In the journey of growth and self-discovery, we may at some point find ourselves limited by the same old habitual ways we speak about ourselves, our challenges, and our life stories. In my own journey, I recognized at a certain point that in order to move beyond my limited way of seeing myself, as well as the repetitive thoughts and behaviors that came along with this limited self-view, I needed to move out of my comfort zone. In a most simple but profound way, the arts helps us do just that: the arts stretch us beyond our habitual ways of knowing ourselves and the world, help us to connect and express our longings, grief, rage and other emotions that may otherwise be held in the body, to celebrate and amplify inner strengths and joys, and to access inner guidance and wisdom in unique ways. For me, dancing became a way for me to connect to and release big energy in my body. Theater became a way for me to access emotions that I was previously too scared to express. Journaling, music, poetry, collage and visual art became ways for me to know, feel and see myself, to cultivate self-compassion, to connect with my soul, and to re-write the story of my life and the traumas I have been through in empowering ways.
Expressive Arts Therapy and Drama Therapy offer potent tools to help us reclaim the innate creative capacity within each of us, and - in doing so - to access and express the fullness of our being in embodied, soulful ways. While each person is different in how and when they may want to incorporate the arts into the therapeutic process, I find that when there is resonance, the arts can deepen and support most people in their growth and evolution.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is another powerful therapeutic modality developed by Francine Shapiro in 1987 that at its core holds that we each have an inner healer, or an innate drive towards growth and wellbeing, that can get blocked or stuck due to unresolved traumas we collect along our journey. In a similar way that the arts helps us move beyond our limited, fixated ways of being and thinking, so too does EMDR helps us move beyond and alchemize the stuck places in ourselves such that our psyches become fertile soil again in which the inner healer within us can emerge and new blossoms can grow.