Since the beginning of time, humans have depicted their lives through a variety of creative means. Therapy comes from the Greek word “therapeia,” meaning to cure through dance, song, poetry, and drama—in short, art. Even before ancient Greece there were cave paintings and chants to induce healing and success in hunting. As therapy has evolved over millennia, the creative arts have worked together to help people reveal their inner lives and gain comprehension, of themselves and others. 

At Sanctuary Centers, Art and Poetry Therapy groups help clients reveal aspects of themselves that are intuitive, rising from the unconscious and not inhibited by the inner critic and editor. 

A therapist strives to set the stage for a safe place for creativity to happen. In a therapeutic setting, work is never judged as “good” or not. It is only what clients observe in their creations, and how they feel about what they have expressed, that is important. The value of art therapy is in self-expression, self-awareness, emotional resilience and healing. Positive feedback to validate the experience enhances this value and promotes integration into a client’s daily life.  

In art, a simple directive is given to paint or draw a feeling they are experiencing in the moment. Or, in some cases, they might paint what they have written. The anonymous “Self-Portrait” below is such an example. The client reveals a known aspect of the self, as well as perhaps some hidden trauma they’re struggling with. In further dialogue with the therapist, they explore what the art reveals, to foster integration and change in a safe and supportive environment.

The anonymous self-portrait poem below was created when another client was asked to write a poem that revealed an inner metaphor that explains a quality of the self not realized before. When writing self-portrait poems, sample published poems are shared to help the client describe themselves in a new way, often finding a metaphor that brings to light a strength or describes a sorrow, a challenge, or both. Such a poem is “Wilderness” by Carl Sandburg. The second stanza of the poem reads:

There is a fox in me… a silver gray fox…  I sniff 

and guess… I pick things out of the wind and air…

Toward the end of the poem, Sandburg writes:

There is an eagle in me and a mockingbird… and the eagle 

flies among the Rocky Mountains of my dreams and fights 

among the Sierra crags of what I want… and the mockingbird 

…warbles in the underbrush… of hope, gushes

over the blue Ozark foothills of my wishes—

And I got the eagle and the mockingbird from the wilderness.

In both art and poetry, the image carries the weight of emotion and memory. Exploring its meaning is not only a source of inspiration but often helps to access and express an early trauma. Before writing poems, clients note phrases, lines or images that speak to them. A poem may begin with with a similar line or quote, or the therapist may give some ideas about how to “build a poem.” Poetry comes from the Greek word “poesis” meaning to build. What clients write is often imaginative and reveals a way of coping with their mental health issues. After sharing their poems with each other, there is a time for reflection. In the following poem, the client imagines the phoenix rising from within that has given courage in challenging times.

Grammar and spelling in the poem is original. That the author chose to capitalize Phoenix, following Sandburg’s lead in the preceding poem, reveals an intimacy about the client’s life. There is trust in the group that they will understand their premise in the second stanza, knowing that many may have experienced life and death situations in the “wilderness” of their lives. Upon reflection, the client revealed that they had recently sat at the bedside of a dying friend who whispered in the last moments they were at peace because they had seen their maker, symbolized to the client as the Phoenix (sun). This gives the client hope that faith has kept her alive, and will continue to sustain her. 

When a truth is felt, often there is a silence that enters the heart, rising with the light of understanding.

Do you have a piece of artwork or writing that you are especially proud of that demonstrates your self-awareness, emotional resilience or healing? Please share it with us in the comments!