When our ancestors were faced with danger, nature programmed them for 2 possibilities - either the problem was surmountable, which meant energising the body to fight the enemy, or the problem was too big, which meant energizing the body to run. Both options would immediate de-prioritise the digestive process, which is why some people can end up throwing out digested or undigested food or water through vomiting or passing urine or stools during stress. Also, now we have different challenges - we don't need to physically run towards or away from our boss or in laws, but the hormones are still released and can affect our health. Here's how.
After the intensity of the fight or flight response, the body 'crashes' in energy and the focus is on getting back to normal. Since as a society we are focused on consistent performance, these phases are shunned and the body is never given time to recover. We then offer the body a new stressor, and over time we get addicted to functioning on that artificial 'high' of the stress hormones.
Persistent stress due to difficulties in health, relationships and jobs will damage the digestive system over a long time and this creates a lot of secondary problems. Here are the signs I've frequently seen among my clients.
Because people have gotten used to functioning only on the energy provided by stress hormones, most people experiencing chronic stress are rarely self-motivated, functioning only when things go too far or a deadline is looming. When the 'danger' of a missed deadline floods their system with stress hormones, they are finally able to function. So they fluctuate between super-charged when the hormones are pumping through the system or 'lazy' and exhausted.
Due to the lack of energy the rest of the times, there can often be this feeling of spacing out from the world, some people may use binge-watching, binge eating or addictive substances as tools for this escape.
Most people will end up either feeling too hungry or not hungry enough as the digestive process is affected. Sleep can change as well, crashing out when exhausted and difficulty sleeping or shallow sleep otherwise. People living in situations where the body doesn't feel safe for whatever reason (abusive relationships for eg) can wake up at every little disturbance.
And one of the most telling signs I observe is the person's sensitivity to sound. When people are greatly affected by noise, this is very frequently a sign of the body being in a state of constant alarm.
Some people can experience these things after a specific incident, like a breakup or the death of a loved one or even the sudden loss of a job. In these cases, some good therapy can help the body get back to a state of ease and wellbeing. In cases where people are stuck in abusive relationships or workplaces, a lot more work is needed.
In either case, if you experience these please pay attention, because it doesn't take long before this becomes physical, causing issues like headaches, chronic fatigue or pain, brain fog, palpitations, IBS, anxiety and the hardest one - auto immune disorders.
If you have any of the signs above do consider therapy to identify and resolve the conflict
please watch out for these signs in your child as well. We don't need early interventions, no. We need parents who are working on themselves. Children model themselves after parents, and if parents are sorted, then they know better how to deal with children. This can change at any moment, but the core lesson is merely this - what do we value?
As a society we spend hours and hours earning money, that is a priority. Everything else is now secondary, that's the core issue. Spending 2% of our time on something that can improve our health, mind and relationships is too much of a burden. When we learn to prioritise the right things, our children follow suit, it really is that simple. Takes a few weeks or a few months, rarely ever more than that. Nature has designed children to biologically mimic parents.
We call them Reiki children, where parents practice Reiki from before conception or from the time the child is born or very young. It changes everything, the kids are very special. Even at this stage it isn't late for you. But the question is only - is it important enough yet?
Article by Ashwita Goel
Yes you read it right. Like human beings, space, relationships animals also can be healed. Our pets who fill our lives with so much love, affection and fun also pick up energy from their owners and their family members and the environment where they live. They pick up on their stress, negative energies, psychic attacks on their owners and even their diseases. Because of this they can fall sick or sometimes even misbehave.
Energy Healing helps in clearing all these unwanted energies that do not belong to the pet. This helps improve their health and longevity. It helps in improving their energy levels and behaviour.
This is done through distance healing where healing is given twice a day to the animal. Before healing begins an in-depth reading is done for the animal to understand the issue by talking to the animal or to the animals higher self. On the basis of this communication healing is done to get the desired results.
Read: How can Animal Reiki help my pet?
Wellness Story 1: This healing was done for a dog in Mumbai through intuitive distance healing. The dog had a fractured right hind leg, spurs in the spine, liver issues, kidney issues and partial paralyses due to a spine injury caused by an accident. When the dog's case came to the healer, he was 12 years old and absolutely bed ridden. Over the course of the healing, the muscles were strengthened and nerves were healed. She also worked on the fractured leg and it healed in 4 weeks. Thus the dog was able to sit upright and also walk with support and lived another 2.5 years before moving on due to old age.
