Creativity As a Part of Therapy

“Once you start making something with your hands, the healing starts.” -Betye Saar

———

“Take a breath, let it go. What are you noticing now?” Sitting on my couch, I slowly too a breath and opened my eyes. I was in an EMDR therapy session, but this time I was the client. We were reprocessing the traumatic birth of my son. My therapist and I met virtually, but I still felt her calm presence and the EMDR still worked.

“I want to believe I did a beautiful job,” I said, responding to her question. “I want to feel proud of my birth.”

Using EMDR helped me overcome my birth trauma. It truly allowed me to go into another pregnancy with no fear. I see the power of it all the time in my job. But I took EMDR a step further.

Right after that session, I hopped online and searched for an embroidery kit. I had never embroidered before, but some part of me told me I needed to do this project. I scrolled through countless kits until I found the one: a yellow flower bending gently over a smaller yellow flower— its perfect copy but in miniature. To me, the smaller looked as if it had just been plucked from the larger. A baby that had just been pulled from its mother’s womb. I ordered the kit right away.

Over the next week, I embroidered those flowers. I thought of the birth of my son. I unpicked my mistakes. I created a beautiful piece, and in so doing I made my birth beautiful. I released the trauma. Those embroidered flowers now sit in my therapy office, a reminder of the power of creation.

I am a talk therapist— I use conversations and questions to help you heal. To deepen this process, my clients and I often integrate crafting as we talk. This is not art therapy; it is creativity-assisted talk therapy. Is crafting therapy? Not by itself. But with tried and true techniques, it is transformational.

In my own therapy journey, I noticed that I naturally wove crafting into my healing. To process miscarriage, I collaged a womb. To grow self compassion, I needle-felted a bunny. By creating something new, I unlocked a new way to view my old stories. 

We use creation as an avenue to healing. 

Bring your crochet, your calligraphy, your crafting. Don’t know what medium you want to use? Bring your yearning to create, and we’ll start with that. 

— — —

Working with your hands doesn’t call to you? No worries— our time together can look however you want to look.