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Offices in Langley, Whidbey Island,
WA and Pioneer Square, Seattle, WA.
Depth Inquiry for Psyche and Soma
supported by Authentic Movement,
the Expressive Arts, Dreamwork,
and Jungian Sandplay
Like the river, return to the Source.
- Tao te Ching
Part of the psychotherapeutic process is to awaken
the creative life-force energy. Thus, creativity and therapy overlap. What is creative is frequently therapeutic. What is
therapeutic is frequently a creative process.
- Natalie Rogers, A Path to Wholeness
The
Life and Hidden Wisdom in Tree Imagery and its Implication for Humans
Throughout
history, in poetic and esoteric writings, humans have been compared to trees. The Tree of Life denotes a connection between
three worlds (above, between, below) and four directions (north, south, east, west). In movement analysis terms,
one could say that a healthy tree fully inhabits its kinesphere, just as a healthy human being does; it inhabits all levels
of existence. Its roots grow deep in the ground, drawing nourishment out of what has been composted
in the earth and water flowing underground; its trunk grows straight and strong - a connecting principle facilitating
the flow between below and above; its branches and leaves reach toward the sky, harvesting energy from
sunlight and transforming it into nourishment through photosynthesis. Sometimes, when a tree has been injured or
wounded, its trunk, branches, and roots grow in adaptive and beautiful ways to accommodate to these challenging circumstances.
This beautiful tree (below) is thriving on all levels, and is a potent symbol of connectedness and healing. Like
the tree, we can remember to live in ways that nourish connection, both within ourselves and between
all our relations.
Depth
psychology is concerned with what might be considered the "roots" - with the unseen and often undervalued aspects of
humans, nature, and culture. Carl Jung, the great Swiss psychologist, encouraged his students to trust the significance
of what lives in the unseen places, such as the unconscious, saying that accessing, engaging, and integrating these aspects
of ones self will lead to a fuller, more vibrant life and to genuine usefulness in the world.
Movement
and the expressive arts, used psychotherapeutically, can open doors to these places within -including the vast resevoir of
the unconscious and the transpersonal realm - putting one in touch with innate resources that they may have
been unaware of. These resources, once integrated in a helpful way, can contribute in a significant and powerful way to healing
and wholeness.
"All sickness is homesickness, and all healing is a journey home." - Dianne Connelly
Home is found in the Self, where one experiences wholeness. The expressive arts - dance, movement,
music, sound, imagery, drawing, sculpting, writing, poetry and improvisation - can facilitate this healing journey
home.
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