Wellness Story 2: There was a case of a 3.5 year old cat, who fell off the balcony of a 7th floor flat in Pune. His fall was broken by a tree branch and he was injured severely on his spine and there was severe nerve damage and very slow pain response from both the hind legs. Since the spine was not broken and there was pain response, he was not put to sleep. The per owner came to us for healing. The vet had said it would be very difficult for the cat to ever walk again and if it ever happened, it would be a miracle and would take atleast 8-10 months of recovery. However, with healing, the cat was up and about in 4.5 months and was running around and jumping on table tops in 8 months time. Today he is a healthy cat and even the vet is surprised at the recovery he has shown. The cat is living a normal life and shows no signs of injury or trauma from the accident.
If you hate a person then you are defeated by them - Confucius
What if anger is good for you? Remember, it does surface for a reason. Here are 5 surprising reasons you need to listen to your anger:
Balance in our personal and professional life provides a perspective that can help us make better decisions. It enables us to see the entire map so we can see where we’ve been as well as where we hope to go in the future. The same holds true of emotional balance. The ability to suppress our anger is not a sign we are emotionally healthy. We can pretend that all is good but that does nothing more than keep an emotion from getting out. And guess what? When you fight a feeling, it only gets stronger!
Bereaved people who make the most effort to avoid feeling grief or anger take the longest to recover from their loss. When we suppress or avoid a negative emotion like anger, our ability to experience positive feelings also goes down. Stress soars and our amygdala, a part of the brain associated with emotions, begins to work overtime.
When you put negative feelings into words, our amygdala calms down! People who openly express their feelings are healthier than those who suppress emotions like anger.
How To Make It Work For You: Talk your situation over with a friend. The more you express your anger in words, the calmer you will become. Or, write it down in a journal, if you prefer. The essential point is this: when you put your anger into words, either verbal or written, it is therapeutic. Remember to notice when the venting is always about the same topic. At that point, you really need to delve deeper into the real problem behind your anger.
We live in a society driven by the pleasure principle––there is such an emphasis on positivity that we are unequipped to deal with the other half of our emotional spectrum. If there’s a feeling we don’t like, we try to get rid of it or pretend it doesn’t exist. Our continual pursuit of empty happiness clichés seldom register anything more than a temporary bleep, and then quickly fades away.
Anger makes us uncomfortable and that’s a good thing because it gets our attention. An emotion like anger requires us to sit up and pay attention if we hope to get to the root of it. To fully experience and tap into the wisdom of our emotions, we must learn how to experience the discomfort. Without discomfort, there is no change and no growth.
Those who prefer to feel useful emotions, even when they are unpleasant, are better able to use them in ways that are strategic. People who prefer to feel anger when confronting others tend to be higher in emotional intelligence, whereas people who prefer to feel happiness in such contexts tend to be lower in emotional intelligence. It is a combination: Negative Emotions + Positive Emotions = Emotional Competence.
How To Make It Work For You: Mental toughness allows us to tap into the wisdom of our emotions. Our limbic brain system alerts us to danger in our environment. If we choke off all negative emotions, we also suppress a primal survival tool that has alerted us to threats in our environment for centuries. All emotions can be useful; the key is to regulate them so you can choose the situations which are more beneficial to you.
Are there situations or people that always twist your stomach into a knot?
People who do not take steps to modify their situation only compound their problems. If they learn how to reframe their circumstances, they are better able to control their anger and other negative emotions. When you imagine an event as though you are a bystander, you will notice that you harbour fewer aggressive and negative emotions
How To Make It Work For You: It is not always possible to turn away from disturbing or unfavourable situations. Some events—the loss of your job, the death of a partner, or an unexpected illness—are not controllable. People can cope with unwanted emotions if they imagine the situation as an impartial observer. Find ways to modify your response—so you can control your anger before it spills out and does make matters worse.
