Links and Further Exploration
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild, precious life?”
- Mary Oliver
Books:
"Whenever illness is associated with loss of soul," writes Shaun McNiff, "the arts emerge spontaneously as remedies, soul medicine."
Websites- Learn and Grow!
Although science and neuroscience heavy, this book explores the biology of stress and its long term impact on mental and physical health. One area I found of particular interest explored the biology of intergenerational trauma and stress as an adaptive strategy for managing environmental factors.
I have regularly used the concepts presented in this book with clients to help them understand the reasons why they are struggling with stress and anxiety given the modern world and how to "bio hack" the autonomous nervous system for reducing the impact of health; so much so that I decided to write the state exam.
Robert M. Sapolsky is a widely celebrated American neuroscientist, primatologist, and author who holds the title of John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor at Stanford University. He also serves as a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research in Kenya and resides in San Francisco, California.
In my work as an art therapist I often used quotes for inspiration or introspection with clients and had an extensive library of choices I compiled through my career. I found that the same author kept coming up over and over in quotes I found motivating and clients often selected them for their personal use. Roy T. Bennett, who is this guy? I bought his book to find out.
Turns out, Roy T. Bennett is just a guy, no special accolades or degrees, just a person who is able to convey big concepts in simple language. I often open this book to a random page and seek the wisdom that passage offers me. A wonderful resource for anyone.
Art therapy is not just for kids and here's why! Throughout my life I've spoken with many people about art therapy, and one of their first comments is almost always "oh, you work with kids." Point in fact, I have never worked with children, preferring adults for deeper clinical work. In therapy, so often I hear some iteration of "I'm no artist, I can't draw." This book explores the science behind creative therapy and can serve as a bridge even for clients who are reluctant to engage. If that is you, ask yourself why, where is your resistance coming from?
This text includes roughly eighty years worth of anecdotal evidence and case studies showing demonstrating that art therapy is helpful on an individual basis. There are also a growing number of qualitative and quantitative studies on the effectiveness of art therapy across various populations and treatment settings. Cutting edge science allows us to look more deeply into brain function than ever before, allowing research into the complex interaction between perception, cognition, emotion, learning, memory, and behavior. With deeper understanding we can now begin to “see” what so many of us intuitively know; art heals!
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Becoming Safely Embodied : A Guide to Organize Your Mind, Body and Heart to Feel Secure in the World-Deirdre Fay, MSW
Trauma survivors may experience a disconnect from their body, even themselves. Suffering imposed on us by others tells us nowhere, not even our own bodies are safe, and our minds adapt to create distance. At a point this disconnect allows us to survive the intolerable, but at a cost. Later in life we struggle with a host of mental and physical maladies, creating difficulties relating to others, and trusting anyone at all, even ourselves.
With over forty years of experience integrating psychology, contemplative trauma treatment, attachment theory, Fay brings real world applications of trauma therapy to both practitioners and lay people alike making exploration accessible and relatable. I found myself sharing this book with clients and practitioners alike and used the concepts presented to expand the work we are doing in sessions.
Although Csikszentmihalyi focuses this work on flow state achieved by musicians, dancers and others who are well engaged with their craft, this text is also relevant for anyone who finds themselves immersed in something they enjoy. Time stands still and the rest of the world can fade away in those moments and we exit that liminal space calmer, grounded and relaxed.
This too applies to the concept of play. Most of us have witnessed children spinning an elaborate backstory to play scenarios; lost in their imagination and limitless possibilities. The importance of play and creativity for all ages should not be underestimated; it is in these activities we are free to take risks, make leaps of association and build on concepts that we have already mastered and grow from it. For adults, this translates into greater flexibility in thinking, increased empathy towards others and expansion of openness to new ideas and ways of being.
Drawing on more than thirty years at the forefront of research and clinical practice, Bessel van der Kolk shows that the terror and isolation at the core of trauma literally reshape both brain and body.
Written in an engaging narrative format, the author dives into our survival instincts, explaining why traumatized people experience extreme anxiety and numbing and intolerable rage, and how trauma affects their capacity to concentrate, to remember, to form trusting relationships, and even to feel at home in their own bodies. Having lost the sense of control of themselves and frustrated by failed therapies, they often fear that they are damaged beyond repair. If you relate to that perception, this book may help you view yourself with more compassion and motivate you to take steps to heal.
Van de Kolk blends his experience as a researcher and therapist to create a book that informs, inspires and validates many aspects of trauma that may have felt like personal failures in the past. Still considered a preeminent figure in trauma work, he continues his work as an educator, and I have had the privilege of attending his presentations during my career.