I arrived at my first physical therapy (PT) appointment with my daughter alongside me, resting in her car seat. Within the first few moments of small talk, the physical therapist, Emma, asked me about my profession. After sharing with her that I, too, am a physical therapist, she assumed I was aware of and familiar with PFPT. That was not the case.
Being OK with Not Being OK – Medusa Redefined
Earlier I described a process whereby parts of us stay behind and argued that our psychological wellbeing requires all parts of the psyche to be anchored within the home-body. That was a call to reunite our many parts in service of living in the best and fullest way possible, which can only happen in the present. I want to repeat Rilke’s words that the point (of life) is to live everything, and build on this idea by inviting contemplation on how to navigate our negative emotions, which are the hardest to feel.
When Parts of Us Stay Behind
An interesting thing happened to me when I returned from a long awaited and wonderful summer vacation back home. I didn’t even recognize what was going on until after some time passed and I noticed I wasn’t quite myself, I needed more time than usual to adjust to my everyday life; it was as if I wasn’t all here.
Say Something Nice
Overall, I am a better therapist than I am a mother. My love for my children is unquestionably larger/deeper then my care for my clients, and yet when it comes to communicating it, I do a better job as a therapist. Being a therapist is by far less messy then being a parent, and also quite a bit less vulnerable. My ego functions are often triggered as a parent, whereas I can easily keep them out of the picture in my role as counselor. I so cherish the concept of good enough parenting. That, I can do.
In the Heart of a Dragon
This is the third time a dragon has showed up in one of my paintings and it continues to make me uncomfortable. The best way I can explain the discomfort is that the value of rational, scientific thinking as the only valid type of information gathering was such a central part of my upbringing that the consideration of the mythic is often accompanied by shame.
Energy Psychology – Rebalance and Create Health and Well-being
Energy Psychology is a family of healing methods that balance subtle energy pathways to rapidly diminish disturbances in thought and emotion. Unlike conventional therapies, the person doesn't have to relive the pain of the problem over and over again.
The Mosaic of Our Lives
In the art therapy stories I've shared thus far, I have explored various themes of change. The need/want for it, on the one hand, and the mechanism/process toward it, on the other
The World of Images, Symbols, and the Unconscious: A Source of Healing
We are definitely a product/progress/accomplishment oriented society and most of our psyches are deeply craving the opposite as a result. The permission to enter and stay in the non-doing is often a gigantic challenge for most of us, let alone someone who has spent a lifetime doing what is expected of her, since it meant survival.