Different Ways of Knowing

  • Somatic

    Exploring the somatic experience began for me as I read the book The Body Keeps the Score. From this book I learned about the importanace of understanding the physical expereince that an individual is having and how it is tied to the emotional and cognative expereince. Additionally I explored somatic release through my personal movement and breathwork. I see the somtatic expereince as another way in which some individuals will understand themselves and this is a tool to help them access this personal knowing.

  • Vocal

    The use of voice is another way to connect to emotions and thought processes. I expolored using voice to process art creating sounds in response to specific elements in my own art work and classmates art work. This exercise allowed me to discover different emotions living in the art work. Additonally I practiced using my own voice to rediscover the power of my own voice and taking up space. This can be a very powerful tool for a client for both claiming power and as a way of understanding their personal knowing.

  • Auditorial

    I have seen auditorial processing be a very powerful tool for understanding oneself. For example the use of music can impact the nervous system in both negative and positive ways. This is something that I personal expereince and I believe would need to be explored with each individual client. Nature sounds have also been studied and proven to impact an individuals nervous systems. I learned the impact of music within my own art making and discovered that some songs and sounds allow me to feel more open and more closed to the art making process.

Final paper- Hermeneutics of Self

My list here of ways of knowing is limited, but it does highlight the ways in which I relate most to ways of knowing. I believe this will impact my practice as an art therapist and counselor because it will help me create a more open and safe environment for my clients. A few times throughout the program instructors have asked us to contemplate how our counseling space will be set up. Considering the many ways of knowing, I want my counseling space to be tailorable to each client. For me, this looks like flexibility in where the client wants to have a session and different places to sit, create, or move inside and outside. Additionally, I think sound and smell are helpful ways a client can feel more comfortable in a session. These things all greatly impacted my personal experience in therapy and I feel strongly that considering these elements will help create a more safe and comfortable environment.

Power of Presence

One of the greatest tools I have gained at Southwestern is the awareness of the power of presence. I have had the opportunity to practice this through many courses working in small groups and acting as counselor and witness. Being present with a client allows me to feel into what the client might be experiencing and facilitates them feeling seen and heard.

Artist Identity

Art making is a necessary outlet for me daily. It allows me to process, decompress, and move built-up energy. Staying active in art-making will help me be more present and easily connect with my future clients. I intend for art-making to be an integral part of my practice. My dream is to incorporate clay into this daily practice once again. For over ten years, my passion and background in clay influenced my love for art making. More recently, my rural location and nomadic lifestyle have made working with clay challenging. Eventually, I plan to build myself a studio making working with clay more accessible. Though clay was my first love, I can’t help but recognize my desire to paint, bake, dance, take photos, and be in nature as well. These last few months have taught me that art marking with other mediums can be as powerful as working with clay. I hope to explore this edge of art-making with clients in my own practice and see how this perspective can also influence my clients’ lives.

Leading Clients In Art Making

During the Art Therapy Materials and Techniques course, I had the opportunity to co-facilitate a group making art, exploring the kinesthetic and sensory levels of the ETC through finger painting. This experience was my first exploration of co-leading a group and leading others in art making in the program. This felt familiar and comfortable because of my time teaching art classes during my undergraduate degree. However, this experience allowed me to see some areas where I wasn’t as comfortable. For example, I noticed the importance of being intentional with my words and allowing clients to have their own experiences in their art-making process. This experience also allowed me to see the value in using auditorial ways of knowing to enhance the experience for the client. While we offer an adaptive option for those who might not want to experience the paint physically on their hands, we still have a participant who said the experience made them feel very uncomfortable. They felt forced into the experience for academic reasons. While this same power dynamic will not be present in a therapist-client relationship, it is essential to recognize that it will be current in the therapist-client relationship. The best way to address this dynamic is to name it and continuously keep the conversation current about this dynamic. Additionally, it is essential to process the client’s experience and create an environment where they feel they can be honest about their experience with materials.

Represented below is my experience with this finger painting directive. This experience helped me learn more about how the kinesthetic/sensory level of the ETC might be used for assessment. For example, a client feeling comfortable working in this stage of the ETC probably means that they are comfortable focusing on more preverbal connections and sensory experiences. Becuase this activity focuses on sensations such as touch and sound; it can help connect a client to this part of themself that may bring them into the past or help them feel more connected to their body. I think what is most important about artwork as an assessment is having a dialogue with the client about what the art piece is saying to them or what they noticed while creating it. Activities that support the kinesthetic/sensory level could bring up great conversations between the client and the therapist about how the client is physically responding or what sensations were activated for them. While I may be able to question elements in a client’s artwork, such as line, shape, color, and movement, I should never make assumptions about their experience. Even if I have a hunch about what a client’s work may be suggesting, it’s more important for the client to discover what it means to them.

Emotional Regulation

Emotional regulation in a therapist is an essential part of being a helping professional. Because of co-regulation of nervous systems, a therapist is potentially able to help the client regulate their nervous system just by being next to them with a regulated nervous system. Over the course of the last two years, I have learned various techniques for keeping my nervous system regulated. The most practical and useful techniques for me have been breathwork, movement, and making art. I see these as tools that I had to practice many times first. For example, this winter I learned intense breathing techniques while cold-plunging in water that was 33 degrees F. This practice taught me how to maintain breathing techniques in intense environments so that I could still use the skill in less intense situations. I also found a lot of success using watercolor painting for emotional regulation. Specifically creating repetition helps create inner rhythm and calm. These paintings were available for me to revisit and add to when I needed to take some time to regulate. While my emotional regulation is not perfect, I believe these tools will be helpful as I begin practicing with clients and will also help me track myself in the counseling relationship.