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You're not certified?!

Why I am not yet certified in therapeutic/expressive arts…

 

Naturally, most people looking for help in easing anxiety, restoring health, or healing from emotional wounds will come upon my website and, upon scrolling, search for the credibility of the provider. But why haven’t I pursued certification?  Was that intentional? The answer is…

 

Yes. Why not? I haven’t found THAT program yet…the combination of creativity, therapy, fun, and facilitation structure that I’m looking for in a certification program. Yes, I have been trained as a teacher, a trainer, a facilitator, but in a different field: languages and intercultural communication. I hold a Master’s degree in linguistics and teaching Italian and English. I have been a group facilitator all of my adult life. I have worked one-on-one with language and culture learners all of my adult life, too.

 

But if you want to know the deeper truth…I no longer wish to blindly follow another’s approach. As a coach, I truly believe that my internal guidance system needs to guide me to the best way to present those elements in my practice. In other words, I choose to trust my internal knowing of how to approach each individual and group I work with. It is an intentional choice. I’ve learned over my almost 30 years as a post-secondary teacher that I am sensitive, empathetic, and encouraging when I work with others. I am a feelings-based person.

 

There’s another side of this too…you see, for years I have dealt with anxiety. I have tried many, many, many modalities from traditional therapy to EMDR, hypnotherapy, life coaching and more. Guess what has struck a cord deeper into my own truth than any other system has? That’s right- therapeutic art. There’s something about the release of the mind in the brush strokes and colors combined with the restoring of my personal choice in what to create. I strongly believe that personal choice is empowering when we really contact the inner depths and see the residing place of our true selves. So right now, I personally choose to read, watch, and learn from other practitioners, but to follow my own style of helping others deal with anxiety and foster wellbeing.

One day I may choose to align with a program for further certification. And I know it takes a lot to say this, but for now, I know I have what it takes to lead others through the process of internal freedom and wellbeing through art. I know it because I have done it for myself. If this resonates with you, I encourage you to contact me for more information on my sessions, courses, and classes.



 
 
 

Comments

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Therapeutic art is self-directed and forward- motivated. It is not psychoanalysis. It provides a means of self-expression, communication, decision making, creativity, and stress reduction. Art becomes a meditative practice wherein one finds the flow, a state of concentration so focused that it amounts to absolute absorption and inactivity. It's also called being in the zone by focusing on only the task at hand this state may help an individual reduce self-consciousness and anxiety. Achieving flow is often a challenge to the brain and flow states are an area of study in neuroscience. Many people who find traditional meditation difficult are able to achieve this state through the practice of an art-related activity. Art is a learned skill to cope with stress and anxiety.

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1:1 Therapeutic Art Coaching:  For 1 hour each session, coach and client take a journey inward. Meditation, mindfulness, and breathing exercises help clear out negative thoughts, beliefs and perceptions that are not serving us. Through guided art sessions, we tap into more positive thoughts, realistic perspectives on different areas of life, and inner self-knowledge to foster healing, peace and joy. The art done during sessions is process-based and non-judgmental. We make art for the fun and joy of it, and the art teaches us about ourselves. The types of art we do can have therapeutic objectives, be mindful and relaxing, or be intuitive, in other words, self-guided.

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Higher Self Therapeutic Art Group: 

This group meets once a week for 2 hours per session all year round. The objective is to get to the core of our true inner selves to relieve and dissipate anxiety and promote healthier emotion management. In our sessions we discuss topics related to mental wellness as well as make art that soothes and heals. The topics we discuss lead us to spiritual growth and understanding. In the art-making process, we practice breaking through old, preconceived ideas of how we see ourselves and forge new self-concepts rooted in self-discovery and responsible choice.

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Group Events- For companies, healthcare organizations and wellness centers:

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Therapeutic Art Workshop:

 Using breathwork through either meditation or movement, we center ourselves on a self-care theme such as self-worth, forgiveness, self-compassion, and more. We make non-judgmental abstract art for relaxation. Finally, we journal self-support statements and add them to the art. Workshop is 2 hours long.

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Neurographic Art Workshop:

Neurographic art is a mindful art practice used to map new neural connections through drawing. When we associate a positive thought to a new neuropathway, we can reinforce it. Then we can visually connect that to a positive change which we want to reinforce. Through repetition, we can increase the efficiency of the positive feelings and manifest something healthier and with increased well-being as the result. Through the process, we change our beliefs and meaning we associated with events to better-feeling outcomes. Workshop is 2 hours long. 

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Intuitive Painting Workshop:

Get out of your mind’s way and through the process, take the energy from inside of you and express it symbolically in the form of abstract shapes and marks. After a brief warm-up of the body and breath, we use acrylic paints and fun tools to create contrast, interest and movement on canvas as we play fun music. No art experience necessary. Workshop is 2.5-3 hours long

 

Yoga Nidra classes:

 Achieve deep relaxation through meditation equal to 3 hours of sleep. Classes are 1 hour long.

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TaiChi Qi Gong classes:

Qigong uses simple poses and breathing patterns to promote a healthy flow and reduce stagnation of energy. Proper flow of qi can help the body engage its own healing processes, improve bone and cardiovascular health, improve balance, and reduce high blood pressure, depression and anxiety symptoms. Classes are 1 hour long

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Creative Resilient Teens Program: We empower teenagers to reframe negative thoughts through mindfulness, journaling, and art.

We practice, through activities, to identify triggers and negative thought types, reframe through breathing techniques, and release stress through non-verbal artistic expression.  Each art activity is linked to the core concept of the session. The goal of this course is to teach you techniques to build your resilience, your ability to prepare for, recover from and adapt in the face of stress, challenge or adversity. Our goal together is to feel confident “taking charge” of how we respond and how we care for ourselves. We use art as a process to discover truths about ourselves and situations that are stressors and triggers. We build self-awareness, self-acceptance, and community, a safe place where your opinions are valid as well as your feelings. Sessions are 1.5 hours long.

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