A conversation between creative arts therapists: Part Two
Self-care and our journey in becoming creative arts therapists
Lynda Jessen-Tye (Nelson/Tasman, NZ) and Kate Willis (Christchurch, NZ)
K: Something that we were both taught during our time studying together was the importance of self-care, not only as therapists but as human beings, and to foster a personal practice that is centred around presence, connection and creativity.
What does your self-care look like to you in 2021?
"Self-care is not synonymous with self-indulgence or being selfish. Self-care means taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy, you can be well, you can do your job, you can help and care for others, and you can do all the things you need to and want to accomplish in a day."
L: I developed a morning practice around twenty years ago. It has continued to evolve since entering the world of creative arts therapy. I am working on being more proactive in carving time out for my own personal creative interests, including writing poetry. Late this afternoon, I spent time in my car with paper, felts, and a takeaway green tea with a favourite CD playing while I waited in town to pick up my teen daughter. For me, self-care also speaks of boundaries with self and others and checking in regularly with myself. Movement is a big part of my self-care regime. I move in gentle ways that can be meditative, such as walking and yoga, and in ways that increase my heart rate/allow energy to be released, such as walking up hills, going to the gym, dancing or going for a bike ride. I'm learning to respond to my body where it might be on any given day. Self-care is a topic I could talk about forever! I am passionate about constantly revisiting it in my own life and love witnessing it develop in others. It can be inspirational to see a friend or family member put time and energy into their well-being.
K: I am similar to you when it comes to movement in my self-care routine. Doing a morning walk and getting outside is a popular go-to for me. Since the beginning of the year, working from home has been an adjustment. Though not having to battle the morning traffic has been nice. I find that walking almost replicates this commute and puts me in the right headspace to get started for the day. Sport has also been a long time feature for me. Playing hockey with teammates and getting my heart rate up has also helped balance my creative and work self. I found the creative journals we did during our course to be really enlightening. Words don't come easily for me, so I enjoyed the process of being able to express myself by creating imagery. I think self-care has become essential in my approach, whether it's the ritualistic way I put out and pack up art materials or get outside and go for a walk. I love how self-care is no one-size-fits-all; it's a moving, flowing, evolving practice.
We have both mentioned our time training as creative arts therapists. I wonder what drew you to the profession? And how did you come across it?
L: I would describe it as a long winding path that has been filled with seeds planted across the decades around creativity and mental health fitting together.
When I was studying my Honours year for my BA in Psychology and Education, we were encouraged to gain some experience working with a community group. I signed up as a volunteer with The Schizophrenia Fellowship (as it was called in Wellington in the early 90s). One of my jobs was to take a group of the members to Vincents, a creative art space, once a week. At these sessions, the members were encouraged to use the available arts materials in any way they wanted to - self-expression fostered and supported.
I've had a few changes in professions across the decades. Still, the interesting commonality has been a strong attraction to using creativity with others. I trained and worked as a graphic designer for 10 years and worked for a couple of years as a community education coordinator, where I created a programme. It was rewarding to see how much adults valued and benefited from coming out and getting creative.
The following year I retrained as an early childhood teacher. I was drawn to Te Whaariki, the early childhood education curriculum which is holistic. My key interests in teaching young children are encouraging engagement with the creative arts while fostering the development of emotional intelligence and self-regulation. I recognised that moving into creative arts therapy would allow me to pursue these interests further.
I feel other threads to this story are significant, such as my own journey with personal development, where I essentially started making time for self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-love. I travelled through some deep waters across the years at times. When I allowed myself to feel, express, and process these experiences, I experienced an increased capacity for joy. So along the way, I discovered that dark and light co-exist, and my creative arts therapy studies only continued to deepen and strengthen my understanding of this.
K: It is so lovely to hear the threads of your journey. It's beautifully interwoven with the diversity of life. I discovered arts therapy by watching a video about arts therapists working in children's hospitals over in the UK. I became curious and went down the internet rabbit hole and stumbled across the Whitecliffe course. With this all happening in the last year of my Bachelor of visual art degree. I always wanted to work with people but didn't know how I wanted to go about it. I saw the Helberg trust and what they were doing with disabled children and loved what they stood for. Creative arts therapy became a perfect mash-up between my passion for the arts and my interest in working with vulnerable people.
As I come out the other side of my training, I now identify myself as a working artist and creative arts therapist. I don't mind having multiple art selves. I use them in very different ways. My fine arts self creates for others images that are pretty, purposeful and for many eyes to see. In contrast, my therapist artist works with emotion and feeling, much more personal to me. No self holds more importance than another because they are so different.
L: Kate, it has been an absolute pleasure to explore these topics with you, 0talking about the assumptions of the creative arts therapy field, the populations we work with, our personal self-care practices and our arrival into this work. I have much admiration for your work and feel I have learnt some more about you along the way.
K: It's been a pleasure to work alongside you, and I am excited to find out where this journey takes you.
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If you have any further questions or want to find out more, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
Kate Willis Creative Arts TherapyCreative Arts Therapist Master of Arts in Arts Therapy (Clinical)Email: kate@creativeartstherapy.nzLynda Jessen-TyeKomorebi Creative Arts Creative arts therapistMaster of Arts in Arts Therapy (Clinical) Email: komorebicreativearts@gmail.com