Tapping into Creativity

Creativity is essentially a lonely art. An even lonelier struggle.

To some a blessing. To others a curse.

It is in reality the ability to reach inside yourself and

drag forth from your very soul an idea

~ Lou Dorfsman

Creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected

~ William Plomer

Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher

and pupil are located in the same individual

~ Arthur Koestler

Conditions for creativity are to be puzzled; to concentrate;

to accept conflict and tension; to be born everyday; to feel a sense of self.

~ Erich Fromm

As you all know, I use art in my therapeutic interventions. Today during my groups I encouraged each client to create on the topic of "I Only count when..." Meaning when do they feel they make a difference or really matter. While a lot of the kids shied away from this topic, some kids really became involved in their art. Sometimes even if a topic is given, the art takes the client somewhere else. Where you begin may not be where you end. What you begin to work on may not be the end result.

For example, there was one client today who was joking around throughout the entire session. Often times humor is used to cover something, i.e. feelings, that may be uncomfortable. Although he was talking continuously throughout the session, he also remained constant on his art creation. The end result was powerful. He had taken a box and painted it red. He then taped off two sections on the top and painted them black. The box then looked like a chest. He then glued one wiggle eye in the center and underneath put the word victim.

Now I do realize that this may be more powerful to me than those of you who are reading it, but it is just exciting when what you do actually works. This particular client has experienced the trauma of his father dying and his grandfather dying shortly after within the past eight years. After the second death is when he began to really break down behaviorally, and was sent to us. He uses humor all the time as a defense mechanism and his mother reports he cries at home a lot. This is only the first step. I plan to encourage him to dig a little deeper and begin to really express and cope with feelings that he probably has not had the opportunity or know how to deal with.

I just thought that I would share my exciting experience of art therapy working. I must now go deal with another crisis that has consumed my energy since last week. This client, whom I meet with individually, has reported in a session someone harming her. I met with her mother yesterday and now must call the police to report some news given. The stories of these kids can really break my heart. I'm just blessed that so many of them have felt comfortable enough to open up to me.