Ideas
October 31st, 2016
My youngest daughter turned 8 on October 14th, 2016. We kept both daughters home from school on that day and celebrated as a family. On October 29th, we celebrated with friends at Gym Stars in Smiths Falls. This is where Stella's love of gymnastics began. She attended a friend's birthday party at Gym Stars two years ago and she was hooked.
She always has her birthday party at Gym Stars now and I am forever amazed at the transformations I see throughout the two hour period that we are together. Some of her friends have done gymnastics before. They are excited to participate in a specific activity whether it be hanging and swinging from the bars, walking on the beams, jumping on the trampoline, swinging from the Tarzan rope, showing off their splits on the main floor or vaulting into the air, landing on a big mattress.
There are usually a few new children who have never tried gymnastics. At first, they feel nervous and doubt that they will be able to catch up to the others. However, as they work their way through warm-ups and play fun games, they start to relax. Next, they go through a routine. They are introduced to equipment and guided through the movements safely by a coach. I love that Gym Stars has excellent coaches who always take the safety of their students into consideration.
My favourite part is watching the new kids as they move through the equipment. I take lots of photos and you can see their confidence growing. At first, they are blushing, hesitant, super cautious. By the end of a few rounds, they are beaming, asking me if I am getting a photo of them and, challenging themselves even further. They run to their parents as they come to pick them up. They tell them they had so much fun and they boast about all they have accomplished.
I am so pleased that my daughter chooses to celebrate her birthday at Gym Stars. I know everyone will have fun, it is cheaper than anything I could offer at home, the kids are really tired after so I know they will go to bed on time and sleep well, there is a party room so I can still serve pizza and cake, the instructors are amazing (we had Jenn this time and she was fabulous but, last year, Alisha was wonderful as well) and, I don't need to plan it or clean the house before and after the party. Hooray!!!
As parents, we put so much pressure on ourselves. We love our little ones and work hard to make their special day perfect. If they don't enjoy their party, we are disappointed. Some of us are better at planning parties. We hear about a mom who had a great craft or paid the big bucks to have a Disney character play with the kids. Another mom booked a hall and decorated it to create a special place like a castle. We are exhausted and we just don't want our party to suck. Parenthood has become a competitive sport in some ways. Children go to school after Christmas and compare what Santa got them. They lose a tooth and ask how much the others received from "their" tooth fairy. At one of my workshops, a little boy told me the tooth fairy gave him "fifty bucks" for losing a tooth. I was in shock. Being a parent is hard enough, some of these expectations are just over the top.
Having a place like Gym Stars makes the planning easy. You pick a date and time, send directions, have some food set up, order the cake, prep the goodie bags and then you sit back and enjoy! I would like to thank Jenn for doing such a great job. She started on time, connected with us as soon as we entered the gymnasium, was organized, explained the rules to the children and reinforced them to keep everyone safe and, she stayed a little longer so everyone could finish eating their cake.
If you wish to have a party at home and you don't know what to do, I would like to recommend a craft. In the years before we discovered gymnastics, I always had parties in my home. As soon as everyone had arrived, I would take them into the dining room and lead a craft. If you are thinking you can't do this because you are not crafty, there is great news, you don't need to be.
Step 1-What theme does your child like (princess, dragon, fairy, puppies, a sport)?
Step 2-Locate the closest Dollarama because you can buy cheap art materials there.
Step 3-Get a drop cloth at the Dollar Store (or clear table cloth) and set up the table.
Step 4-Give them a clear directive like they are going to create a princess hat or sculpt a dragon or build a fairy house etc)
Step 5-Have a variety of cheap art materials and non-art materials (tempera paints, stickers, markers, home-made play doh, empty boxes etc).
Step 6-Step back, watch them jump in and explore the materials.
Step 7-Stand by to help the children who need assistance.
Every time I introduce art, I run out of time to do other activities, they are so excited, it lasts longer than I expected. If you have a back yard, it's good to include some physical activity. A trampoline can use up another chunk of time. A soccer ball, football or skipping ropes can also be fun. Blowing bubbles outside can be enjoyable even in cold weather (the bubbles freeze). Young girls love to show off their gymnastics moves or teach each other new ones. If your children are older and can help out, you may want to create an obstacle course together, crawling under chairs, hoola hooping, relay racing, jumping over a bucket etc.
