If you had asked me when I was in college what I wanted to become, professionally, I would have answered “an artist and a therapist.” Over the intervening years, I’ve always done art professionally: illustration for many years, and more recently, fiber arts; and I’ve taught art to students of all ages.
Along the way, I’ve steadfastly focused on learning about many different aspects of how to help people, building on the graduate courses I took in basic counseling and the therapeutic aspects of creative expression: earning a master of Creative Arts in Education, volunteering with hospitalized children and offering therapeutic art, writing and play; more recently, becoming certified to practice as an Expressive Arts Therapist and working as an Artist-in-Residence with radiation oncology patients and their caregivers; and over the years as a volunteer and in a professional capacity, finding it so rewarding to help others while deepening my own understanding, compassion and confidence.
Interested in the mind-body connection, I learned about reiki; and experiencing how reiki helps people relax, clarify their minds, and heal, I pursued several levels of reiki training and became a reiki master. Most recently, I took a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course; and have been practicing yoga and meditation and studying Hakomi Therapy, a mindfulness and somatic-centered therapy. I see the body as an animal that carries along our spirit and fulfills our intentions and reflects our thoughts and feelings: we need to take very good care of this animal, because if we don’t, it will find ways to get our attention.
And just today, I’ve mailed payment to begin an eight-month course to become a certified holistic life coach. I see this course as a way to continue to weave together all of the strands of my studies and experience, integrating art and therapeutic expression, offering those I help more options for growth and happiness, deepening compassion for themselves and others. “The Art of Healing” is the name that best expresses what I’ve been doing all these years: whether I’m creating art, teaching art, or working with a client who is seeking support, it all flows from the same intention of nurturing expression to enhance well-being in myself and others. It’s the name I’ve chosen for my practice of art making, art education and working to help clients: “The Art of Healing.”
Wooly Bliss 