Artists and the Artistic Process
I have worked with many artists in a number of settings (most notably California College of the Arts) and I find that this population brings unique strengths and struggles to the table. Artists can use their medium to express, explore, and transform their internal world, which is powerful when incorporated into therapy. Artists have challenges specific to the artistic identity and pursuit: the difficulty in finding a true voice, struggles with artistic blocks, being made incredibly vulnerable in the presentation of their art, and striving for goals that society or family often misunderstands or undervalues. As I am an artist as well as a psychotherapist, I bring another side of myself to the therapeutic endeavor; I understand from the inside the importance and complexity of an individual’s relationship to art.