The Value of Artistic Expression in Counseling

"Through artistic expression the client is given the opportunity to understand more fully who he/she is at that particular moment in that particular set of confusing circumstances."
—Suzanne Darley and Wende Heath

(Part 1 of a 3 part series)

Glue, stencils, scrapbook paper, and watercolor paints sit on the table as an invitation to play, create, and explore. You might expect that the table is set for a child to engage in laughter and fun as their imagination is encouraged to run free. But in fact, the setting is a counselor’s office and her client’s assignment, during their time together, is to create a sailboat.

In an unconventional way, the client (through the use of paint, constructing shapes, paper cutting, and gluing) begins to experience a meditative state that allows her to bridge the gap between her anxiety and her ability to make connections—connections that help bring about change in her life. The process is a subtle one. And many times, a client may be hesitant to try, bringing with her feelings of inadequacy from childhood about what the artwork should look like. 

Read more? CLICK HERE

Life Coach in the Hot Seat: These Things I Know for Sure

photo credit

These things I know for sure…

Today I sit at an indoor recreation center called Amazing Jakes while my daughter and her friends enjoy this freedom of being able to hang out and have fun in a safe setting.  

 And I feel joy.  

 Joy that I have been able to give this experience to her.  Joy that I have raised a son who I have been able to give similar experiences to.   Healing in those places where I did not feel such joy as a child.  I am deeply grateful that we may not have all the answers to every problem in our lives at this particular moment but we do experience immense amounts of joy.  I experience incredible joy as a mother, as a wife and a creative, as an entrepreneur and a teacher.  

Here are some things I know for sure:

1.       You have to CHOOSE joy – life has so many unexplainable tragedies.  I have a friend right now who is helping her two year old son battle cancer.  She chooses joy.  I have questions in my life over my dad dying and not being able to see him before he died.  Family members in pain that I have no answers for though I wish I did.  Yet I CHOOSE joy

2, Your life can be FULFILLING – no matter the circumstance. You got to dig down deep.  Sometimes it take a while to feel that way but you can have a fulfilling life.  In the midst of some really difficult circumstances.

3.       God IS IN CONTROL – Even when I am in the my most What the Hell is going on state of mind. 

But it is my choice to choose joy, create a more fulfilling life, believe that God is in control.

What about you? 

What do you know for sure? 

 Leave a link from your blog in the comments OR just write your thoughts below

Faith and Creativity: Grace and the Loveliness of Dandelions

 8.5 x 11 available now

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,

who walk in the light of your presence Lord.

For you are their glory and strength

and by your favor you exalt our horn.

Indeed our shield belongs to the Lord,

our king to the Holy One of Israel

- Psalm 89:15, 17 18

The word "shield" has fascinated me for many years.  It is a word that I felt impressed upon my heart about 13 years ago during a spiritual direction class I took in seminary.  Around this same time creativity as a spiritual discipline began to bud.  I have pursued the creative life as a lifeline to God pretty steadily for the last 8 years.  The 'message' the metaphor shield... well not so much.

Today I think about how I have been shielded from things though I didn't realize it at the time.  I think about how I have tried to shield my children from life's disappointments until they were able to handle.  I think of many times how I wish I were still shielded from the agenda that can occur in church settings and in places where self absorbed  and self centered behavior ruins the beauty of all that could be good (like in classrooms).

This moment I think about why so much grace has been shown to me by God when I have felt rejected, unwanted, misunderstood.  Simple grace reminds me of delicate dandelions and how easily life can blow the bloom off the bud.

To Purchase my Faith and Creativity Resources:

CLICK HERE

Faith and Creativity: What is your Soul Longing For?

6x8 available now

I have been spending more time lately looking for pockets of quiet.  I need it.  I am craving it more than I ever have before.  I do not know if it is all those years of isolation while I was a stay at home mom or while my hubby was deployed with the military but I find I have to be diligent about finding time to sit and think.

Think about where my life is headed at the age of 46.  What my life means now that I am back to work and being a wife on a full time basis since my husband does not deploy as much anymore.  More than anything I find myself trying to find my rhythm with God again.  The structure has changed.  And I am in earnest pursuit to put it back in place.

To Purchase my Faith and Creativity Resources:

CLICK HERE

My Creative Peace: Waiting for the Whispers and Trusting They will Guide YOU

Black bird in the Woods 12x 12 CLICK HERE to Purchase

Sitting before a canvas and trusting that the paint and the marks and the colors will become cohesive.  I can honestly tell you that I still feel the fear of thinking the muse won't show up.  The creative juice is gone.  I had a few years of writing where it flowed in waves and waves.  I am used to how writing works.  I had a ton to say and I trusted the process of ebb and flow.

This genre is different.  I am battling with the need to let my voice come forth. In all its whimsy. And mystery.  The light and the dark.  Working in harmony.  Sharing the story and bringing it out of me.  But I have willing to sit.  feel.  wait. And trust that I have a voice in this area to share and have impact in the conversation of art and paint.

This lady finds herself fluttering. Floundering.  She watches as the birds mimic the urgings of her heart.  The birds show up to support her inner yearnings.  She didn't know what would happen when she finally came into agreement with her heart's sadness and search for hope.

To Purchase my Faith and Creativity Resources:

CLICK HERE

My Creative Peace:: Finding a Way to Stay Hopeful in the Tough Times

::Grace and Friendship:: 8x10 print available CLICK HERE

Setting aside some childish notions of how life is supposed to be.  Definitely easier said then done.  The hardest part of moving forward after a disappointment seems to be allowing yourself to set goals again.. run after something with abandon... dream again.

For me I have found that I need just one or two close friends.  Ones that are willing to let their guard one.  Laugh with me.  Cry with me.  Be on my side.  Love me enough to not take my side sometimes.

