So, I’m working on developing these workshops that I want to do…I love art, creativity, and things that help us understand and express ourselves better, so I’m trying to work on a couple of (to me) interesting projects.

The first one came out of a kids’ art book, where the idea was to paint a symbol you liked on a stone. I think that’s a pretty cool idea – but here’s my twist: Why don’t we develop our own, meaningful, unique symbols – things that represent and express who WE are – and put those in various artistic or creative endeavors? The rock idea is cool – especially if you shellac it so it lasts. But what about making a journal, with your symbol on the cover? What about notecards, jewelry, web/business logos, etc? What about using your symbol as a way to describe yourself, or as a jumping off point for writing why this symbol is important and what it means to you? There are LOTS of ways to go with this…

Another other idea comes out of an activity I did years ago. I found a story as a kid in an old magazine called “Jack and Jill” (Anyone remember that? ). I don’t remember everything about it, but it stuck with me over decades, and involved a woman called (I think) “Rainbow woman.” Rainbow woman was beautiful and a black-and-white man fell in love with her and married. The longer she stayed married to him, the more black-and-white she became. Eventually, she left the man to reclaim her colors. My piece on that comes because I never could find a copy of the story – I eventually wrote what I could remember and then embellished and filled in what I couldn’t. During the process, I noticed that more and more of my own story was creeping in – it became a “personal myth” for me. A personal myth is, like many stories in classical mythology, a story of transformation and learning. In this case, my story reflected my life with my first husband – when I finally left, it really seemed as if the color had come back into the world. Rainbow woman for me is an archetype – an ideal example of what I’d like to be. She’s colorful, creative, and owns herself and her place in the world.

I began thinking that if this story meant so much to me, how many other people had stories they cherished about someone, a character, or even a real person that inspired and spoke to them? How many people were interested in looking at what the story taught them or told them about who they were? How many people who think they’re not creative would find themselves being just that in telling their stories? I don’t know…but my guess is that if combined with the personal symbol part, this could be a powerful and fun workshop.

Another idea I had for a workshop was to teach assertiveness skills, especially for women around saying and hearing “no.” I’ve written a little about that here, and I’ve noticed that it’s a tough thing to do in our culture, especially for women. Setting boundaries in general is tough – and that might be a good one too. Other ideas I have include doing short seminars/workshops on coping skills or creative journaling. I’d love to do a group or workshop for pre-teen or teenage girls on self-esteem and acceptance – heck, I’d love to do that with adult women too!

Or what about making/walking through a labyrinth? Walking meditations are a good way to slow down, as are breathing and “living” meditations – mindfulness isn’t just a DBT concept – it was an Eastern spiritual practice long before we Westerners co-opted it. Maybe relaxation music and slow movement – how often do we give ourselves permission to move creatively (yeah, dance!) My guess is not very often (unless you’re still pretty young and go out a lot – I never did.)

Anyway – I’d love to get some feedback from you all about this. What do you think would work? What wouldn’t? If you were going to take something like this, what would draw you in? What’s interesting and fun in these kinds of things? I’m really interested in what you have to say – so please leave me a comment or send me an email.

These are all things I’d like to include in my practice – my dream is to have a studio set up next door to my office so that I can include creative expressions of all sorts in the work I do. I’m just now learning to let go and breathe, create, and move – my sense is that many other people could use the same thing.

The big thing overall that I’m seeing is that we just don’t give ourselves permission to do these things – to play, to experiment, to learn – we think that if it’s not “good” by some outside standard then it’s worthless – and nothing could be further from the truth! Think about how we react to our children’s drawings – first scribbles, first people, grade-school art projects – we treasure them, right? So why don’t we give ourselves the same respect? THAT is part of the message I’d like to convey – it doesn’t have to be “good” to have meaning, and “good” really doesn’t have meaning in these kind of creative expressions.
As Always:

Please Note: The content on this blog is intended for informational purposes only. This is not therapy, and if you wish to work in therapy, please contact your local mental health agency or your physician for a referral.

If you are in crisis or danger, please call 911 for immediate help. Please, again, realize that seeking out help really IS a sign of strength and not a sign of weakness. You don’t have to be alone in facing these things – there are people who care and who will help. Email me at: theothersideofthecouch@live.com