“You have everything you need to become who you are”
My journey to where I am now began in the summer of 2017. I was lost, stuck, beginning my spiritual development, and in need of reconnection and change. I was living in Chicago, working for a corporate publishing company that sucked my energy and was (is) unfulfilling. I visited my brother in Southern Illinois to witness the solar eclipse and during that trip I received a message “you have everything you need to become who you are”. I had never received a message like that before but it was something I desperately needed to hear. I needed a homecoming– space and time to unravel my potential and follow a path that was in alignment with my true self. It was an invitation.
In deciding to follow the path of Art Therapy I thought back to when I was 18 deciding what I wanted to pursue in college. I realized I was torn between going to art school and studying psychology, not knowing Art Therapy was a path. It was in that reflection that I realized all signs pointed to Art Therapy. I have always been someone people have confided in, always empathetic, and curious about the mind. Art making has always been a support for me to explore the depths of my mind and understand the world around me. Photography was my way of seeing the world beyond the confines of superficiality and patriarchy. I could tell my own story and explore my own curiosities. Art therapy was this beautiful way where I can fully explore and dive into all my interests while using my interpersonal strengths and cultivate connection.
Image 1: August, 2019 before I moved to Santa Fe; Image 2: Art made Fall 2022; Image 3: Self portrait taken September, 2020 during my Wilderness Fast.
Coming to Southwestern was one of the most challenging decisions of my life. Leaving the home I lived in for 29 years, my deep roots, my friends, and my family was both heartbreaking and scary. A dive into the unknown, something I learned through this program that I feared so much. My decision to come here was mine alone and I was met with a lot of skepticism from the people I trusted most. All I had was my intuition and this gut feeling that Santa Fe and Southwestern was where I needed to be. Nothing gave me more hope than the idea of becoming an Art Therapist to help others heal and move through life. I went through most of my hardest experiences alone, but maybe all of that prepared me to become a healer in ways I never understood.
It’s interesting to reflect on who I am now and the person I was three years ago, the world is different, I am different. I’ve found myself in new and old ways. I’ve learned to love myself and understand the depths of my strength exceed far beyond what I knew was within me. Throughout this program I have explored themes of spirituality, cultivating intimacy, how to show up for others, self love, self care, what it means to live in your values, boundaries, healing familial trauma, and so much more. All while realizing my strengths as a counselor which is my capacity to show love, be empathetic, stay grounded, follow my intuition, and listen deeply without judgement. My evolution through this program and the work I have done outside of it has made my relationships stronger, healed old wounds, and called in a new ways of being.
Image 1: My partner and I taken June, 2022; Image 2: My fur babies Moe and Luna taken July, 2020; Image 3: My partner and Moe taken June, 2022; Image 4: My fur babies and I taken August 2020.
In becoming an Art Therapist I see myself as a grounding source for clients to explore themselves. I have grown interest in incorporating nature into therapy when I can, using my experience in the Ecotherapy program to inform my work with future clients. I find nature is helpful in soothing the nervous system and connecting to presence whether is listening to recordings of rainfall, going for a walk, tending to plants, or camping. There are so many ways nature can provide healing. I am also interested in future work with Somatic Therapy and Psychedelic Asssisted Therapies. In my opinion any method of therapy that engages the mind, body, spirit is a method worth pursuing, which is why I see so much value in Art Therapy Somatics, and Psychedelics and the intersection between these modalities.