Expressive Therapy

'You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.' Jon Zabat Zinn

Charlotte Yonge, MA, PhD, DipEL, Cert CJEA

The benefits of stress reduction include the ability to 'access our own powerful inner resources for insight, transformation and healing.' (Bangor University). Until we express our thoughts and feelings we cannot become aware of them or understand the roots of our stress or depression. Using proven techniques, we can learn to relax and use non verbal images to get to the heart of our experience without worrying about being misunderstood.  There are no right or wrong ways of expressing ouselves and each Expressive Therapy session is confidential. With easy visualisation and relaxation exercises, our resentments, fears and confusions gently begin to untangle into a clearer light.  Difficult emotions lose their intensity and become more manageable. Our own inner healing power then has a chance to rise to the surface, with unexpected reassuring results and unusual insights.  Both adults and children can benefit from just one session. A minimum of three to six sessions is recommended.

'This always makes me feel relaxed.' KO, Devon

What does it involve?

Charlotte uses uses recommended relaxation and visualisation exercises, together with simple expressive activities including expressive journalling.

Mindfulness and visualisation: making connections

In Bangor University's Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, mindfulness has proved successful in reducing stress and anxiety and is 'about being fully awake in our lives, paying attention with intention and without judgement' (www.bangor.ac.uk/mindfulness).

'It has been a liberating experience for me. After having ME, it helped me get back into the swing of life, which is something I thought I would never do.'  MS, Bristol

Expressive Journaling

This involves using the right and left hands in easy, relaxing exercises aimed at helping you reflect in your own way on your experiences and memories. Guided by simple, practical , and alternating with relaxation and visualisation, the expressions you use  for your thoughts and feelings remain confidential until you feel ready to recap and explore new insights. Feel free to doodle, scribble, sketch, jot or colour in any way you wish.

Relaxation

We all need support in letting go and being more skilful in relaxing and managing life's challenges. With help in understanding how our bodi-mind works, we begin to realise they way we have been taught to criticise ourselves, and how this blocks our body's natural healing ability. This self healing is what brings a sense of well-being and restoration.  Each session gives you tools of relaxation and self reflection with which you can change your life-style the way you want, in order to reduce stress and anxiety.

'This is wonderful work. He comes back calm and happy.' Teacher, Devon.

What are the benefits?

Over a series of sessions, you will be given support to:

• become familiar with how your mind and feelings work;
• notice when you might get caught in old mental habits that develop anxiety or depression;
• explore ways of expressing and releasing old habits;
• experience different ways of knowing more about yourself and the world;
• notice natural experiences of beauty and responding to the world around you with reassurance, instead of being absorbed in stressful thoughts;
• be kind to yourself instead of wishing things were different;
• find ways of avoiding battling against yourself or pushing yourself to meet impossible goals;
• accept yourself as you are, rather than constantly judging yourself.

'It has given me a way of dealing with everyday things and also bigger issues in my life. Thank you.' SB, Devon