If it's too cold or wet to go outside, there is still plenty to do. When my daughters were younger, I would blow up balloons and have them try to keep the balloons off the ground. This would get the group giggling and, even if someone got hit in the face by a balloon, it didn't hurt. You can also get children involved in making their own food, decorating their pizza or creating a sundae. These are messy activities but the children have fun and it keeps them busy. Having a drop cloth on the table makes cleaning up much easier.
Last but not least, it's good to have some free time. The older they get, the more independent they want to be and just setting up board games or cutting them loose for a while works too. No matter what you do, chances are the children will have fun because they are together and they get to eat cake. They don't care how clean the house is or how much you spent on the cake. I used to clean my house and worry that my house looked messy, then I realized the parents rarely leave the front door. I put a whole lot less pressure on myself and I find that I have way more fun that way.
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
My youngest daughter turned 8 on October 14th, 2016. We kept both daughters home from school on that day and celebrated as a family. On October 29th, we celebrated with friends at Gym Stars in Smiths Falls. This is where Stella's love of gymnastics began. She attended a friend's birthday party at Gym Stars two years ago and she was hooked.
She always has her birthday party at Gym Stars now and I am forever amazed at the transformations I see throughout the two hour period that we are together. Some of her friends have done gymnastics before. They are excited to participate in a specific activity whether it be hanging and swinging from the bars, walking on the beams, jumping on the trampoline, swinging from the Tarzan rope, showing off their splits on the main floor or vaulting into the air, landing on a big mattress.
There are usually a few new children who have never tried gymnastics. At first, they feel nervous and doubt that they will be able to catch up to the others. However, as they work their way through warm-ups and play fun games, they start to relax. Next, they go through a routine. They are introduced to equipment and guided through the movements safely by a coach. I love that Gym Stars has excellent coaches who always take the safety of their students into consideration.
My favourite part is watching the new kids as they move through the equipment. I take lots of photos and you can see their confidence growing. At first, they are blushing, hesitant, super cautious. By the end of a few rounds, they are beaming, asking me if I am getting a photo of them and, challenging themselves even further. They run to their parents as they come to pick them up. They tell them they had so much fun and they boast about all they have accomplished.
I am so pleased that my daughter chooses to celebrate her birthday at Gym Stars. I know everyone will have fun, it is cheaper than anything I could offer at home, the kids are really tired after so I know they will go to bed on time and sleep well, there is a party room so I can still serve pizza and cake, the instructors are amazing (we had Jenn this time and she was fabulous but, last year, Alisha was wonderful as well) and, I don't need to plan it or clean the house before and after the party. Hooray!!!
As parents, we put so much pressure on ourselves. We love our little ones and work hard to make their special day perfect. If they don't enjoy their party, we are disappointed. Some of us are better at planning parties. We hear about a mom who had a great craft or paid the big bucks to have a Disney character play with the kids. Another mom booked a hall and decorated it to create a special place like a castle. We are exhausted and we just don't want our party to suck. Parenthood has become a competitive sport in some ways. Children go to school after Christmas and compare what Santa got them. They lose a tooth and ask how much the others received from "their" tooth fairy. At one of my workshops, a little boy told me the tooth fairy gave him "fifty bucks" for losing a tooth. I was in shock. Being a parent is hard enough, some of these expectations are just over the top.
Having a place like Gym Stars makes the planning easy. You pick a date and time, send directions, have some food set up, order the cake, prep the goodie bags and then you sit back and enjoy! I would like to thank Jenn for doing such a great job. She started on time, connected with us as soon as we entered the gymnasium, was organized, explained the rules to the children and reinforced them to keep everyone safe and, she stayed a little longer so everyone could finish eating their cake.
If you wish to have a party at home and you don't know what to do, I would like to recommend a craft. In the years before we discovered gymnastics, I always had parties in my home. As soon as everyone had arrived, I would take them into the dining room and lead a craft. If you are thinking you can't do this because you are not crafty, there is great news, you don't need to be.
Step 1-What theme does your child like (princess, dragon, fairy, puppies, a sport)?
Step 2-Locate the closest Dollarama because you can buy cheap art materials there.
Step 3-Get a drop cloth at the Dollar Store (or clear table cloth) and set up the table.
Step 4-Give them a clear directive like they are going to create a princess hat or sculpt a dragon or build a fairy house etc)
Step 5-Have a variety of cheap art materials and non-art materials (tempera paints, stickers, markers, home-made play doh, empty boxes etc).