Are you angry because you got passed over a promotion? Use that anger to propel you towards a job that will provide more rewards. Anger is an interesting emotion. It is a negative feeling, arousing from cognitive and behaviour responses that are often positive. Anger can motivate a response normally associated with positive behaviour.
If we look at anger like any other emotion, we can find ways to anticipate its arrival and choose how long it hangs around. Consider a positive emotion like joy: if we excavate our own mind and body, we know what will produce joy for us. We create circumstances that will encourage or enhance our experience. We anticipate its very arrival so we’re not surprised when it ultimately shows up.
How To Make It Work For You: When it comes to anger, it’s important to explore in the depths of your mind to uncover what provoked it. The exploration of your anger requires as much honesty and self-awareness as it takes to explore what brings you joy. Both emotions, and your response to them, work hand in hand to form healthy and mature connections.
Conflicts and disagreements allow you to learn more about your partner, spouse, child, friend, or associate. Equality in relationships means you work through tough things together. It allows you to see things from the other person’s point of view. When you’re afraid of showing your anger, you signal that you’re not willing to honestly admit your emotions. As a result, you stay away from people or even experiences that might conjure up all unwanted emotions.
Anger can be an expensive luxury. Your anger is sacred. Nurture it and listen to it fiercely.
You will encounter people who use their anger to hurt others, who wield anger like a weapon, who use the fuel of anger in a way that harms themselves and everyone around them. Know that they are hurting and know it is not your job to fix them or entertain them. Offer them compassion, if you’d like to witness them, do so, and then move on.
Nurture your anger and trust it, but do not expect this relationship to be easy. When anger speaks, it is often inconvenient, uncomfortable, and awkward. Yet another reason so many people deny their truths. Feeling very angry and frustrated all the time, or being around someone who is always angry, is exhausting and stressful.
The smarter you get, the more you realise anger is not worth it- Maxime Lagace
Once we understand our needs, we need to be able to communicate them in a way that is requesting rather than demanding. When we demand from others, it can trigger anger (from a perceived loss of status, unfairness, control, etc). Marshall Rosenberg’s non-violent communication is an excellent way of expressing needs. Asking for help isn’t easy. If done well, it is more effective than being angry that others aren’t meeting our needs. Learn to stop destructive expressions of anger. Learn how to use self-awareness and self-control to stay calm, healthy, and protect your valued relationships from injury and hurt.
Listening: Being listened and feeling heard definitely has magical powers. Listening can help us manage our own anger and help others manage theirs. It’s not easy to listen, and we want others to listen to us. Until we have told our own story, we find it hard to listen to others. Once a person understands what is needed, it is much easier to express that need. In a way that need does not get aggravated to unattended worries and emotions. It is addressed in a more mindful manner.
Transforming judgement into compassion
Anger makes us more compassionate and helps us understand how to properly manage the anger. If we see someone in pain or suffering we are drawn towards helping them, if we see anger we move away. The first step is to really understand and acknowledge the depth of emotion. This is true for yourself as well as others. Simply naming your emotion to yourself will give you more power over it. Naming our emotions tends to engage our logic and calms us down. Seeing the need and the loss behind anger makes us more compassionate (towards yourself or the person who is angry).
Compassion also helps us calm down naturally! If we know what the need is, we might be able to address the source of the anger more effectively. If we know someone interprets our being late as a sign of not caring, we need to first reassure them of our concern for them, not explain the reasons that we were late or didn’t call.
But what if we can’t work out why we or the other person are so angry? Well, if someone was badly hurt, what could you do to make things better without knowing what happened? Usually asking, listening and being compassionate work for most things. We don’t need to know all the background just that people act the way they are acting for a vital reason. Be curious instead of been furious.
Explain your anger instead of expressing it, and you will find solutions instead of arguments.
Article Courtesy: Trishna Patnaik, a BSc (in Life Sciences) and MBA (in Marketing) by qualification but an artist by choice. A self-taught artist based in Mumbai, Trishna has been practising art for over 14 years. She says, "It’s a road less travelled but a journey that I look forward to everyday." Trishna conducts painting workshops and works with clients as a art therapist 1:1 in Mumbai and other metropolitan cities of India.
