Guided Drawing
When we experience trauma as a child or teen, we usually don't have the words to express or understand our pain, or the emotional capacity to record it as a visual/coherent memory, so the body stores it as sensation, physical pain, and emptiness. In order to access and process this suffering, we have to listen to the body in the language that it speaks: sensation. By tuning into sensation and externalizing it onto paper, we translate this language into something the adult mind can experience in safety.
Guided drawing is a powerful art therapy for people of all ages, designed to alleviate pain and stress that is stored in the body as implicit memory. Akin to EMDR, it uses bilateral activation, which helps both sides of the brain engage, allowing the trauma to be processed in a way that is not accessible in talk therapy. I find it to be especially powerful because it combines the bilateral approach of EMDR with movement and sensory experience, really allowing the body to be more involved than the mind.
Artistic talent or interest is not required for guided drawing. Often called a "moving meditation" or "tai chi on paper," it involves closing the eyes and using both hands to make rhythmic bilateral movements with crayon, pastels, and paint. I will guide you to find movements that safely express the trauma and pain you carry, as well as finding soothing movements to calm the nervous system. Guided drawing is a bottom-up approach that can help you develop a felt sense of emotion in the body, building a stronger mind-body connection.
To learn more about the benefits of guided drawing, check out the video below and read the following articles:
The Healing Power of Guided Drawing
I completed the "Guided Drawing as a Trauma Therapy" training through The Institute of Sensorimotor Art Therapy, where I learned to guide people to find movements that soothe and integrate painful experiences.
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