Step 6-Step back, watch them jump in and explore the materials.
Step 7-Stand by to help the children who need assistance.
Every time I introduce art, I run out of time to do other activities, they are so excited, it lasts longer than I expected. If you have a back yard, it's good to include some physical activity. A trampoline can use up another chunk of time. A soccer ball, football or skipping ropes can also be fun. Blowing bubbles outside can be enjoyable even in cold weather (the bubbles freeze). Young girls love to show off their gymnastics moves or teach each other new ones. If your children are older and can help out, you may want to create an obstacle course together, crawling under chairs, hoola hooping, relay racing, jumping over a bucket etc.
If it's too cold or wet to go outside, there is still plenty to do. When my daughters were younger, I would blow up balloons and have them try to keep the balloons off the ground. This would get the group giggling and, even if someone got hit in the face by a balloon, it didn't hurt. You can also get children involved in making their own food, decorating their pizza or creating a sundae. These are messy activities but the children have fun and it keeps them busy. Having a drop cloth on the table makes cleaning up much easier.
Last but not least, it's good to have some free time. The older they get, the more independent they want to be and just setting up board games or cutting them loose for a while works too. No matter what you do, chances are the children will have fun because they are together and they get to eat cake. They don't care how clean the house is or how much you spent on the cake. I used to clean my house and worry that my house looked messy, then I realized the parents rarely leave the front door. I put a whole lot less pressure on myself and I find that I have way more fun that way.
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
Friday, 1 July 2016
Canada Day in Kemptville
July 1st, 2016
Happy Canada Day everyone!
Today, I had a lovely time with my youngest daughter, Stella, at Riverside Park in Kemptville. There was a schedule of events on the municipal website. This made it easy for us to plan our day. We headed over to the kids' zone. There was a station set up to create bead necklaces and bracelets. There was also a mural where children could paint their names. We batted balloons with pool noodles and played Plinko. There was a wading pool filled with bubble soap and a variety of wands. Stella and her friend enjoyed creating trails of bubbles as they swirled around. They were also able to dig in the corn pit. It's a sand box filled with corn kernels and sand toys.
We loved watching the dogs running through the obstacle course at 1pm. They even had a few goats climbing the ramps and jumping over the gates. Most dogs needed prompting and coaxing. They had cue words like "weave" for the dogs to walk in between bars in a pattern. Then came the chocolate coloured lab. He was so excited to be there. He ran and jumped and weaved, no cues or prompting needed. We laughed, recognizing our own dog. Surely, Sweetie Pie would be this crazy, just happy to be playing. Since they get rewarded with food, you can be sure the she would complete the obstacle course asap.
We bought some food and snow cones at lunch time and sat with friends. That is what I love about old towns, you know so many people just because you all happen to be going to the same places-same school, same grocers, same bank, same gas station, same coffee shop etc. I worried when we moved out here that there would be nothing to do but, for kids, there are often programs to join and most are way cheaper than what's available in Ottawa.
There were free swims throughout the day. My husband and eldest daughter joined us at 3pm for a swim before the storm hit. There were stuffed ponies you could rent for $4. The children would ride them as the horse moved up and down, really neat. Two tents were devoted to face painting. One had traditional face painting, the other had glittery tattoos. The line ups were a bit long for those so we skipped it, especially since I knew we were going swimming.
I watched the local firefighters show children around the fire truck. Children could also try to control the fire hose with the help of a firefighter. As we watched the the hose spraying everywhere, my daughter told me she needed to pee. There was a port-a-potty nearby. I couldn't see any other option so I took her there and, to my amazement, it was clean and smelled fine. I was very relieved. On our way out, we watched teenagers jumping over bars with their bikes. My daughter was impressed. I was worried, "please don't try this at home". We grabbed some cotton candy and called it a day. Stella wants to go back for fireworks but they aren't until 10pm, way too late for her.
I was born and raised in Ottawa and for the longest time, my Canada Day consisted of trying to walk through crowds of people to watch buskers or lining up for hours in order to get food, watching people who had had too much to drink fight, make out, yell obnoxious comments or throw up. I rarely went out anymore.
I am satisfied with our Canada Day. There was so much to do. Stella got to see some friends. I enjoyed the community spirit and festive atmosphere. Thank you Tammy Hurlbert, coordinator of recreation programs in North Grenville! We had a great time and we were only ten minutes from home.
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
Happy Canada Day everyone!