“Self-love, self-respect, self-worth: There’s a reason they all start with ‘self.’ You can’t find them in anyone else.” ~Unknown
Self-love is such popular term these days that it gets tossed around in normal conversation in various forms: "You have to love yourself more." "Why don't you love yourself?" "If you only loved yourself, this wouldn't have happened to you." "You can't love another person until you love yourself first." These are just a few of the self-love directives we give or suggest in order live a more fulfilled life.
Self-love is important to living well. It influences who you pick for a mate, the image you project at work, and how you cope with the problems in your life. It is so important to your welfare in order to know how to bring more of it into your life.
What is self-love? Is it something you can obtain through a vanity makeover or new clothes? Can you get more of it by reading something inspirational? Or, can a new relationship make you love yourself more? The answer to all of these questions is a big NO. Although they feel good and are absolutely gratifying, you can't grow in self-love through such activities.
Self-love is not simply a state of feeling good. It is a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support our physical, psychological and even spiritual growth. Self-love is so dynamic; it grows through actions that mature us. When we act in ways that expand self-love in us, we begin to accept our weaknesses as well as our strengths in a much better way. We have lesser need to explain our short-comings, have compassion for ourselves as human beings struggling to find personal meaning. We are more centred in our life purpose and values, and expect living fulfilment through our own efforts.
If you choose just one or two of these self-love actions to work on, you will definitely begin to accept and love yourself far more. Just imagine how much you'll appreciate you when you exercise the 10 steps to self-love. It is true that you can only love a person as much as you love yourself. If you exercise all of the actions of self-love that I describe in this article, you will allow and encourage others to express themselves in the same way. The more self-love you have for yourself, the better prepared you are for healthy relating. Even more, you will start to attract people and circumstances to you that support your well-being.
As Oscar Wilde once said, “to love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”
For many people, the concept of self-love might conjure images of tree-hugging hippies or cheesy self-help books. But, as many psychology studies attest, self-love and -compassion are the key for mental health and well-being, keeping depression and anxiety at bay.
Self-compassion is a way of relating to yourself that does not involve harshly judging or punishing yourself for every mistake you make, or every time someone does better than you. Self-compassion shows that it is associated with:
Less anxiety and depression
More optimism
Better recovery from stress
Better adherence to healthy behaviour changes, such as exercise or diet
To become more self-compassionate yourself and shower yourself with self-love, here are
1. Practice superb self-care.
Get enough sleep to feel revitalized; attend a yoga class or go for a run; fill your fridge with healthy whole foods; drink plenty of water; and schedule in time for fun, adventure or relaxation. Value yourself enough to make self-care practices a regular part of your routine.
2. Recognize that you are experiencing an emotional distress or even mental suffering.
Adopt a mindful attitude in which you deliberately pay attention to your inner experience so that you can notice when you are beginning to shift into a negative state.
3. Accept completely that the feeling is there.
Make a conscious decision to sit with whatever negative feeling is there and try to accept it—If it’s a negative thought, look for the underlying emotion (anxiety, sadness, or anger), or scan your body to see where you feel tension or discomfort. You may feel it in your chest, belly, shoulders, throat, face, jaw, or other areas.
4. Make use of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT).
This is a healing tool where you tap on specific parts of your body while repeating a mantra or affirmation. If you're feeling anxious or self-critical about a particular issue or problem, you can use EFT to release your negative emotional energy and re-establish inner calm and peace.
Use the mantra, "Even though I (insert your problem), I deeply and completely love and accept myself".
5. Imagine what you will feel if you saw a loved one experiencing this feeling.
In your mind’s eye, imagine your loved one being scared or sad or feeling bad about themselves. Then think about what you might feel. Perhaps you would feel the urge to help or comfort them. Try to direct this compassionate mindset toward yourself.
6. Challenge the negative story you have about yourself.
If you can't feel compassion for yourself because you feel undeserving or “bad,” try to think about this as an old story. Notice the old story of why you are bad. Now find a way to challenge this interpretation. Perhaps you experienced past trauma, or you were caught in a stressful situation then. Now make a commitment to try to learn from the experience, rather than beat yourself up with it/ over it.
