Reflections on being an Art Psychotherapist

Metaphors, Therapy and Irish Authors.

I wrote these words last week in between clients as I am often so moved by the experience that psychotherapy offers us as human being :

Art Therapy gives us space to self reflect with our internal world in a non threatening, non verbal way. We can explore and discover new things about ourselves and others in the presence of a compassionate witness. I love my work and all the brave and inspiring people I work with.

Its true my work is precious and magical and also hard work sometimes. I see on a daily basis the power of metaphors and symbols have in helping us understand our experiences, ourselves and the world. I support people to develop their reflective functioning capacity. To reflect on experiences with curiosity. To remember events through self but also the eyes of the other in order to understand the complexities that our lived experiences entail.

I wonder, perhaps, maybe..are all important phrases to explore in order to reflect on experiences from different perspectives, from different angles. This enables us to place these experiences and situations into our past so we can live a happier life in the present.

For the young people I work with they tend to use metaphors and symbols to explore and process experiences from their past in a powerful and embodied way. I am often asked to reenact through play situations that perhaps they are trying to understand from the others perspective. To give the other person who they may not be able to see or understand another chance. The child sometimes wants/needs to experience these relationships again through the therapist and using play. These experiences would be intolerable to say in the first person but are made tolerable through play. Of course some traumatic experiences our psyche isn’t able to reenact even through play so sometimes fairytales are used as a way in, to explore these universal traumatic feelings and relationships.

For adults dreams are used in a similar way. Dreams come as guides to help a person explore their internal world.

Children often repeat, play and repeat situations to try and process them and perhaps see how I may approach or respond to them. They maybe every day situations which may seem like mundane reenactments. We, the Therapist and Child, both know the importance of the therapy session and how the psyche is at work processing, exploring, understanding to make past experiences more tolerable and as I said earlier, this enables people to place these experiences and situations into their past so they can live a happier life in the present.

Such important work.

I also appreciate the importance for myself to take rest away from the therapy room so I can allow myself a break and be able to write and reflect like this. When this happens I often plan a great fiction book to read in my rest time. Im desperate to read The Bee Sting by Paul Murray but also finishing Close to Home by Michael Magee and just listened to Desert Island discs with John Boyne and he mentioned his personal book A History of Loneliness.. so I have many choices. I notice they are all Irish authors. Ireland is calling me this year. Though I was born there and all my family are Irish I have never lived there and I have been meandering with that thought lately. I am going for a road trip there for my summer vacation ( umbrella in bag).

So as an Art Psychotherapist having internal space for me and only me at times is of utmost importance so my cup is full so I can do the best job I can for the brave people I work with. I am grateful for these experiences, for the work, for the rest and always for the books.