Today, I had a lovely time with my youngest daughter, Stella, at Riverside Park in Kemptville. There was a schedule of events on the municipal website. This made it easy for us to plan our day. We headed over to the kids' zone. There was a station set up to create bead necklaces and bracelets. There was also a mural where children could paint their names. We batted balloons with pool noodles and played Plinko. There was a wading pool filled with bubble soap and a variety of wands. Stella and her friend enjoyed creating trails of bubbles as they swirled around. They were also able to dig in the corn pit. It's a sand box filled with corn kernels and sand toys.
We loved watching the dogs running through the obstacle course at 1pm. They even had a few goats climbing the ramps and jumping over the gates. Most dogs needed prompting and coaxing. They had cue words like "weave" for the dogs to walk in between bars in a pattern. Then came the chocolate coloured lab. He was so excited to be there. He ran and jumped and weaved, no cues or prompting needed. We laughed, recognizing our own dog. Surely, Sweetie Pie would be this crazy, just happy to be playing. Since they get rewarded with food, you can be sure the she would complete the obstacle course asap.
We bought some food and snow cones at lunch time and sat with friends. That is what I love about old towns, you know so many people just because you all happen to be going to the same places-same school, same grocers, same bank, same gas station, same coffee shop etc. I worried when we moved out here that there would be nothing to do but, for kids, there are often programs to join and most are way cheaper than what's available in Ottawa.
There were free swims throughout the day. My husband and eldest daughter joined us at 3pm for a swim before the storm hit. There were stuffed ponies you could rent for $4. The children would ride them as the horse moved up and down, really neat. Two tents were devoted to face painting. One had traditional face painting, the other had glittery tattoos. The line ups were a bit long for those so we skipped it, especially since I knew we were going swimming.
I watched the local firefighters show children around the fire truck. Children could also try to control the fire hose with the help of a firefighter. As we watched the the hose spraying everywhere, my daughter told me she needed to pee. There was a port-a-potty nearby. I couldn't see any other option so I took her there and, to my amazement, it was clean and smelled fine. I was very relieved. On our way out, we watched teenagers jumping over bars with their bikes. My daughter was impressed. I was worried, "please don't try this at home". We grabbed some cotton candy and called it a day. Stella wants to go back for fireworks but they aren't until 10pm, way too late for her.
I was born and raised in Ottawa and for the longest time, my Canada Day consisted of trying to walk through crowds of people to watch buskers or lining up for hours in order to get food, watching people who had had too much to drink fight, make out, yell obnoxious comments or throw up. I rarely went out anymore.
I am satisfied with our Canada Day. There was so much to do. Stella got to see some friends. I enjoyed the community spirit and festive atmosphere. Thank you Tammy Hurlbert, coordinator of recreation programs in North Grenville! We had a great time and we were only ten minutes from home.
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
Tuesday, 12 January 2016
Creativity-Art Therapy
January 12th 2016
I've received a few e-mails asking me to define art therapy. I wrote about residents with dementia yesterday and people were asking what this work is all about. Art therapy is a professional counselling service, using various forms of creativity to help people heal through self-expression, insight and self-awareness, self-exploration, intuition, experimentation and the externalization of painful life experiences for which there are no words.
I initially trained as a verbal therapist at Ottawa University. I was fascinated by the way people process experiences and develop coping strategies. You can listen to someone's story and pinpoint the moment when they adopted behaviours that now define them. There is a reason for everything we do. The problem is we are not always aware of the things we do that get in our own way. Our friends and family who can observe us objectively have more insight into our behaviours and patterns. However, in order to protect us from this harsh truth, they often do not point them out to us. We keep repeating the same patterns with different people, frustrated and confused. We go to see a verbal therapist and try to sort it all out.
As a verbal therapist, I witnessed how often clients would walk in, tell me a myriad of stories which I would dutifully write down and respond to my questions as we progressed, putting together the various pieces of the puzzle. I felt quite satisfied with our work and my supervisor was pleased. By the third session, I would see the same pattern repeating itself. I would think, "We've already talked about this. She had that breakthrough last week. I thought she wasn't going to do that anymore". I talked to my supervisor who didn't share my concern. I realized I could not do this for a living. I need to see progress, not temporary progress but permanent change.
