Creativity as a therapeutic tool
As a somatically-informed therapist, my go-to tools for resourcing my clients often centre around calming and soothing the nervous system, through body-centred strategies like grounding, breathwork, sensation-tracking, self-contact, tapping and movement. However, visualization is also an important and powerful part of somatic work, as the body and the imagination are intrinsically-linked, when working with unconscious patterns and ways of being. Vizualisation can be transformative, both as a resource for creating feelings of safety and trust, or for noticing and exploring felt-sensations in the body, which may be linked to an emotion. Lastly, visualization can also be a vital tool when moving into deeper therapeutic work, as we, slowly and safely, touch into painful memories which have created blocks or stuckness, causing cycles of numbing, dissociation or dysregulation. Through gently inviting creative imagery, which allows my client's choice, power and autonomy, we have the opportunity to change the script of an activating memory, releasing it's hold and any trapped energy it contained. All within a space and a relationship where safety, trust and trauma-aware containment is paramount.