Art Therapy and Somatic Healing: A Holistic Approach To Anxiety
One of my most asked questions is how I arrived to doing the type of work that I do - combining Art Therapy and Somatic Healing to support individuals with Anxiety. So I thought I would share more about my journey and why I feel these modalities are so effective in working together to help others manage their experiences and connect further to their bodies.
From a young age I always enjoyed the experience of art-making. Taking classes as a little girl, I found myself being instantly at ease and transported to what felt like another relm. Mixing colors, seeing a canvas transform, feeling so much more calm and in my own space were some of the many things I loved about the art-making experience. While there were some things that I did not enjoy from continuing to take more traditional art classes, my love for the art-making process never wavered.
In high school, I was able to take a psychology class as an elective. As the year went on, I found myself more fascinated and in love with the human brain, our behaviors as humans and the fact that there was a field dedicated to learning more about it while supporting others on their journey. That made it a very clear and easy decision for me to pursue my undergrad as a psychology major.
As I was getting closer to graduating college, I started to reflect on how I wanted to use my major and in the workforce. In those moments of reflection I had, what felt like at the time, an epiphany - “what if I combine my love for art-making with supporting others, sort of like an art therapy?” I later discovered that Art Therapy was, in fact, a field and something that actually existed (guess I wasn’t as ingenious as I thought).
So, I went to grad school for Art Therapy at Pratt Institute in New York. An experience that immediately re-lit that excitement and joy for art making that I had felt as a kid, and the best part was that I could help others feel into and process their experiences in the same way. While the program was very experiential based (meaning we would engage in art making interventions and be truly immersed in the field) I found myself becoming very aware of my own personal experiences and symptoms.
Once I started working as an Art Therapist, I noticed both in myself and so many of the clients that I worked with having very loud physical experiences when reflecting on and describing their anxiety. I found that the art-making process made space for people to explore their inner experiences without necessarily to ruminate on talking about them. Around the same time, I was able to take a class on Somatic Therapy and eventually obtain certification in the same, allowing me to find ways to deeper access the language of the body in the form of sensations.
Working with both the creative and the mindful side with my clients who experienced anxiety, I noticed increased sense of ease in their symptoms, increased confidence in having a variety of tools to manage their experiences and an increase in their understanding of the physical and mental presentation of anxiety for them.
While there are so many incredible modalities and treatment models out there, I have found the use of both Art Therapy and Somatic Healing a beautiful way to help support my clients to feel more confident in understanding and coping with their experiences. The blend of these modalities have also helped me tremendously transform my relationship to my anxiety and find ways to truly understand and befriend it rather than struggling with my experience.
If you want to learn more about the work I do or further explore using these modalities on your healing process, click here to schedule a FREE consultation call with me today.
