What we’re about
This group offers workshops for exploring the psyche through artistic practice experiences and body-movement work. It is a weekly space where you can delve into a particular theme that you wish to explore in a group setting. We will tune into the body, as well as reflect on our lives, looking for the core of our psychological material, and then use that material to generate artwork. If you choose to attend weekly, you will build up a repertoire of art, writing and body movement around themes of your psyche, which you identify; so that your internal experience (physical, emotional and mental) is accessible to you in the form of tangible creative output. There is no judgement of quality in the art produced - the aim of it is purely to help you express yourself in ways that come naturally to you and that you feel comfortable with. We will explore the ways in which our creative drive interacts with our everyday life, and the ways in which shaping art in a workshop setting can lead to changes in our patterns of lived experience.
The aim of these workshops is not to be group therapy proper. There will be short opportunities to share your art, thoughts and feelings with the group and receive responses from the facilitator. However, we will only have time to go into in-depth exploration processes individually during the workshop, and not in front of the group. This means that sharing with the group can be as open or as private as you feel comfortable with. It also means that while our artwork can often help us process trauma, individuals take responsibility to know their triggers and to only go into them as far as is safe.
Should you be interested in the above, but prefer to do this in a private setting please contact me to talk about how we can arrange this. Also, if you struggle with severe conditions such as PTSD or Schizophrenia, please consult with your clinician about whether this space is right for you (and contact me for a discussion if you would like to try this, but to discuss if a 1-2-1 setting might be more appropriate).
I am an MA student in Expressive Arts Therapy and Somatic Movement Therapy, training at the European Graduate School and the UK branch of the Tamalpa Institute. I operate according to the ethics of IEATA (International Expressive Arts Therapy Association), and ISMETA (International Somatic-Movement Education and Therapy Association).
My current research centres around working with transgender populations to increase gender euphoria.
For more information about me, my training, other treatments I offer and my research see my website at www.thebodyspecular.com
To get involved, sign up to a workshop and begin your journey today.