Dance has played an important role in human culture for centuries. Before the evolution of the written language, it was one of the methods people used to recount traumatic events and pass the stories down from generation to generation. It’s an ancient and powerful way for people to express themselves and deal with painful feelings…
When I started this business, I had a pretty definite idea of what creative therapy was. It was things like sandplay, art, movement and dance. But the more I think about it, the more I see creativity in many things that we do. I find fascinating by a survey of three and a half thousand…
It goes without saying, yet is worth saying, that in counselling and psychotherapy we hold a lot of responsibility and emotional processes. Often, we do this in isolation as we may be the only therapist working in a school or organisation or on our own in private practice. Supervision courses for counsellors have an important…
I have been away on a meditation retreat for the last few days, so today my overactive brain finds the world very loud. It’s a funny thing stepping out of the day-to-day world. When I first arrived at the retreat, my mind was buzzing with the hundreds of things I could/should/would be doing. If only…
Article by Emma Steadman Mental health in schools is a priority It is really important to lay the foundations of a good relationship at the beginning, so give time to contracting with the school leaders. Many of the places you work may not have had counsellors at the school or may not have thought…
It doesn’t rely on words If you have ever asked a child how his/her day was at school or asked a teenager how they are feeling, you will already know that words have limits! Sandplay works because it is a great way of helping someone to express himself or herself without having to talk to…
Written by Cara Williams As busy therapists, we spend a lot of time dealing with other people’s problems. Our own creativity and wellbeing can suffer as a result. While we’re trained to protect ourselves using boundaries, some client work is very emotionally draining. This is as true in sandplay therapy and creative trauma work…
As we pause to remember the centenary of World War One, we reflect on how post traumatic stress disorder treatment has developed in those 100 years. We hold in our minds and hearts the millions who died in the Two World Wars and many other conflicts. 20,000 British soldiers lost in the D-Day Normandy…
I am reading Brené Brown’s new book “Dare to Lead”, which is all about the importance of feeling vulnerable and owning it in business. The book leaves me thinking about the role that vulnerability plays in counselling, sandplay and creative arts therapy. Supervisors and teachers tell us (consciously or unconsciously) that feeling emotionally doesn’t help…
This week is Halloween, but it’s also All Saints Day and the Day of the Dead. Traditionally this is a time to let all our ghouls and ghosts and skeletons out. We celebrate them, give them sweets and lay them to rest. Children love this time of year, but some adults find the rituals morbid.…