7. Think about how almost everybody messes up sometimes.
It’s tempting to think that you are uniquely messed up, while everyone else is a paragon of virtue. In fact, even the most successful people make serious mistakes. But making a mistake doesn’t undo all of your accomplishments and successes. We're all works in progress.
8. Work on and decide what it would take to forgive yourself.
If your behaviour hurt you or another person, ask yourself what it would take to forgive yourself. Think about whether you want to apologize and make amends to the person you hurt. If you hurt yourself through addictive behaviour, avoidance, ruining relationships, or otherwise behaving unwisely, make a coping plan for the next time you are in a similar situation so that you can begin to act differently.
9. Be your own life coach.
Rather than punishing yourself with negative thoughts, gently guide yourself in a positive direction. You may ask yourself what led to the destructive behaviour, whether it’s really what you want to be doing, and what the consequences are. Tell yourself that you have other choices, and it’s never too late to change.
10. Keep in mind the common humanity you share with everyone.
There is a common myth in our society that there is such a thing as 'perfect' and we should all strive to be it. The truth is we are all human, flawed and prone to making mistakes as we navigate the world and learn and grow from our experiences.
Realize you're not the only one who feels vulnerable, insecure and self-critical at times. We're all fighting our own demons and trying to do our best. By remembering your common humanity you immediately take the pressure off yourself and no longer feel so isolated and alone.
Self-love is the prerequisite for complete immersion in the abundant flow of light and love in the world around us. Self-love is a journey. It takes dedication, devotion, and practice. Resolve to love yourself each and every day and watch your best self blossom and your greatest life unfold! Self-love is an exponential force.
"You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection." -- Buddha
Article Courtesy: Trishna Patnaik, a BSc (in Life Sciences) and MBA (in Marketing) by qualification but an artist by choice. A self-taught artist based in Mumbai, Trishna has been practising art for over 14 years. She says, "It’s a road less travelled but a journey that I look forward to everyday." Trishna conducts painting workshops and works with clients as a art therapist 1:1 in Mumbai and other metropolitan cities of India.
Everyone has heard stories from others or experienced themselves some funny, some horror or some unpleasant moments with their therapist or healer.
If you are new to therapy or looking for a new therapist it is natural to be concerned about choosing the right therapist. There is no easy answer to this question and at times you go through a couple of therapists before coming across the right one for you. And that does not make the previous ones bad, just that your energies resonate with this one.
But, yes it is important to keep certain points in mind, when looking for a therapist or during a session, especially as more and more people become therapists and healers. Why is it important? Because we at healclinic are experiencing an increase in the number of people who are being fooled or not being helped in the right way.
Based on our experiences, penning down some of the red flags (not exhaustive solely based on our experience) are as follows,
Hope this helps. You can make your own list of what works for you, when you go to a therapist. Because remember your wellness is in your hands and the right therapist or a healer can do wonders with their guidance and tools at their disposal when used right.
Please add in comment if you have experienced other red flags, which people need to be mindful of while choosing a therapist / healer.
Polycystic Ovarian Disease (PCOD) is when a woman’s ovaries release either partially mature or immature eggs during menstruation. These eggs may eventually turn into cysts leading the ovaries to enlarge in size. With PCOD, your body may also secrete increased amounts of Androgens - male hormones; this is one of the main reasons many women with PCOD suffer from menstruation and fertility issues.
PCOD v/s PCOS
Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) produce higher androgen levels than usual; this would lead to interference with the ovaries releasing the eggs. Some of these eggs may become cysts instead of being released during ovulation.
We notice that people often confuse PCOD and PCOS since both are ovary-related issues and both have similar early symptoms. Our aim through this article is to shed some light on the issues so that you are well aware of what your body is going through.
PCOD/PCOS Symptoms
Also Read: Woman's fight against PCOD
Causes of PCOS
We now know that excess production of androgen is one of the main issues with PCOS. Let’s learn more about why your body could be producing increased levels of male hormones.
Healclinic is proud to be armed with healers that are pioneers in their field of healing and are able to help women fight their PCOD/PCOS and lead a healthy and fulfilled life. Connect with our healers to learn more about how we can help you.
