Creative exploration

Talking and telling your story is vital but words can sometimes be difficult to hold onto. They can swirl around and pull us into fast-moving streams of feeling-filled language. Creative methods could help you to slow down and regain your bearings as we explore your experiences. They could add enriching and balancing perspectives to the words you share. 

If you're willing to find out how creative methods could support counselling, I often suggest starting with doodling / scribbling / drawing, using felts and pompoms, playing with LEGO or objects in a sand tray (see image below) as these ways to represent what's going on are usually accessible and comfortable. Other possibilities include writing and poetry, playing with toys, experimenting with the words we say and how we say them, postural and movement experiments, sharing music, visualisation, larger scale enactments moving chairs and cushions around the therapy room and so on. The sky really is the limit.

Open to everyone

Creative exploration is still just one part of counselling so it's not the be-all and end-all, but it's often worth trying out. If you're artistically talented, that's great but creative expression is open to everyone. For example, Dan Roam shows how a few carefully chosen words plus stick people and basic shapes (that even I can draw 😁 - see below!) can create clear and accessible messages. Like a lighthouse, creative activities like these could help to nurture healing awareness as you navigate the deep, complex and often confusing sea of information, opinion and experience we all face.

Talking and creating

What we do depends on your preferences and needs, so in some sessions talking will be enough. This video may give you a sense of how creative play can enrich therapy.