Focusing Oriented Art Therapy

I just returned from a wonderful retreat in Sans Jose California, where I studied Focusing-Oriented Therapy with Ann Weiser Cornell (Inner Relationship Focusing) and Glenn Fleisch (WholeBody Focusing).
I presented my work of combining Art Therapy and Focusing to the group.If you are interested in this work, I will be presenting a three day workshop at Valley Ridge Studio in Madison Wis. next year on my work Focusing Oriented Art Therapy.
What is Focusing Oriented Art Therapy:
- In somatic art therapy we are working with the rhythmic flow of the body.
- The artwork is a way of becoming present and reflects the felt sense.
- The body supports and gives meaning to psychological states.
- Emotions find their affective expression through movement and art.
- Focusing and bodily sensing can awaken early memories and experiences.
- By creating art from a place of body awareness, clients see the ways in which their growth and development have been constrained and art expression has the power to redress these constraints.
- The art making is pre-articulate and comes from the felt sense.
- Somatic art therapy provides a deep awareness of one’s whole being on a sensory level and an ability to work with parts or pieces of being while holding the totality of the whole self.
- The ability to stay in Presence while working allows the client to safely experience and explore parts that may be hurt, fearful, ashamed, traumatized, or in pain.
- The therapist provides the safe container in which the client moves into and out of her/his inner process safely.
- Growth is a neuromuscular reorganization.
-Through art expression and sensory explorations our bodies discover and develop their healing capabilities. The art is a way of tracking this discovery.
- Tapping into the creative flow helps us tap into our own internal creative flow that helps us know who we are physically, emotionally, and cognitively.
- Playing with and knowing our creative expression helps us know our health expression. It has a unique pattern, flow, as does our creative expression.
- Knowing where we feel and act in the most creative way helps us identify what internal and external environments nurture us most so we can continue unfolding and growing.
- In moments of ‘embodiment’ you resonate on a deeper level and these resonation's can be recorded, expressed. This is psychosomatic integration.
In Focusing Oriented Art Therapy:
Art object:
- is only a product of the moment
- has a pattern, structure, and rhythm that reflects the pattern, structure, and rhythm of our selves, it is an externalized map of the internal self
- is about art, art is about describing the world and art is about the maker
- is about the archetypal, touching the archetypal aspects of our origins
Play is:
- trusting our spontaneity, entering imagination, the unexpected and interesting.
- going where you are attracted, staying away from struggle
- a way to enter joy and pleasure, having free expression, and attuning to the things around us
- moving into nonlinear, intuitive and spontaneous expression
- not being careless, it means being free
Process not product:
- When you create art for process, not product, you can go anywhere, do anything, as there is freedom and endless possibilities.
- There are no rules, just being in a place of not knowing, staying curious, present and mindful.
- Process art making is being spontaneous and suspending judgment.
- Process art making is finding the energy and creative potential in all states. Wherever you are is the entry point.
- Being in beginner’s mind allows us to perceive things freshly, see media with fresh state of mind and tapping into a sense of well-being or authenticity.
- Seeing is as important as doing, expanding your sensory awareness: touch, sight, smell, sound, seeing patterns, themes.
- Play and art can open up the creative cognitive processes: broad scanning ability, fluidity of thinking, flexibility, insight, synthesizing abilities, and divergent thinking