Recently we played a Snakes and Ladder Game based on Redikall Healing. Topic was 'Karmic Healing of Ancestors" It was a group session where we had a snakes and ladders board game divided into 7 parts where each part represented 1 chakra from root to crown. The aim of the game is to start at the root chakra and go up to the crown chakra and finally to redikall consciousness.
With every roll of the dice, the pawn is moved step by step, and at every stop the participants are given R5 statements as they are things to be resolved, every snake represents the brilliance in that situation and every snake the blockages.
After the session, one of the participant Apurba wrote this beautiful poem which captures the essence of the session amazingly well.
"Soul's journey through Redikall Game 🌸
The intent is so important
What we intent is what we get
Today played an amazing Redikall game
Redikall version of snake n ladder
Played a game of Life for ancestral karma healing
The board was divided into 7 major chakras n colours🌸
Eshanye and Deepti and many Redikall healing practitioners joined in
This group session was amazing
We learn to R5 many of our hurdles
We learnt the importance of affirmations
We learnt not to give up n keep on moving forward 🌸
Everytime we climbed a ladder, the group cheered
And everytime we stepped on the snake, there was a sigh
But someone was always there to pull us up, it's okay.
Let's learn the lesson intended here.
And continue with the journey ahead 🌸
The game was true to its name, we repeated many cycles of going up n down
Somewhere the universe was telling us, we still need to heal something or someone
Unburden some baggage that we were carrying of ours or our ancestors.
And as we learnt to R5 with more determination
And we were more keen to learn the brilliance
The path up to Redikall Consciousness became so easy.
When we say life is easy. Life is effortless . Life is lot of fun.
This game truly showed us that when we surrendered with all our hearts n minds
Then the rise to the top was evident .🌸
We have to trust the universe ,universe has our back
We just have to flow with the flow of life🤗
We finally recited n affirmed , I creatively find my way to the solution and the destination .
We have to recite 1 n a half moons nearly 42 days with dedication.
This game showed us what amazing things are possible when we have collective consciousness of all in one place together 🌸
We were taught about soul's journey n what universe wants us to hear here .
The life plan is pre destined by the soul
When we are aligned with our higher consciousness
The magic starts happening .🌸
By the end of the game it was so comforting to know
That all goes smoothly ,when we go with the flow .
Happy to know that in this auspicious time period
We played our important part in healing ourselves n our ancestors
Thank you Redikall mentors for today's life lessons 🌸😊🌈
Watch Introduction to Redikall Healing
If you are interested in solving an issue that you are going through through this Redikal Game, connect with us,
Whats in this article?
Art has always been used as a means of communication, self-expression, group interaction, diagnosis, and conflict resolution throughout the time in history. For thousands of years, various cultures and religions around the world have incorporated the use of carved idol, charms, several sacred paintings and symbols, during the healing process in totality.
The term “art therapy” was coined in 1942 by British Artist Adrian Hill, who discovered the healthy and lovely benefits of painting and drawing while recovering from tuberculosis himself. In the 1940s, several writers in the field of mental health began to describe their work with people in treatment as “art therapy.”
As there were no formal art therapy courses or training programs available at that time, these care providers were often educated in other disciplines and supervised by psychiatrists, psychologists, or other mental health care professionals.
The establishment of art therapy as a unique and publicly accepted therapeutic approach only took place recently, in the mid-20th century. The emergence of art therapy as a profession arose independently and simultaneously in the united states and europe.
Art therapy involves the use of creative techniques such as drawing, painting, collage, colouring, or sculpting to help people express artistically and examine the psychological and emotional undertones signified in their art. With the guidance of a credentialed art therapist, clients can "decode" various non-verbal messages, symbols, and metaphors often found in these art forms, which should lead to a better understanding of their feelings and behaviour so they can move on to understand and then resolve their deeper issues.
Art therapy benefits people of all ages. Research indicates that art therapy improves communication and concentration and helps reduce feelings of isolation. Art therapy has also been shown to lead to increase in self-esteem, confidence, and self-awareness.
Positive results and benefits in art therapy may often be achieved by those facing issues such as:
Art therapy allows people to express feelings on any subject through a creative flow of work rather than with speech, it is believed to be particularly helpful for those who feel out of touch with their emotions or even feelings. Certain individuals experiencing difficulty discussing or remembering painful experiences may also find art therapy thoroughly beneficial.
