creativity
For me, creativity is more of an attitude than a specific form of artistic productivity. Creativity is certainly the foundation upon which we can create art. But it is also the foundation for any genuine process of transformation:
For something new to emerge — something vibrant, sustainable, and moving — we need an attitude of openness and freedom from prejudice. We need curiosity and also trust, because this openness requires a great deal of trust. It is an attitude of attentiveness, an openness to encounter, and the willingness to let this encounter change us. Creativity is thus also the foundation for true learning.
emergence
This is precisely the attitude with which we establish inner contact in therapy. This attitude makes emergence possible. Emergence is something we also desire for every artistic process. Emergence means that something arises from the interaction of various individual parts. What emerges goes beyond the sum of the individual parts’ capabilities. Something emerges that no single part could have created or known in this form.
Creating space for emergent processes is an essential part of the therapeutic work I offer.
the language of the speechless
Artistic expression can be an important resource, especially for people who have experienced traumatic stress. Because traumatic stress prevents us from processing experiences the way we normally would, these experiences remain stored — either fully or partially unprocessed — on a physical and emotional level, without us being aware of it. This implicit knowledge or implicit memory — things stored in our emotional and physical patterns — has a lasting impact on us, especially if we were exposed to traumatic stress early in life.
Since these experiences have not been processed, we are unable to fully grasp them cognitively. Trauma leaves us speechless, in the truest sense of the word.
Part of the healing process involves making these unprocessed experiences tangible, so that we can name them. So that they take shape and can be symbolized. If not with words, then perhaps in a language without words — in the language of art.
Techniques from the visual or performing arts, as well as creative writing, are valuable here because they allow implicit or unconscious experiences to be expressed spontaneously. Through writing, painting, dancing, singing, making music, sculpting, building... In this way, new inner connections can form. Things can be experienced anew when they are symbolized and no longer merely manifest as a diffuse sense of self. This process is also called externalization.
The overwhelming experience of traumatic events typically leaves us feeling that something is wrong with ourselves. We cannot perceive it as something external as long as it is stored only implicitly. It has become a part of us. Through externalization, this identification can be dissolved, and a new narrative can emerge.
Instead of saying: something is wrong with me (I always feel or behave so strangely) we can say: something happened to me that wasn't good.
posttraumatic growth
Posttraumatic growth refers to the development of specific strengths that we need to process psychological trauma. Over time, these strengths can become important skills that empower us to create something special.
Creativity means participating in a creative process. We make it possible for something new to emerge, and thereby we discover new perspectives and new ways of approaching things. Thus, creative action is a form of self-empowerment that enables us to bring about change. For me, creativity is a fundamental component of posttraumatic growth.
It is wonderful to witness such a process: the transformation of a person who has been weighed down by terrible experiences into someone who can stand tall and is able to deal with those experiences in their own way.
creativity fosters connection
connection enables healing
This requires one essential component, and that is support. We can experience support through a wide variety of encounters. This could be the person we're working with in therapy; it can be a newly discovered, deepened inner connection; it can be the connection to the earth and other beings in nature, such as trees; and certainly much more. What is essential here is that we have an experience of connectedness; that we feel seen, heard, understood, and perhaps even that we belong.
In my view, creativity always involves this element of encounter — whether an inward encounter with different aspects of the self, or an outward connection with the world. As I described above, I experience creative action as a willingness to allow oneself to be touched and transformed, to engage in an exchange.
Creativity is the enabling of emergent processes. It creates new connections. Emergence arises from these new connections.
This transformation – posttraumatic growth: growing out of a state of overwhelm into a state that allows us to handle the situation – often requires many different steps and experiences that increasingly empower us and give us a sense of connection. These can be many small or even significant encounters.
Witnessing posttraumatic growths is like a miracle every single time. And it gives courage.
Such transformative processes can also be experienced in art.
And they often touch us so deeply because we can all relate to that, and because we, too, are always striving in some way to continue growing. And that, too, gives us a sense of connection when we can empathize with the artist’s experience.
healing with a tree
private practice for resource-oriented trauma therapy & psychotherapy
telephone:
+49 163 7041163
email:
mail@healingwithatree.com
address:
Marienburger Straße 5a
10405 Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg