Healing Through Creative Expression
How do we address trauma that is held in the body, mind and spirit? Sometimes talking is just too difficult and we cannot find the words to express the depth of our pain and suffering. Expressing oneself through art can help release the pain of trauma in significant ways. Every survivor longs to be safely heard and have their experiences validated. Through carefully guided creative art exercises, we offer a means of telling your story without words, through feeling and expressing from within.
We believe that all are created to be creative - this is the image of God in us. When we create, we manifest God's likeness and find healing in ways we can discover anew.​​​ ​​​​​​
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Q: Do I have to be good at drawing to try therapeutic art?
A: Absolutely not. If you can hold a pencil or paintbrush, you are fully qualified. Sometimes our approach is referred to as "making marks". We simply allow the energy from within to guide our hands along the page. The body knows what it needs to release, and the art will manifest from within.
Q: Will I have to show and tell my work?
A: Your privacy is always respected and sharing what you've created is by consent only. We focus on the process of doing the work, not the end product. Many have trauma from childhood experiences of art-making, and we want to help heal this too. In art-making sessions, we focus on creativity and expression, respecting boundaries of confidence and right to privacy.
Q: Do all participants have to do the art exercises?
A: Participation is invited but never forced. If making art is not your thing, we respect you where you're at.
These images are used with the permission of their creator.
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Spiritually Expressive Art is the process of “Creating art with our Creator,” a form of connecting with the authentic self to engage with and release expression. Traumatic events often result in disconnection from our authentic emotions, thoughts and true self, and can even cause a feeling of disconnect from our Creator.
As we seek to manage our response to a traumatic event, or feel a need to appease another, be accepted, included or even safe, we often silence our authentic voice, emotions and self. This sacrifice affects our mind, body, emotions and spirit: We are no longer in balance.
To restore that balance, we need to rediscover that authenticity and express it. Through breath work, meditation, imagination and creative release, we find a pathway in the Spiritually expressive arts to reconnect with this authentic part of ourselves and to the Creator’s Spirit within us.
The meaning of inspiration is "to be in Spirit," like a new breath. Creating together with the Spirit of our Creator brings new breath into our life and perspective. It restores balance and empowers us to free the mind, healing the body and the soul. This is why creating art with the Creator can aid in empowerment and holistic healing.
Drawing
Creative Writing
Poetry
Reflection
Journaling
Painting