Recent research suggests art therapy may help individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and personality disorders see improvement of some of their symptoms, although trials are still being conducted.
Art therapy helps children, adolescents and adults explore with their emotions, improves their self-esteem, manages addictions, helps relieves stress, improves symptoms of anxiety and depression, and helps cope with a physical illness or any disability. Art therapists work with individuals, couples, and even groups in a variety of settings such as private counselling, hospitals, wellness centres, correctional institutions, senior centres, and other forms of community organizations.
No artistic talent is necessary in order for art therapy to succeed, because the therapeutic process is not about the artistic value of the work, but rather about finding associations between the creative choices made and a client's inner mind and thus life. The artwork can be used as a springboard for reawakening certain memories and then telling stories that may reveal various messages and beliefs from the unconscious mind. In many cases, art therapy can be used in conjunction with other psychotherapy techniques such as group therapy or even cognitive-behavioural therapy.
Some situations in which art therapy can be utilized include:
One review of the effectiveness of art therapy found that this technique helped cancer patients undergoing medical treatment improve their quality of life and alleviated a variety of psychological symptoms too.
As with any form of therapy, your first session will consist of you talking to the therapist about why you want to find help and learning what the therapist has to offer. Together, you will come up with a treatment plan that involves creating some form of artwork. Once you begin creating, the therapist may, at times, simply observe your process as you work, without any form of interference or judgment.
When you have finished a piece of artwork—and sometimes while you are still working on it—the therapist will ask you questions along the lines of how you feel about the artistic process, what was easy or difficult about creating your artwork, and what thoughts or memories you may have had while you were working on it. Generally, the therapist will ask about your experience and feelings before providing any observations.
People often wonder how an art therapy session differs from the regular art class.
Where an art class is focused on teaching technique or creating a specific finished product, art therapy is more about letting the clients focus on their inner experience. in creating art, people are able to focus on their own perceptions, imagination, and feelings. Clients are encouraged to create art that expresses their inner world more than making something that is an expression of the outer world.
Certified art therapists will typically have a comprehensive understanding of the powerful effect that the creative process can have on those undertaking art therapy. Art therapists often use psychological, spiritual, and artistic theories in conjunction with clinical techniques to achieve the desired therapeutic outcome. The approach has proven to be beneficial even for non-verbal individuals and professional artists. Common techniques used in art therapy include:
Art therapists practice in a variety of traditional settings including hospitals, rehabilitation care units, assisted living centres, psychiatric facilities, senior communities and schools. They also work in some less familiar settings like wellness centres, forensic institutions, clinical research facilities, detention centres, and crisis centres.
Private practice is also very common for professionals who specialize in art therapy.
The benefits of art therapy are numerous, and here are nine ways it can help on the path to holistic wellness:
Art Therapy does have a tremendous potential to be a way of life for those who aim to live a wholesome life. It works for those who want to engage in an expressive outlet leading towards their overall betterment in terms of physical and mental wellbeing.
Article Courtesy: Trishna Patnaik, a BSc (in Life Sciences) and MBA (in Marketing) by qualification but an artist by choice. A self-taught artist based in Mumbai, Trishna has been practising art for over 14 years. She says, "It’s a road less travelled but a journey that I look forward to everyday." Trishna conducts painting workshops and works with clients as a art therapist 1:1 in Mumbai and other metropolitan cities of India.
Healclinic is a wellness platform which offers energy healing therapies like Reiki, Pranic Healing, Theta, Past Life, Inner Child, Family Constellation, Redikal, Graphotherapy, Akashik Records, Tarot Reading, Numerology, Astrology, Chakra Healing, by expert Healers.
Some of the energy healing therapies which we offer are reiki, pranic healing, past life regression, theta healing, redikal healing, family constellation, akashic records reading, astrological healing, inner child healing, hypnotherapy, tarot reading, numerology, astrology and many more. The basic tenet of all these therapies is that the human body is self healing and a person needs to be treated and not the disease.
They work on the cause of an ailment rather than the symptom and are more holistic in nature. It uses body’s own power to heal. These theraies are execllent ways to become aware of why you are facing a particular challenge and start healing from the root cause