Somehow this connecting allows us both to let the light shine on the dark places of life.  Enough to let the wounds heal without constantly feeling the need to pick at them.  

I hope you have one or two who do that for you.  I think each one of us needs at least someone that we can cut the crap with.  And get real honest.. that sometimes life is not so OK

To Purchase my Faith and Creativity Resources:

CLICK HERE

Faith and Creativity: Have You Reached a Breaking Point in your Faith Where you MUST have Answers?

photo credit

Day 2

One day stands out in particular as the absolute breaking point for this type of empty living:  my daughter’s third birthday.  My husband was deployed to Kuwait with the Navy so communication between the two of us was incredibly sporadic.  During the first three months he was away we talked on the telephone one time and I received about 1 email a week.  My daughter has had breathing issues since birth and this day she was having a hard time with her illness.  My car had a flat.  The weather was dreary and overcast.  One by one the guests of the birthday party were cancelling due to sickness and inclement weather.  I had spent way too much money for a party I was not even interested in throwing.  I FELT ALL ALONE.

 The party happened.  I made my way home feeling unheard by GOD but desperate because there was nowhere else to turn.  I put my daughter to bed.  I went in the living room, turned out all the lights and laid on the floor… and cried and KEPT CRYING.  And I remember pleading, begging toward the ceiling with words something like, “GOD I can’t take this.  You have got to do something in my life.  I am alone and feel desperate for something ANYTHING TO DO to feel that my identity is valuable to you.  I have nowhere else to go LORD.  

 "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

 -John 6:68

So, I prayed the prayer that night and I went to bed with that feeling of being heard but with no real idea what was coming next.

 Time to Ponder...

Spiritual:

1.                  Has there been a time in your life where change was occurring in a way that was unexpected?  Are you in a place right now where change is inevitable/unavoidable?  What does change look like to you?  What area of your life SPECIFICALLY do you need change to happen?

 

2.                  Look at the following verses to see other examples of “suddenly” moments and write down what you find.  Is there any particular one that speaks SPECIFICALLY to this point in time in your life?

Genesis 37:7

Number 16:42

Judges 14:5

2 Kings 2:11

Job 1:19

Proverb 28:18

 Isaiah 48:3

Daniel 5:5

 Acts 2:2

 Acts 9:3

Creative: 

1.                  Do you currently have a creative outlet that you allow yourself to use as a time for worship?  What has that activity done for you personally and in your life’s circumstances?  How much time are you able to devote time to this?

2.                   Have you considered trying a new artistic medium? If so, what things do you need to do to begin exploring this?  What roadblocks are in the way? 

 3.                  Describe the last time you let yourself “Play”. How can you make space for more of that time in your life?

To Purchase this book "Your Creative Peace"  or to find my other Faith and Creativity Resources 
 CLICK HERE

Joy Prayers: What is the Purpose for All My Big Ideas?

photo credit

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

-Psalm 28:7

God there are so many times that I feel like

 I have too many obstacles to contend with

 and they seem to be never ending.

  All I can do is rely on the words

you have spoken to my heart

 about the good work you have begun in me.

Have mercy on me Lord.

 Ease the bitterness of discouragement.

  The hope of what you have begun burns inside me,

 a consuming fire Lord.

 To the point that it makes my heart feel sick.

Remind me Lord that it is the chasing after you,

 your voice,

 your heart

 and your good pleasure

 that is ultimately

the best part of any vision

 you have put within me.

Remind me that my life belongs to you;

 however you choose to navigate it.

And Lord, help me to not look simply to outside circumstances

 to reveal my progress in life in terms of this vision.

Remind me that this life is going

according to your plan

I yield my ways to you.

 Find more of my work CLICK HERE

SAVOR: Under what Circumstances are you able to Dream?

photo credit

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

-

Vincent Van Gogh

Some things I know for sure.

I will do my best.

I will be creative every day.

I will be grateful to God for my life.

I will love my family deeply.

I will not dwell on the past.

These things help me to dream.

What are those things YOU know for sure?

Find more of my work CLICK HERE

Creativity Raises the Likelihood of You Having a Fulfilled Life

photo credit

 Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.
-
Edward de Bono

SAVOR: Take the Time to Breathe Life into your Dreams

photo credit

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit.  We are all the same in this notion:  the potential for greatness within each of us.

-

Wilma Rudolph

How much of your time do you spend dreaming? Do you take time to just sit and listen to your breath?  Does your life choke out the value of dreaming?

What do you think about those who dream?

What is that one dream that you can't seem to let die?  Is there some aspect of the dream you can pursue now?  Now think six months ahead: Where will you be with just taking that one step?

Find more of my work CLICK HERE

SAVOR: What is the Purpose for your Life?

photo credit

"It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."

-

Henry David Thoreau

Vision.

The Bible says without vision a person perishes.

It makes sense, doesn't it?

At some point, your choices need to be culminating into some sort of purpose.  The implications behind the journey is that the more aware we become of how and why our steps are connecting in the way they are, the deeper we will have a sense of identity and purpose.

What do you see as the purpose of your life?

 Find more of my work CLICK HERE

 Find more of my work CLICK HERE

SAVOR: Did you Know that Pain and Bravery are Connected?

photo credit

Take chances, make mistakes.  That's how you grow.  Pain nourishes your courage.  You ave to fail in order to practice being brave.
-
Mary Tyler Moore 

Pain as a teacher.  I know I KNOW.  Don't you hate that this is true? 

But it is incredible how pain can give you clarity about what really matters...  
Who you are AND what you are made of.

  Have you ever connected pain with bravery?  
Think of a situation in your life where you recognized the connection between the two.  

What did you learn about yourself from that situation?

Find more of my work CLICK HERE