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There is—within the heart of each of us—a
creative spririt. At times it is forgotten,
but it can never be lost; for creative expression
through the arts is our native language.
Each of us has the capacity to reawaken the language
of image and metaphor, and through it, to reconnect
with the deeper aspects of ourselves and our world.
The arts are a gateway to our inner worlds, expressing
senses, intuitions, memories, and feelings that
are not always accessible through words.
Through the arts we can balance our culture's
bias toward linear ways of knowing, and reclaim
our wholeness.
Throughout most of human history, the power of
the arts for personal and cultural transformation
has been recognized. Each culture has had
its tradition of sacred arts, ceremonies and rituals
through which the society reclaimed its wholeness
and expressed its vital spirit. These societies
knew that the process of art-making brings each
individual into the present, into contact with
the body and the senses, into experiencing the
life flow. They knew too that through the
arts we connect deeply with one another and the
community regenerates itself at the wellspring
of creativity.
Central to an expressive arts approach is the
belief that the process of making art is as important
as the content it expresses. The creative
process itself can be healing. Awakening
the artist within themselves, clients bring the
wisdom of the dreaming mind into the light of
day. They re-ignite the creative spirit,
see things in a new way, and contact the dynamism
and power to confront life's challenges.
Even when struggling with painful or frightening
issues, the creative experience of expressing
through art is often empowering, joyful, and beautiful
in its truthfulness.
In addition, the arts are a powerful doorway
into buried memories and feelings which are not
readily accessed through exclusively verbal therapies.
Long lost childhood experiences can be relived
and resolved and their relevance to one's current
behavior and experience understood.
The Expressive Arts Program seeks to reawaken
a true appreciation of the healing and whole-making
power of the creative and expressive arts.
Its mission is to apply this ancient knowledge
to our modern context and find ways to integrate
the power of the arts into our personal and professional
lives.
Integrating art processes—painting, drawing,
sculpture, sandplay, music, dance, movement, poetry,
story-telling, drama and ritual—into counseling
sessions, the expressive arts therapist helps
the client to articulate his or her life concerns.
The artwork helps build understanding between
therapist and client and serves as a bridge between
the inner life of images and sensations and the
world of words.
In addition to empowering clients and opening
them to their own inner depths, expressive arts
therapy is a powerful tool for deepening communication
in couples, families and groups. Expressing oneself
and experiencing others through movement, music,
or drawing helps people understand each other
from inside out. As partners enter the imaginal
world together, they can explore the roots of
dysfunctional patterns of belief and behavior
and experience new creative insights.
Expressive arts therapists draw upon the diverse
therapeutic orientations of the contemporary psychoanalytic,
cognitive-behavioral and humanistic approaches
to therapy while often viewing them within the
context of a transpersonal orientation.
Viewed from this perspective, all people are on
a journey of self-actualization and Self-realization,
a journey which often involves confronting serious
challenges along the way.
Expressive arts therapy further embraces the
wisdom of the family systems perspective, which
understands that this journey unfolds in the context
of, and is profoundly influenced by, our relationships
with others.
Expressive arts therapy processes are now used
successfully in almost all psychotherapeutic contexts,
ranging from work with the severely disturbed
to the facilitation of human growth and potential.
In addition to the work of expressive arts therapists,
expressive arts processes are increasingly being
incorporated by educators and consultants into
their work in a wide range of business and professional
settings.
The Expressive Arts Program is actively involved
with a network of national and international expressive
arts therapy training centers and with the International
Expressive Arts Therapy Association. An agreement
of cooperation and student exchange has been developed
with the Expressive Arts Therapy program at the
European Graduate School in Switzerland.
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