I read about art therapy and was immediately smitten with the connection it creates in people. Women who came in to talk about their painful issues could repeat their stories, without emotion, word for word. They had seen many therapists before and they knew their story like the back of their hand. Listening to the stories may have helped temporarily as I expressed compassion and responded to what they were saying, they were being heard. However, I expected more from therapy. Art therapy uses creative expression as well as verbal communication. The client is active from the very start. Clients choose the art materials, what to draw or paint, how much talking they want to engage in and, whether they want to talk as they create or only talk or only create or create then talk.
The art contains emotions. When working with my Survivors of Sexual Abuse group, I may start with a clay activity. I ask the participants to create a container, a receptacle to hold the overwhelming fears, emotions and memories for them. The art can be a mirror, showing me how a person responds to situations or how clients perceive themselves. An example of this would be the gentleman who'd suffered a stroke and struggled to create a portrait of a beautiful woman. He couldn't get her features right, they were not symmetrical and looked stretched. This clearly reflected his own frustrations about his face, he had lost control over one side of his body, the same side that was "not looking right" in the portrait. Lots of women criticize their work. As they paint or draw or sculpt, their inner monologue is externalized. "This looks dumb, I suck at this, a child could have done better". This allows me to question them about this monologue, to wonder where this voice came from and how much more fun this would be without the interruptions and judgements of this voice, It is the same voice that is interfering in other aspects of their lives.
Creative expression is very intimate and emotional. It cuts through the story to the core. The story about how many men have mistreated them turns into an image of a child crouching in the corner. Who is this child? The client recognizes herself as a child, hiding from her abusive father. There is a direct emotional connection, emotions are released. We get curious about what that child needs. Safety. We explore all the possible ways the client can provide safety for her inner child. There is a lot of guilt associated with the various ways this child has been neglected by her adult self, placed in dangerous situations, repeating the trauma. The client signs a contract, vowing to keep herself safe and eliminate people and behaviours that put her at risk. This is powerful work.
Creativity can also empower clients by serving as a tool for communication. When a couple comes in because they are ready to throw in the towel and I ask them to draw the problem, as they see it and, write down five adjectives to describe what they want for their relationship, they are both working together. They can "see" each other's point of view. They become aware of ways they have each hurt the other. They are surprised to see they want the same things: more time together, laughing, sex and less fighting. It's way easier to move forward when everyone is literally "on the same page".
Creative expression is cathartic. A young boy, diagnosed with ADHD, who is overwhelmed by his mother's anxiety, his father's anger and his brother's physical disabilities can pound the clay until it becomes soft and, relieved and relaxed, sculpt it into something beautiful. A 65 year old woman suffering from chronic pain can fill a body outline with various colours and textures and come face to face with the abortion she had 40 years ago. She cries and writes a letter to her unborn child and burns the outline, releasing her trauma. She leaves feeling lighter and "looser" in her body.
Creativity can help a group bond in a short amount of time. I see this in my groups. There is mutual support and compassion as they share how each person deals with the same issue. Feeling compassion for someone else with the same challenges engenders compassion for yourself as well. The art is also a safe place to plant the seeds of dreams for the future. Occasionally, I'll ask groups to create a collage of their ideal life in five years from now. They cut out images from magazines, write colourful words all around the images or affirmations. I then ask them to think of a song that represents the feeling state of this image. There is much giggling as they come up with quirky or sexy songs. The song helps them tap into this feeling state in the future, reminding them that they are on a path and they have already selected a destination.
Art therapy is the interaction between a compassionate professional, a brave, willing client and art materials. The materials have their own energy and appeal to different people. My role is to offer a safe place for people to connect with their own wisdom through non-verbal, creative expression. Their wisdom and intuition will lead them in the right direction. I get to witness their courage, their beauty and, ultimately, their healing.
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
I've received a few e-mails asking me to define art therapy. I wrote about residents with dementia yesterday and people were asking what this work is all about. Art therapy is a professional counselling service, using various forms of creativity to help people heal through self-expression, insight and self-awareness, self-exploration, intuition, experimentation and the externalization of painful life experiences for which there are no words.
I initially trained as a verbal therapist at Ottawa University. I was fascinated by the way people process experiences and develop coping strategies. You can listen to someone's story and pinpoint the moment when they adopted behaviours that now define them. There is a reason for everything we do. The problem is we are not always aware of the things we do that get in our own way. Our friends and family who can observe us objectively have more insight into our behaviours and patterns. However, in order to protect us from this harsh truth, they often do not point them out to us. We keep repeating the same patterns with different people, frustrated and confused. We go to see a verbal therapist and try to sort it all out.
