By Sara Kliger, MA, RDT
Everyone Has a Story
As creative arts therapists, we have the ability to guide our clients towards understanding more fully their life experiences and how they have been affected by them. However, what many of us don’t realize is how much our own biases and assumptions present themselves within the therapeutic space. By acknowledging one’s differences while still being curious of others’ backgrounds and experiences, one can hopefully become more aware of their own blind spots and can in turn better support their clients.
You may be reading this and thinking of your own experiences of feeling “stuck” when working with a client. Maybe your client has different morals than you. Maybe they are from a different religious background. Or maybe they have experienced something similar to you but have had a different reaction to that experience than you did.
Many times we have such strong reactions to our clients and we do not even notice it. It’s not merely what we say to a client, it can also be how we say it. What would it be like for clinicians if we were able to go back and break down our own experiences in order to connect with what is happening within the clinical space? Before we can ask questions and offer support based on our clients’ stories, we must be willing to look inward at our own. It is impossible to truly become more aware of our personal biases and assumptions without also looking at our past experiences. There are several ways that one can go on their own self-exploration and we as Creative Arts Therapists have the tools to do so.
As Creative Arts Therapists, we are experienced in inviting our clients to embark on many self-exploration exercises... but it can certainly be a challenge for us to invite ourselves to do them as well.
As Creative Arts Therapists, we are experienced in inviting our clients to embark on many self-exploration exercises, but it can certainly be a challenge for us to invite ourselves to do them as well. You may have thought, “but why do I need to do this? I thought I was done with all of this ‘self-exploration’ once I finished my Master’s program!” The answer is that you will never be finished exploring yourself. It is a never-ending journey. You are constantly changing as a person, especially as you continue to have new experiences and engage with different people throughout your life. Being willing to do this work is the best gift that you can give yourself. Even though this is geared specifically towards Creative Arts Therapists, these ideas can be applicable to people within any profession. Additionally, it can allow people to build bridges towards others, which is a critical need in both personal and professional relationships. It normalizes and humanizes the need for acknowledging one’s own journey without dismissing someone else’s.
Now It's Your Turn! The #SelfExplorationChallenge
Here are examples of self-exploration activities. Use them as a framework. Feel free to add to them and incorporate into your personal writing, drawing, meditation, supervision groups, etc.
1.) Personal Interviewing: What were your experiences as a child? What is one of the oldest memories that you can remember? Who were the supports in your life? How did they support you? When was the first time that you felt different than other people? Did your supports talk openly about this? What did they do or say to help you through these feelings?
2.) How people view you vs. How you want to be viewed: What is one thing that people can say about you by just looking at you (e.g., you wear glasses)? How have you been supportive to others? How have you not been supportive to others? What is one self-description that people can’t see by just looking at you (e.g., mental illness, physical illness, trauma, etc.) How has this affected you?
Example 1: Fold a piece of paper in half. On one side of the paper write the title “When People Look at Me They See...” and write or draw all the things that people would say to describe you. This can refer to your personality, appearance, profession, etc. On the other side of the paper you can write the title “But if they really knew me…” and then write or draw everything that you feel people do not necessarily see or know about you but you want them to know.
Example 2: In a group supervision setting, you can use the above questions within a sociometric exercise, such as the stepping-in circle. This allows the participants to share and identify some things about their identities while also paying attention to the outliers in the group. In what ways are they similar to each other and in what ways are they different? How does it feel to be the outlier? Did you learn something new about yourself or someone else in the group?
3.) Write a letter to your younger self:
A letter can be written to your younger self at different ages in order to focus on specific times in your life. For instance, writing to your younger 6 year old self will be much different than writing to your 16 year old self. This can help you address some of the above questions, but it can also help you see your growth and strengths while still acknowledging your hardships. Based on where you are today, give yourself advice, guidance and gratitude.
I challenge all of us to not be afraid to look to our past in order to help guide ourselves into the future and to better serve our clients, colleagues, family and friends! Feel free to share your self-exploration ideas with us all by sharing on social media with the hashtag #selfexplorationchallenge.
About the Author:
Sara Kliger, MA, RDT, is a Registered Drama Therapist in New York City. She currently works with a community based organization that is contracted by the NYC Public Schools, where she offers therapeutic services, supervision to Drama Therapy students, and conducts professional development workshops. Additionally, she serves as the Director of Experiential Services for Psychological Assets, PC, where she has provided coaching to adult professionals and has conducted several workshops for people who come from diverse professional settings.