As a verbal therapist, I witnessed how often clients would walk in, tell me a myriad of stories which I would dutifully write down and respond to my questions as we progressed, putting together the various pieces of the puzzle. I felt quite satisfied with our work and my supervisor was pleased. By the third session, I would see the same pattern repeating itself. I would think, "We've already talked about this. She had that breakthrough last week. I thought she wasn't going to do that anymore". I talked to my supervisor who didn't share my concern. I realized I could not do this for a living. I need to see progress, not temporary progress but permanent change.
I read about art therapy and was immediately smitten with the connection it creates in people. Women who came in to talk about their painful issues could repeat their stories, without emotion, word for word. They had seen many therapists before and they knew their story like the back of their hand. Listening to the stories may have helped temporarily as I expressed compassion and responded to what they were saying, they were being heard. However, I expected more from therapy. Art therapy uses creative expression as well as verbal communication. The client is active from the very start. Clients choose the art materials, what to draw or paint, how much talking they want to engage in and, whether they want to talk as they create or only talk or only create or create then talk.
The art contains emotions. When working with my Survivors of Sexual Abuse group, I may start with a clay activity. I ask the participants to create a container, a receptacle to hold the overwhelming fears, emotions and memories for them. The art can be a mirror, showing me how a person responds to situations or how clients perceive themselves. An example of this would be the gentleman who'd suffered a stroke and struggled to create a portrait of a beautiful woman. He couldn't get her features right, they were not symmetrical and looked stretched. This clearly reflected his own frustrations about his face, he had lost control over one side of his body, the same side that was "not looking right" in the portrait. Lots of women criticize their work. As they paint or draw or sculpt, their inner monologue is externalized. "This looks dumb, I suck at this, a child could have done better". This allows me to question them about this monologue, to wonder where this voice came from and how much more fun this would be without the interruptions and judgements of this voice, It is the same voice that is interfering in other aspects of their lives.
Creative expression is very intimate and emotional. It cuts through the story to the core. The story about how many men have mistreated them turns into an image of a child crouching in the corner. Who is this child? The client recognizes herself as a child, hiding from her abusive father. There is a direct emotional connection, emotions are released. We get curious about what that child needs. Safety. We explore all the possible ways the client can provide safety for her inner child. There is a lot of guilt associated with the various ways this child has been neglected by her adult self, placed in dangerous situations, repeating the trauma. The client signs a contract, vowing to keep herself safe and eliminate people and behaviours that put her at risk. This is powerful work.
Creativity can also empower clients by serving as a tool for communication. When a couple comes in because they are ready to throw in the towel and I ask them to draw the problem, as they see it and, write down five adjectives to describe what they want for their relationship, they are both working together. They can "see" each other's point of view. They become aware of ways they have each hurt the other. They are surprised to see they want the same things: more time together, laughing, sex and less fighting. It's way easier to move forward when everyone is literally "on the same page".
Creative expression is cathartic. A young boy, diagnosed with ADHD, who is overwhelmed by his mother's anxiety, his father's anger and his brother's physical disabilities can pound the clay until it becomes soft and, relieved and relaxed, sculpt it into something beautiful. A 65 year old woman suffering from chronic pain can fill a body outline with various colours and textures and come face to face with the abortion she had 40 years ago. She cries and writes a letter to her unborn child and burns the outline, releasing her trauma. She leaves feeling lighter and "looser" in her body.
Creativity can help a group bond in a short amount of time. I see this in my groups. There is mutual support and compassion as they share how each person deals with the same issue. Feeling compassion for someone else with the same challenges engenders compassion for yourself as well. The art is also a safe place to plant the seeds of dreams for the future. Occasionally, I'll ask groups to create a collage of their ideal life in five years from now. They cut out images from magazines, write colourful words all around the images or affirmations. I then ask them to think of a song that represents the feeling state of this image. There is much giggling as they come up with quirky or sexy songs. The song helps them tap into this feeling state in the future, reminding them that they are on a path and they have already selected a destination.
Art therapy is the interaction between a compassionate professional, a brave, willing client and art materials. The materials have their own energy and appeal to different people. My role is to offer a safe place for people to connect with their own wisdom through non-verbal, creative expression. Their wisdom and intuition will lead them in the right direction. I get to witness their courage, their beauty and, ultimately, their healing.
Anne Walsh
www.artnsoul.org
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